thanks to all of our guest today. until next time, we'll see you online. ♪ welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters these are the stories we are following for you. a place used as a she shelt -- shelter from violence is shelled in gaza. and the construction industry saying it is having a tough time finding qualified workers. ♪ at least 15 people are dead after an apparently israeli air

strike on aushgsn shelter in gaza. the shelter was in a building normally used as a school. i was home to some 40 namlys forced from their homes. the exact number of victims is still unclear. the united nations reports there were significant casualties with at least 150 hurt. a spokesman with the israeli military saying they are still trying to cob firm what happened. those deaths bring the number of palestinians killed to 788. nick schifrin is in gaza with more. >> reporter: less than a mile into gaza, israeli soldiers discuss palestinian solders fighting from a hospital. they said it became a hamas commanding control center. for a week the military struck it with tank shells. then an israeli officer called the local world health organization head and made sure

patients had evacuated. soon after a seen from an israeli drone f16 bombs destroy the hospital. the israeli video shows a secondary explosion, which israeli says is proof it was used to store rockets. it is impossible to confirm what the israeli says, and impossible to see the true nature of some of the true fighting here. the fighters who used this neighborhood as a base are largely invisible thanks to a series of tunnels that run underneath the neighborhood. the fighting is inside residential neighborhoods. and this morning the residents wake up and examine destruction. one of the bombs blew open family's bedroom. the un says a quarter of all of

those killed are under 18. every someday children's bodies arrive in the morgue. this body arrived after he ignored israeli warnings. he returned to his home to pick up his children's clothes. his body rooi -- arrived at the hospital, the black bag of clothes sitting on his gournny. mother has lost her son, a sister her brother. [ shouting ] [ sobbing ] >> reporter: and a father needs help to sit. he says his son's death has left him with nothing. >> translator: we have no one. we can rely only on god. >> reporter: 200 people carry his body through the streets. surrounded by his family, they bury him in the hot sun. three-quarters of this war's

victims are civilians, the majority of the targets are surrounded by people's homes. gaza has witnessed so much death over the last couple of weeks, and that's why there is such an intense focus on the diplomatic f efforts. officials are beginning to agree to some kind of ceasefire. it is clear, according to officials that there is some momentum. and what u.s. officials say is that within the next 24 hours or so, they are hoping for at least a temporary ceasefire, and the reason that that might be 24 hours is twofold. one to convince hamas that they have to accept a ceasefire, and that rather the promises in that's fire, including lifts of the blockade will actually be followed through, and on the israeli side it gives the israeli military a few extra hours to destroy all of those

tunnels leading from gaza into israel. that's according to a u.s. official we were talking to this morning, but a lot of diplomatic effort to try to stop the horrendous violence. the faa has lifted the ban on commercial flights into the tel-aviv. they are still searching for a passenger plane that algeria says crashed in africa. it had 116 people on board and disappeared from radar about 50 minutes after takeoff. it was flying over rebel territory. officials say they lost contact shortly after the crew requested rerooting because of a storm. in ukraine the prime minister says he is stepping down. he was elected back in may. he said he is resigning due to the brokup of his governing

coalition. meanwhile fighting continues in the east. their bodies -- the bodies from flight mh 17 continue to arrive in the netherlands, 74 coffins taken to a military base today. david shater reports. >> reporter: the mountain of flowers laid in tribute to the victims outside of terminal 3 where the fated journey began is growing ever higher. thousands have added their names and thoughts to the books of condolence. the flight will no longer be known as mh17 on the departure boards. the passengers queuing to board the airline, the reassurance at least the flight path has now

been diverted over turkish air space. two more bodies arrive at the military section on thursday with their tragic car gore. among the relatives watching the first flight come in was a man from newcastle who lost his 28-year-old son liam. >> you look at the news and it's far away. most things that ever happen are far away. it's not really anything to do with you, and all of a sudden it becomes part of you. every family who was there today had lost somebody. so i hope it never ever happens even to my worst enemy. >> reporter: the coffins will bring a somber shade to the country's highways. all the relatives have are the pictures of their loved ones. they are all receiving special

counseling to help them through this ordeal. >> it's grief. it's mourning. it's frustration too. it's a very complex set of emotions relatives are experiencing in this period. >> debeneath the dutch flag, more flowers and tributes including a handwritten note which ends this will never be forgotten, our hearts thoughts and prayers to you all and your families and friends and loved ones. meanwhile the european union says it is now talking about slapping russia with more sanctions. the eu saying the tougher sanctions would be because of russia's involvement in the ukrainian crisis. in afghanistan an investigation is underway after two aid workers were killed this morning. the finish women were riding in a taxi when they were shot by two men on a motorcycle. they worked at the international

assistance mission. the taxi driver was detained at part of the invest days by. iraq is taking a step forward, the parliament electing a new president today. choosing a senior kurdish politician. parliament has been dead locks since april. the next step is choosing a prime minister. there has been another botched execution in the us. this time in arizona. a conflicted killer was seen gasping for air for almost two hours before he died. erika pitzi reports. >> reporter: one news reporter who was a witness to the execution said she watched the inmate gasp for breath more than 600 times before the convicted murderer finally died. witnesses to the execution say it began as expected. the inmate joseph woods injected with deadly woods, but then something went wrong.

>> to watch a man lay there for 1:40 gulping air, i can liken it to if you catch a fish and throw it on the shore. >> reporter: the supreme court justices ruled in favor of arizona moving forward with the execution. he was sentenced to death row for the murder of his girlfriend and her father. >> what i saw today is nothing to the day it happened on august 7th, 1989. there was nothing. i don't believe he was gasping for air, suffering, sounded to me as though he was snoring. >> reporter: it's the same combo of controversial used in two previous executions. arizona gov northern jan brewer has ordered a review of the execution, saying she is concerned by the length of time

it took. for the family of those two victims this murder's death no matter how it happened is a relief. >> what is excruciating is seeing your dad lying there in a pool of blood and your sister lying there in a pool of blood. this man deserved it. he deserved everything he had coming to him. >> the prison doctor insists wood did not suffer. there is now a call for a nationwide moratorium on executions. a short while ago the house rules committee approved the resolution. the vote was 7-4. and that allows the full house on authorizing a lawsuit against president obama. a final vote on moving forward is expected next week. severe weather claiming at

least two lives in eastern virginia today. it happened when a tornado touched down in a campground. more than 1300 people were champs out when the storm hit. the national weather service now working to confirm it was indeed a tornado. we go to dave warren with more on that severe weather. my kids used to go camping there. >> yeah, i have driven through there plenty of times. the timing of this -- well, it's not impossible for it to happen. it's certainly not common. normally you see these types of storms happen in the afternoon. but this morning there was this one storm right over the eastern shore of virginia, right over this camp ground, not many places to find shelter, damaging wind, hail, and even those two fatalities. the location right there, a close-up view of this loop shows one strong storm turning to the

right as the other storms push off to the north. normally these strong storms turn to the right. but now everything is off of the coast and pushing off of the coast. no more warnings are in effect. del? >> dave warren thank you very much. coming up we'll bring you one reporter's story after she spent 24 hours on the border. and a building boom in america, running into trouble. there just aren't enough workers to put those buildings up.

>> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> its disgraceful... the only crime they really committed is journalism...

>> they are truth seekers... >> all they really wanna do is find out what's happening, so they can tell people... >> governments around the world all united to condemn this... >> as you can see, it's still a very much volatile situation... >> the government is prepared to carry out mass array... >> if you want free press in the new democracy, let the journalists live. ♪ >> the house veterans affairs committee holding another hearing on problems with the va medical system. sloan gibson testifying, telling congress what he plans to do to try to get the agency back on track. they are trying to deal with allegations of mismanagement. thousands of vets waited months to get treatment. dozens dying. >> we have to earn that trust

back through decisive action. and in greater transparency. we have dispatched teams to provide direct assistance to facilities requiring most improvement. >> members of the house committee are pushing back on the request for more funding. also on capitol hill congress is looking a ways to stem the flow of children crossing the border. al jazeera's heidi zhou castro spent 24 hours on the border of texas. she shares her thoughts about her day on the front lines of the immigration debate. >> reporter: the border at midnight. quiet, dark, and full of travelers. border patrol agents arrest an average of more than 600 a

people a day here. that's two for every mile of river. on this night, though, it is quiet. the migrants remain hidden from our cameras. this is the rio grand, nothing standings between us and exco. >> yeah, we're going to be heading out to the back roads up along the rio grand river. >> reporter: the border is where frank rodriguez grew up. and within five minutes we spot two young men sprinting across the path. we have the same problem as border pat reel, the land is too fast. we lose them. this brush is the perfect hiding space for migrants trying to escape border patrol. you can barely see the daylight. >> i understand they are trying

to survive. that's why they are out here. i would do the same thing, you know. if i was starving and hungry i would want to go somewhere i could eat and someone could help me. >> reporter: a handful of local tea party members held this protest in texas, voicing their opposition to the wave of undocumented immigrants in their backyard. how do you reconcile these thoughts with america being a nation of immigrants? >> there was a right way to become an immigrant. you came through like ellis island, you became a citizen, you learned the language. you got a job. these people definitely do not want to speak english. it seems like they still want to assimilate and identify themselves with mexico or guatemala or honduras.

>> every morning 6:00 or 8:00 in the morning you'll have the choppers up here. >> reporter: back in the car, we see a stash house where immigrants are kept in squaller as they wait for smugglers to take them further north. >> the thing is we're blessed they are not. >> reporter: and as night desends on the border again, it's those wishing for blessings of a new life in the united states that will lure many more to cross. heidi zhou castro, al jazeera, mission, texas. and president obama is on the west coast today talking about the economy. he'll deliver remarks later at the los angeles technical college. unemployment is falling, but the real estate sector is still struggling to recover. sales of new homes falling more than 8% in june. just 406,000 homes sold in that month. sales of existing homes rising,

though. where there is a building boom there is also a lack of skilled workers to do the job. there is a new study out that finds that more than 70% of construction companies are hiring, and they expect the problem to get worse. it's not hard to tell in nashville there's a boom in construction. >> whether it be hotel projects, mixed-use projects, we have a ball field going up. we're doing a river front project, so there are a lot of different projects out there, and quite honestly it only seems to be increasing. >> reporter: but the wave of new development comes at a time the industry i say there is a shortage of workers. many subcontractors have had to delay projects. >> there is a lack of skilled

workers, and the lack of people actually getting into the construction industry, so when they do need folks, there's just not enough skilled workers out there right now. >> reporter: a nationwide survey, found 74% of construction firms report having difficulty in finding skilled labor, and nearly half expect the problem to get worse. the shortage can largely be tied to the recession in 2008. when nearly 2 million of the 8 million lost their jobs, retired or found other careers. >> it's almost the candle being burned at both ends, you see older carpenters and trades people getting out of the industry, the problem is they are not being replaced at an equal rate with younger people coming into the industry. >> reporter: the tennessee college of applied technology

offers a 16-month program to certify students in carpentry and electrical fields. but in the last few years interests has dropped. he says wages are is not the issue. >> we also see at the secondary level, high school counselors, guidance counselors and what not, they are pushing students so hard to go into college, they are really not talking to people about vocational education. so that is contributing to the problem as well. >> reporter: and many in the industry worry with the low number of young field entering the field now, the shortage will be a concern for years to come. big changes to report at wal-mart today. bill simon is leaving the country. the head of wal-mart asia is going to replace him.

wal-mart posting its weakest sales growth in five years. wal-mart is the world's largest retailer. people in northern cyprus coming together to bring an ancient fort back to life. and si-fy fans gathering in san diego. yes, it is time for comic con.

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welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are your headlines at this hour. at least 15 people are dead after an apparently israeli air strike at a un shelter in gaza. hundreds of palestinians living in a converted school. israeli's military says it is still trying to confirm what happened. secretary of state john kerry back in cairo today trying to get egypt to support his ceasefire agreement. and ukraine's prime minister is stepping down. and pro-russian separatists

shooting down two more fighter jets. in northern cyprus there's a new project helping to rebuild trust in a divided community. it's happening at a sight that many believe was the setting for shakespeare's othellothello. >> reporter: it came under va knee shun rule, and then the automan turks took it. it is set by the sea in cyprus. the modern turkish invasion of 1974 and the division of cyprus brought isolation and slow decline. the once mighty walls have crumbled. now greek and turkish have started restoration. in early 2015 it will reopen.

this is an air animal for cyprus. it was established by the political leadership of both sides. it was quickly and enthusiastically supported by the un and the european union nflt -- it's one of those rare and good news stories. >> this is not just monuments of one area. they are the monuments of humans. >> reporter: this work is about defying 40 years of division and mistrust to save common heritage for both sides. >> occasionally we do argue, but not across ethnic lines or community lines, but we argue about which is the best way of conserving a building. >> reporter: the work is slow and painstaking, but this is just one example of a trend

greek and turks working together to get things done. after 40 years more are beginning to spend more time thinking about the possibilities of a shared future than about their divide past. ♪ i'm dave warren. the focus for those strong severe storms this front moving off of the coast now. high-pressure moving in behind it. it will get cooler and drier, briefly. storm coming in from eastern canada, pulling up a lot f moisture, and temperatures are heating up already. climbing into the mid-90s here. much calmer as that front begins to push off of the coast. here is a look at the temperatures heating up. denver at 92, the humidity is high, the heat will eventually spread off to the northeast. the radar looking at northwest

brought rain to portions of washington, then turned into receive veer weather across eastern montana. that threat today over north and south dakota. now this is a different view of the radar. this is not rain. this is actually flies emerging from the mississippi river. a lot of them. a bit uncommon to see this many. but this is what it looks like on the radar. and this is what it looks like if you are there. these are may flies. it's a bit unusual to see this many, but it makes quite maesz on the roadways. there were a few car accidents because of this. >> dave warren thank you very much. and thousands of si-fy lovers flocking to california this week for comic con. one of the highlights of this year's event will be an exman virtual reality experience. fans will be able to enter the mind of professor x.

the convention began back in 1970. enjoy. we want to thank you for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters. "talk to al jazeera" is next. ♪ when i met the president, he did say, i borrowed your slogan. >> activist and presidential medal of freedom winner coined the phrase, "yes, we can." the mantra became barack intaps's call to vote. she co-founded the united farm worker's union. >> when you think of this humiliate people and oppress them and not providing the basic human needs they have is just a way to make people feel like they are not worthy. >> she is a woman with a colorful p