>> welcome to al jazeera america. david schuster and here are the stories following for you this hour. the international calls for base are intensifying but the fighting between israel and hamas continues. and this is bloody aftermath from strikes today that hit a hospital in gaza. muslims around the world are celebrating the holiday. and lightning strike killed one person and injured dozens others from venice beach,

california came from a storm meteorologists say is exception li rare. -- exceptionally rare. >> latest from the middle east where earlier today a hospital clinic in the palestinian territory of gaza came under fire. palestinian officials say at least ten were killed in two separate incidents. the israeli army is denying responsibility saying both strikes came from misfired hamas rockets. nick schifrin is in gaza. what can tell us about the -- can you tell us about the latest strikes? >> reporter: we just came back a few minutes ago from the scene of the beach camp, the refugee camp where that was the deadliest scene of the two. it was a scene of chaos,

eyewitnesses crying, screaming at what they had seen. we saw two bodies being brought back from the hospital. they were transported to the hospital very quickly, brought back to the families of those killed, 20, 30 minutes later, an unreal sense of loss among those people right in that community. they brought me two, what they called me the scene, or the sight of the impact. it was very shallow, about two or three inches deep. the buildings on either side were still intact. there was shrapnel though, throughout those buildings, piercing the buildings and through the cars at the impact site. separately at the hospital, this is a second strike. local officials o at the hospitl barred tv crews from entering the site of where that strike was, an outpatient clinic. as you say david, israeli officials deny it was them.

he was very categorical, said there was no israeli activity in that area and was absolutely confident that hamas or a palestinian fighting group rocket had struck both of those sites. a rocket intended for israel. people i talked to in that site reject, they all reject that, they all believe it was an israeli strike in hamas. now they say it is evidence, there was an israeli strike. >> amidst the claims and gruesome images there's been growing pressure from the international community to make diplomatic progress. any progress you can report on that front? >> reporter: not a lot of concrete progress, a lot of urging and pressure from both sides to come to the table and both agree on a ceasefire. we heard from u.n.

secretary-general ban ki-moon. ede is a mont holiday that marke end of holy month of ramadan. many are feeling fear and shock instead of cheer. >> it is time for an immediate un, humanitarian ceasefire. in the name of humanity, the violence must stop. >> reporter: now, the man in the middle of all of this is also u.s. secretary of state john kerry. he has been shuttling between all sides the intermediaries for hamas which the u.s. does not talk to directly are turkey and qatar. israeli officials as well. he is looking for a long term solution to this problem and he says the long term solution requires the capacity of

palestinian fighting groups to launch rockets into israel. >> any process to resolve the crisis in gaza in a lasting and meaningful way must lead to the disarmament of hamas and all terrorist groups. and we will work closely with israel. and regional partners. and the international community. in support of this goal. >> reporter: now, that is what kerry is saying but president obama in a call to israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu was really strong, pushing israel to accept a ceasefire. we have seen language we have not seen strongly urging a ceasefire in israel. and shortly after the u.s. releasing that statement, the u.n. used the exact same language that the white house said obama used on netanyahu.

>> both tunnels destroyed civilians destroyed, civilians killed et cetera, the numbers? >> reporter: if we just look at the numbers here they are. some 32 tunnels have been destroyed. those are what palestinian fighters used to go from gaza into israel. the number of palestinians killed in this conflict is 1034. the number of palestinians injured is 6233. the number displaced basically 1 in 10 of all of gaza, 167,000, and the number of israelis died are at least 46. and of course those are just the numbers. the fighting continues. david, just a couple miles behind me that's north gaza. the twinkling lights you see are actually inside israel. between here and those twinkling lights, there is a lot of fire, we've heard small arms firing

and artillery or some kind of tank firing into gaza. the fighting is actually intensifying as we speak. >> al jazeera's nick schifrin, thank you very much. muslims around the world are marking the holiday of ede praying for peace. typically praying and integration.the end of the month of ram.dan. rula amin is with refugees in the becca valley of lebanon. >> it's almost their third holiday here, and they live in very miserable conditions. now our cameraman will try to give you just an idea of how things are here. most of the people are inside the tents. it's very hot outside, and most of them are living off the food rations they get from the united

nations and other ngos. very little celebration here. people don't have money to buy food, that people need or to send their kids to doctors. now, the problem and the violence in gaza of course is at most people's mind and most people we asked, even as we asked them about syria and the situation back home, they refer to the situation in gaza, they feel everything is connected in gaza and iraq and the problem with them which makes them very frustrated is they don't see any end in sight to this violence and this turmoil. >> two people in florida home they can -- hope they can show, how to call each other brother. natasha guinane has the story.

>> often heard advice to avoid talking politics with strangers. within minutes nystene began grilling mohamed on the israeli-palestinian conflict. >> it was a way for us to i guess judge each other. >> that first conversation was the start of a six year friendship. it's based on bonding over the typical male things such as sports and dating. but both young men also have families living through current israeli-palestinian conflict and feel a need to engage each other on what's happening there. >> did either one of you have viewpoints that changed as a result of your friendship? >> absolutely. i denied look at mohamed as he wanted to kill me. >> when i met an israeli that could agree with me on some issues, i found that our

commonalities outwayed our differentials. >> emotions are especially charged. they confess talking about their relationship inspire hatred among their friends and families. >> i consider him my brother. >> same about me, we have had a lot of push back but a lot of support and i think what we're doing, could hopefully lead to something special. >> reporter: the men are passionate about their beliefs and fiercely disagree on a number of points. >> israel is fighting for its right to exist and it has been since its inception. >> but after that palestinians are also fighting for their right to exist. >> when it doms lon -- comes tog term peace, israel needs security, palestinians need to stop firing rockets.

and both need to have a place to call their own. >> despite their long friendship the men have never met one another's families. they hope one day they can bring them together. natasha guinane, al jazeera, miami. the u.s. government has released satellite images that officials say russia has fired rockets from eastern ukraine. craters where they landed. obama administration officials say the images show that russian weapons have been passed over the border to separatists who use them against ukrainian forces. moscow says international observers will soon see that the u.s. claims are false. str i already talked about -- >> translator: i already talked about this satellite image. for some reason it took several days to show it. we are expecting the osce

observers to arrive at the russian ukrainian border in the coming days. i have asked john kerry to tell his people not to create any obstacles for realization of this agreement. >> will arrive in russia the next few days they will examine the 12,000 mile long border between russia and ukraine. pro-russian separatists have been blamed for bringing down mh17. nazaneen mushari has the story. >> surface to air missile that brought down malaysia airliner mh17. flight data recorders show that there was a massive explosive decompression, so basically, shrapnel or explosives were sent into the plane, and then brought it down, making it explode mid

air, crushing down into the fields of eastern ukraine. now, this is coming from ukrainian officials, dutch and malaysian and interpol investigators are yet to reach the site of mh17. they have been turned away because of heavy fighting, extremely unsatisfactory for them, they want to discover the debris and wreckage on the ground. the ukrainian forces are pushing into towns and villages around the crash area, also trying to cut off strategic supply routes from russia. there has been heavy shelling in and around donetske. >> nazaneen mushari in donetske. russia's been told to pay former shareholders more than $50 billion. the company was seized 50 russian the government in 2003. as a result of tax evasion by

eukos. mikhail kortikofsky was imprisoned before being released last year. third largest city to defend against a rash of deadly gun voyages. and there now appears to be agreement in congress on how to fix troubled veterans affairs dilemma.

>> in africa, two americans trying to fight the outbreak of ebola have themselves come down with the deadly disease. dr. kent brant lley has been working, you are looking at a picture from his home town church in north carolina. second aid worker, nancy ritvol,

friends and family have gathered in church on sunday to pray for the aid workers' health and the people they are trying to help. within the last -- the next two hours being congress will try to, realign gave veterans affairs. the va eric shinseki to step down. libby casey is there. libby. >> they only have a few days to get something passed through congress before both bodies adjourn for the five-week recess. it didn't look like they would be able to get anywhere because of a round of finger-pointing.

here are the details that have emerged so far. some things democrats want, some things republicans want. this includes money to address much of the va's needs. infrastructure improvements to getting more doctors. it allows the va secretary the ability to fire employees who are deemed to be corrupt or incompetent. although there is an appeals process buil built in. because they are overbooked or live too far away, they can seek nonva care. something republicans wanted david. >> new spending, something a sticking point on the republican side. how is it going to be paid for? >> reporter: absolutely. that's how negotiations broke down. just how it got funded. the republicans said they would like to see the line items in the budget. whereas democrats say we have to fund this on an emergency base i because it's so critical it

needs to get funded now. price tag of ten to $40th billion. how -- 40 billion. , if they can get that hammered out it seems like they can get something that both sides can agree to. bernie saunders, representing democratic interests in these situations, says he's confident they can get a deal done and passed by the end of this week. >> libby casey, thank you. at least 22 people in the city of chicago were shot. some residents are now asking for drastic new measures to help the city not from the police department but from the national guard. vana eastabrook reports. >> it is a weekly retch wall on chicago's lower east side. on their way home from work, the

neighborhood known as austin is a hotbed of crime. >> my young friend got killed in violence. >> how you doing? peace in the streets, you all for it right? >> the bloodshed has to stop. he's on a state violence prevention task force and wants the governor to call in the national guard. >> they will provide a presence, just a presence in the community, any time you see law enforcement, military, then it puts people in a position where they feel like, i better move along. >> ford isn't the only one with the idea of bringing in the national guard. this was shot down by police superintendent gary mccarthy. >> i'm telling you yet again, so i -- let's not do that. >> reporter: the national guard is activated by the

governor at the request of communities. it's commonly used in natural disasters. the national guard can help police neighborhoods. they can enforce curfews and control riots. but what they can't do is make arrests. political science instructors, says could cause a war like atmosphere. >> you normally think of the national guard or the army as a military force. you need them in a place like gaza or you need them in -- maybe to combat the problems in the ukraine. but to try and use them effectively as crime fighters in chicago is simply not going to work under normal circumstances. >> reporter: governor quinn says he's willing to bring in the state police to help chicago cops patrol neighborhoods but hasn't yet mentioned the illinois national guard. on things they are doing a good

job, they could also use help. >> all hands on deck and we should learn from every agency, every type of security force that's available. and the national guard is a security force. >> reporter: in the austin neighborhood, residents just want peace. no matter who provides it. diane eastabrook, al jazeera, chicago. coming up on al jazeera america. we'll get you the latest on some destructive storms across several u.s. states. including a crazy storm at a california beach that produced a deadly lightning strike. and a fire threat that's threatening hundreds of homes and a national park.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm david schuster and here are today's headlines. in gaza city there was a deadly attack today on a hospital and a refugee camp. you can see i.t. was deadly. palestinian officials say israeli air strikes targeted

civilians but israeli officials deny that responsibility, saying it was the misfire of palestinian rockets from hamas fighters. holiday typically filled with celebration, ede marks the holy fasting month of ramadan's conclusion. oil company eukos, the russian government seized the company in 2003. >> severe weather has swept through every corner of the oots united states in recent days, from hail in the midwest to a bizarre light nipping storm in california. >> i thought it was a bomb. >> reporter: what turned out to be a bottle of thunder, shocking swimmers and surfers.

>> all of the you heard a crack, this giant bottle up in the sky that i've never seen that. i'm from the midwest, we see lots of lightning. and then all of a sudden it was the loudest thunder i've ever heard. like a scene out of jaws, all the mothers grabbing their kids. >> combing the water for victims. some beach goers felt the electrical disturbs on the sapped. >> it was like, boom, something punched me in the back of the head and my calves were seized and i fell over. >> several were hospitalized including a 15-year-old boy. powerful storms plowed through other states too, kentucky and tennessee. one twister destroyed at least ten homes in the eastern part of the state. you can see transformers exploding as it winds through

area. 2at one point. storm ripping pardon a home. >> my dog, ten minutes later he came running out of the house. >> in central connecticut, where tornadoes are rare, a twist every tumpeertouched down. a wildfire is growing near yosemite national park. the fire grew just west of the park and it's covered nearly 3,000 acres. in sacramento, evacuation of homes, nearly 3,000 firefighters are trying to stop the blaze which is now 50% contained. dave warren, how badly is yosemite being threatened?

>> it is very dry and little rain in the forecast. this satellite picture shows a clear view of the northwestern portion of the country there, washington, oregon, california, no rain in the forecast and the temperatures are heating up. climbing up near 90, spokane is near 80°. there is some moisture, that monsoonal moisture that comes up from the south. that could lead to flash flooding. flash flood watch is in effect pretty much everywhere across the southwest, these afternoon thunderstorms could develop, that could lead to dust storms as well when you get that rain which cools and veaps before it hits the -- evaporates before it hits the ground. showers and storms that developed, right there on venice beach that's where that thunderstorm was that led to that fatality there in california. so we're seeing a rare weather pattern, where you get a lot of moisture coming up the coast thanks to that area of high

pressure. a bit unusual seeing this occur sphearnl in -- especially in southern california. right in the areas that are dry in southwest, they are continuing to heat up. these are the showers and storms in the west, also severe weather again today across the southeast. just south of that right along the southeast here where the temperatures are climbing just south of that cold front there could be more severe weather today, not happened yet but this is the area which is in the slight risk for severe storms. that will be later this afternoon. storms came through the northwest yesterday, you'll see these temperatures drop, down to 67° in pittsburgh. that's the cooler drier air in the southeast. lot of severe weather still happening. >> all right dave thank you very much. thanks for watching al jazeera america. i'm david schuster. "techknow" featuring tornado lab

is next. for the latest head to aljazeera.com. aljazeera.com. >> hello and welcome. i'm phil torres here to talk about innovations that can change lives. hardware and humanity and we're doing it in a unique way. a show of science by scientists. dr. shini somara shini somara is a mechanical engineer. as scientists test new building tines can they survive the most powerful twisters on the planets? kosta grammatis, feeding a