iraq can trace their roots to the carving up of the ottoman empire after the war. that's our show for today, i'm ali velshi. thanks for joining us. ♪ hi, everyone. this is al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. battleground, explosions at a hospital and a playground in gaza. casualties rising on both sides. pleas for peace, international calls to stop the fighting as israel talks about a prolonged defensive against hamas. the av fix, an emergency deal to set aside billions of dollars to give veterans the care they were promised. and a leading doctor

fighting the ebola virus dies. and migrants, the first hurdle is crossing the border, the next is dealing with the u.s. court system. ♪ there are signs tonight from israel that the three-week offensive in gaza could go on much longer. flairs and rockets lit up the sky over gaza in the past two hours. the israeli military warned people in several communities to get out. [ shouting ] . >> earlier today rockets hit a playground and a hospital. hamas blames israel. israel blames hamas. at least five israeli soldiers were killed in a mortar attack. and israeli says it stopped hamas fighters from getting into israel through tunnels. nick schifrin has more.

nick? >> reporter: john, good evening, it's as loud as deevent of night as we have seen in a long time. we're watching flairs right over gaza city. we're hearing drones, and the sounds of major israeli strikes into gaza city. and behind me, the rest of gaza is in total blackout. now this follows one of these most grim days that the people of gaza have had to experience for the last few weeks. and i should warn our viewers tonight's story contains graphic images that are difficult to watch. earlier today, there was some celebrating for the muslim holiday of eve, that marks the end of the holy month of ramadan, but by the end of the day there was anger and shock instead of cheer. for the children this is what eid is supposed to looked like.

the christian's equivalent of christmas. for a few hours the fighting slowed. they felt safe enough to play. but this war is always close. these brothers walk through their neighborhood's main street. on ether side rubble that was once houses. from their home they salvaged what they could, baby birds, the rest of the flock died, as did so many people, so many children. >> the children -- >> reporter: he describes the sounds the children made as the children fell. how can i celebrate eid he asks? he takes us back to his home. his neighborhood was the target of an air strike. his house was gutted. it's all destroyed, he says. and it's not safe. despite a lull in the fighting,

time for the holiday, israeli military fired a warning shot. they have told all residents to stay away. we and mohammed leave quickly. but on this eid for some there was no warning shots. down the streets of gaza city, they carried the bodies of the smallest victims. bodies kept coming, and at the hospital they kept arriving. a mother whales. and a father tries to wake his dead son. on the side of the strike in a pool of blood, those are children's flip flops. the bomb hit right back here and this whole area is full of damage. you can see this car right here. the glass is completely destroyed. on the side here, lots and lots of shrapnel marks, and the impact is all across the street, you can see up on that building,

full of shrapnel. >> israel says this was caused by a palestinian rocket that missed its mark. >> translator: he was just playing. he did nothing to them. god destroy them, i hope they die! >> reporter: one mile away a father buries his son. mohammed was 10 years old. he and all of the other children died just two blocks from the children we saw playing this morning. in all at least nine children died on this holiday. [ explosion ] >> reporter: john if you can hear me there was a very large, very loud rocket that just flew over head. it was such a difficult day for so many people in gaza, and of course, the fear is tonight with the israeli escalation there

will be more days like today. >> yeah, nick, we could hear that rocket. there have been warnings going out to people in gaza, how do they receive the warnings and what are they told to do? >> they receive them mostly by text message also occasional voice messages. they are told to go anywhere but where they are. this is in three neighborhoods across gaza. they are told to leave to gaza city, which is where we are, or told simply to get out of the neighborhoods. and this is about 200,000 people. this is not a small population. many of them, of course, have already left. but you are hearing from people tonight who are in these neighborhoods who got these warnings, and they say there is too much shelling already. like the rocket that just flew above us. and they say there is nowhere to

go. it's too dangerous to leave at the moment so they are hunkering down within their houses. i think it's important to note there are no bomb shelters or safe rooms. these people just simply pray and hope to survive a night like together. >> nick we have been watching with you like several tonights where you have seen attacks in gaza. why is tonight different? >> it's different for a couple of reasons john. and if i can describe the sounds, not only are we getting rocket attacks, we're also hearing small arms fire. that is new. we haven't really heard that at least from our location before, and also the scene of those flairs that we showed you, where that is, is downtown gaza city. the center of gaza strip, the

center of the city here. we have not seen the kind of fighting or heard the kind of fighting -- >> obviously we're having technical difficulties as we heard just a little while ago, nick schifrin described a rocket just overhead. we'll try to get nick in a little while. today, benjamin netenyahu said the attack will not stop. >> reporter: israeli prime minister benjamin netenyahu statement, dampening hopes of a ceasefire at least in the immediate future. he said we will not finish this military campaign until the tunnels are destroyed. >> translator: we must be prepared for a prolonged army operation in gaza. we will continue to act strongly and with responsibility until we complete our mission. >> reporter: in terms of israeli support, and israeli public opinion, people for the most

part, the vast majority of israelis support the government. there are several reasons for that. there are the media, messages that they are receiving from israeli media, and the israeli military about the number of tunnels that have been found, and the number of rockets coming into israel. israel is also tired in the sense that they have seen this conflict play out before. and they want something different this time. and they also -- [ technical difficulties ] then they have in previous years. on sunday night, sirens sounded further north. >> that's kim vinnell reporting. warren hoed is vice president at the international peace institution.

warren welcome back. >> nice to be back here. >> what do you make of what you have been seeing don't? >> well, i have been watching it today from the institute that i now work, which is across the street from the united nations. and watching it with some despair, and also from the standpoint of how little the un and by extension the u.s. can seem to do in this situation. we have been walking about the war of wores, the pr campaign has been going on on both sides. there has been a lot of criticism about how the media is covering the story. >> i'm seeing it here in new york and relatively proud of how the media -- at least that i watch is covering it, because the complaints seem to be from people who are criticizing the media for devoting too much attention to the violence in

gaza, too much to the suffering on the ground. and that's what they ought to be reporting on. >> and on the palestinian side, they say american newspapers and television aren't getting enough of their side. is that true? >> i don't think that's true, but i -- >> you are a well-read guy. >> i know i used to be the foreign interviewer, and i know the attacks from both sides are just constant. >> when you look at what the united states might be doing, do you see that there's something that the secretary of state of president obama ought to be doing that they are not? >> i really don't? because the u.s. has lost so much leverage in the middle east. john kerry himself and -- i was thinking about this earlier today. there has been a real reaction in washington in the white house about the personal tone of the criticism of kerry. the defense minister of israel

accused kerry of being obsessive, that was his word about peace between the israelis and the palestinians. this is the defense minister of israel saying john kerry is being obsessive about my country. and the people in the white house took it very hard. i know today they have come out and complained about the specificity of the complaints from the israeli side about john kerry. >> there are some who also say that the longer this goes on that it unifies israeli's opponents, its critics. what do you say? >> i think that's probably true, because it's pretty unbearable to watch this continuing violence. but this is why i think this time is different from similar situations from hamas and even with hezbollah.

the pattern used to be that israel would attack after what they felt like was a provocation from hamas. they would be criticized for disproportion at disproportion ate violence, the body count would rise, and then the international community would demand it be stopped. and thigh would stop it eventually. that is not going to happen this time, because neither side wants a ceasefire. they only claim they can stop the resist dance -- >> warren let me interrupt you and go back to nick. nick, first of all, i'm assuming you are okay. but tell us more about the fighting going on on the ground right now. >> yeah, thanks, john. we are okay. it seems to be a technical

difficulty rather than any effect from an attack. but the attacks are quite close. what we saw earlier was a rocket leaving gaza, going into israel. so those rockets are continuing tonight. about a mile or two south of me. that's south, the mediterranean sea is to my right. you have what we haven't seen before. you have flairs over gaza city. you have got multiple drones over gaza city. you have what sounds like intense shelling into gaza city. and that's different. behind me, all of this blackout, that's north gaza, that's where a lot of the attacks have been, because that's where a lot of the rockets and tunnels are, north and east gaza. right now that's quiet. gaza city is the epicenter of the fighting right now.

and we have heard fighting -- this is about 3:15 in the morning, but not like this. >> we have heard about the rockets and the mortars, but -- but this fighting that is on the ground, is this door-to-door, israeli troops moving through gaza city? >> we don't know that. and when i called israeli officials just before this, and yes, believe it or not there are some who are still awake. they say they can't comment, which means they are in the middle of something, so we don't quite know what is happening. but the targets we know are in gaza city, because the flairs go up so that israeli soldiers can see where they are going or so israeli commanders can see where they are targeting, and if that is inside gaza city that's where the flairs would be, and we have heard consistent shelling from that area, a couple miles south

of me from the sea, as well as the drones flying ahead. we haven't heard as many drones like we have tonight in the past few days. we don't know quite what the targets are in gaza city, but we are hearing reports of air strikes, again on homes, and small arms fire, and that's new. >> you talked about the warnings, and warnings that went to people in gaza city. how many people got these warnings? how many people had to get out? and where could they go? >> so the number of people who got the warnings, or at least the number of people who are registered in those areas, so the israelis can call or text them, there's about 250,000 people, give or take 50,000 or so. many have already left. there is a number somewhere between 0 and 250,000. many of those people say they have nowhere to go.

either the un shelters, which they consider unsafe. private homes they can go to in gaza city, but many of those are completely overcrowded. we saw one that has 50 in it, because of all of these people who were displaced from their homes. and the borders themselves are tightly controlled, and so they simply have nowhere to go, and many say it's too dangerous to move. that warning came after dark, and we don't move after dark. many don't move after dark. so the warning came after dark, and many thought it was too dangerous to move. and in those neighborhoods the violence started shortly after the warnings. and that meant that people have to hunker down. nick feel free to jump in on this conversation. he is talking about how it is

different tonight. you were talking about how this particular offense if is different from other cycles of violence. get to that again, would you. >> i don't think the ceasefire will happen like it has in past conflicts. where both sides, either hamas or hezbollah will claim it resists the israeli incursion, and the israelis will say we were able to degrade the weaponry, and then they stop for two or three years and come back and do it all over again. that isn't going to play out the same way this time, because both hamas and israel are committed to continuing this. hamas must continue resisting because that's all it has left. and israel as we heard from the prime minister, hasser -- has decided it will continue. >> the more they resist, the more israel intensifies its attack and kills civilians and

fighters. >> the more civilians die. but that plays into -- also hamas is able to turn that to its advantage and say look at the massacre. i'm not agreeing with that approach, but that has the effect of prolonging this thing, and that's why i think it will take much longer than it has in past instances. >> let me go back to nick one second. nick, are you getting any other information from the israelis about how long they think this will go on? >> i think warren is right. and to add to the belief that this will go on for a while likely, is what they are saying publicly, and the pressure, and not stopping the pressure here. despite the violence and deaths,

the underlying notion is that if hamas gives up now, they will consider hamas weak. they will consider, well, why did we just go through this? that's why they would question. they will say hamas didn't actually have the ability to keep fighting, and therefore they will be seen as weak, and hamas' hold on gaza is not non-linon -- monolithic at all. hamas is trying to juggle politically all of these fighting groups as well its own fighters, and trying to get that support from its people. a lot of people here are putting pressure on the leadership to continue the fighting even though that that will likely mean more people will die here. >> there are plenty of people, warren that are holding out for

peace, but there doesn't seem to be much hope. >> and also the aspect from my point of view is it means the united nations, and united states, and even egypt can no longer play a meddling role because they are not trusted. >> warren hoag, and nick schifrin, thank you to both. coming up an increase in reports of anti-semitism around the world. we'll look at whether the fighting in gaza is the reason behind that. and a new plan to fix the va.

more fighting and protesting today. some in support of palestinians, others support israel, like the demonstration at the united nations today. and john terrett was there. >> john, the longer this conflict has gone on, cities around the world have seen protests in favor of the palestinian cause. now worried that their message is not being heard, israeli supporters have begun hitting back. starting with this protest right outside the world body in east manhattan, which new york police estimate is 10,000 strong.

>> the united nations unfortunately sometimes does not do the right thing, and they say things that -- that make no sense condemning israel for taking military action to protect innocent civilians -- >> it's really unfortunate how the media has been misrepresenting the situation. suffering is not something that anyone should have to endure. i view the palestinian people as hosta hostages held by hamas. >> the media in general has been very unkind to israel. we have to make sure that a large core of people support israel. >> we have seen so many people delegitimize the jewish people. especially at the time of the holocaust. now they seek to delegitimize the jewish state. there is freedom of speech and

we respect that, but when we have freedom of speech to defend ourselves also, we know we can make a difference. especially here in front of the united nations. >> reporter: the longer this conflict rumbles on, organizers say it's more likely there will be rallies like this in cities around the world. ordinary people having their say on both sides of the conflict. meanwhile a peaceful solution seems to elude leaders. on capitol hill new details of a multi-billion dollars plan to get delayed health care to america's veterans. mike viqueira has more. >> reporter: the first votes have not been cast, but it seems as though congress is making progress on solving an intractab intractable problem.

what to do with the va, over charges that some veterans had to wait days weeks to get care, and in some cases it even cost them their lives. the two chairmen of the veteran's affairs committee shaking hands on the deal. and here a are a few details. $10 billion -- and this is really the cornerstone, john -- if you have to wait more than two weeks for an appointment, then you would be free to go to a private doctor, and that would cost some serious money. also if you live outside of a 40-mile radius, you can go to a private doctor right away. there's $5 billion in this bill for more doctors and nurses, another $2 billion for some 27 facilities around the country. it was bernie sanders and jeff

miller that shook hands this morning on this deal, and afterwards sanders lauded the agreement. >> when veterans get into the va system, they feel pretty good about the quality of care they are getting. the problem we're having with access we're going to deal with it right now short-term. longer term, i hope the va will have the doctors, nurses, and the culture to make sure that every eligible veteran in this country gets timely and quality health care when he or she needs it. >> reporter: on that last point, we have heard many people saying the culture needs to be ripped out by the roots. there is a provision in this bill that would make it easier to get rid of senior management for incompetence and dishonesty as they put it. >> what is the next step? >> well, congress is leaving.

they will be gone all of august, and september 8th is their target return date. so they are trying to get it done. $12 billion is dubbed, quote unquote, emergency sending. that's going to add to the debt. how is that going to fly with house republicans, they are likely to be very danger about it. john boehner is going to have to go to democrats to get the vote. >> all right. mike thank you. coming up next on the muslim holiday of eid, children try to celebrate the end of ramadan. and the friendship between an israeli and palestinian, they said their relationship could be a lesson for everyone. that story is next.

this is al jazeera america. coming up, anti-semiism

worldwide. and children fending for themselves in the only american court where you don't have a right to an attorney. ♪ in israel, and gaza no sign of a ceasefire as there was more fighting. tonight hamas says it has fired more rockets towards tel-aviv. flairs and rockets have been seen for hours. the israeli military had warned people in five areas of the gaza strip to get out. and the israeli prime minister warned that the offensive could expand soon. he said more time could be needed to destroy all of hamas's turnels. the israeli military said it caught several hamas fighters trying to enter israel through

those tunnels today. what else are you seeing nick? >> reporter: yeah, as you said, the home of the former hamas prime minister has been targeted. like so many of these strikes that have hit homes, the home has been destroyed according to palestinian officials, but he was not home. most of the senior leadership of hamas weeks ago went underground, so these strikes are more about sending messages than trying to kill people. in the last ten minutes or so, it has gotten a lot quieter. but you can still hear some rumblings, and certainly there is an expectation from residents that the violence will continue all night, and just now i just heard a little small arms fire, so clearly the targets are in gaza city tonight. that is new. that has not happened before. and you have 200,000, 250,000

people who have gotten text messages, voice messages from the israeli people warning them to leave the area. so clearly this is going to escalate tonight. many residents who are still there, they say it is simply too dangerous for them to leave so they are hunkering down, hoping they can make it through the night. >> as we see those flairs lighting up the gaza strip, what are the troops using those for? what are they used for? >> yeah, the flairs are illumination, basically, and i should point out now it is getting quite loud, and i think you can probably hear, an israeli drone is overhead. that's illumination, those flairs, and they will be launched from ship or with a mortar, and what people,

soldiers can do with those flairs is obviously see where they are going, if in fact that is what is happening, soldiers using flairs on the ground, or commanders, tank, military commanders, even at sea, they can see their targets that much better. so that's what any military wow would use. >> so -- so is the routine that you see the flairs come up and then rockets come in a short time later? >> yeah, i mean that's basically the notion, so for example on the border when gaza and israel, the first night of the ground operation when tanks moved in, about half a mile or a mile into gaza strip, what they did was crush the wall, shot up their flairs, and the tanks rolled in, to the point where they could see, and the tanks will keep

going all night. so that's generally what you see. the flairs go up and there's more activity, and it simply makes it easier for the israelis to move. and of course, we should point out the reason they attack at night is that they have night vision, and generally the people they were fighting do not. >> was the sound we just heard, a rocket, very close to you? >> just -- that one was not. that was some kind of small arm's fire, and again, you might have heard that just now. if you have the live feed up right now, there are brand new flairs which are just about a half a mile that way right over gaza city. and it is completely black behind me because there is a blackout. gaza itself has had about four to five hours of -- of electricity in every given community every day, so it's

basically four hours off, four hours on, that has been much more tonight. the community behind me has not had lights all night tonight. that could be another indication of israeli movement, but also of the infrastructure problems. there is very little power. in addition to the humanitarian crisis, a shortage of food, water, and sanitation as well. >> nick, the picture we're getting it appears to be -- now it's even lit up more by the flair, it appears to be a pretty large building that is sustaining an attack. and from the other angle it looks like there is a fire. can you see that or not? >> we can't see that, but i think i know where you are talking about. again, what is different tonight is these targets -- these sustained targets are in gaza city. we have seen a lot of buildings

destroyed in gaza city, but we haven't heard this kind of activity or seen this kind of activity for such a sustained night. and they come after warnings. the messages as i told you about. and benjamin netenyahu saying you have to be patient this will be a sustained attack. and the israeli military sent all of journalists a note tonight saying do not leave your hotels. it is not safe. so a lot of the hotels that t journalists are staying in on the left side. and the israeli military clearly not wanting any journalists to leave their hotels which are only about a quarter or half mile away from gaza city, and we're a little farther north. >> is that just for tonight or

for a longer period of time? >> that was just for tonight. and that is not something that we have gotten before. the israeli military about a week ago sent a note, saying you are on your own. you have to take whatever precaution you are going to do, and we don't have any responsibility for you. that was kinded of their initial warning, but we haven't heard that kind of specificity, do not leave your hotel until three or four hours ago. >> let me show our viewers of that explosion and that building we showed you being hit. the live pictures we have is smoke coming out of the building. it looks like a fire started on the roof. but you say that the israeli rockets have really been pounding buildings all around the city like this? >> yeah, and what happens when these rockets hit -- they don't necessarily start fires, but we

do see them sometimes start fires, depending on what hit that building. if there is anything flammable that it happens to hit, it would start a fire -- it could start a fire. and i think at this time of night there is no firetruck -- there's no fire company that is going to go and put that fire out, so that fire will just go all night and so will the flairs and the sounds of the drones, and the strikes from the sea. this will be a very, very difficult night for everyone here as john -- as you and i have been talking about, after one of the most difficult and grim days of this conflict. >> again, nick schifrin has been going all night, and continues to do remarkable reporting from gaza. nick thank you very much. some jewish leaders in the

u.s. say they are troubled by anti-semitic backlash. >> israel's parliament held an emergency meeting about this. >> reporter: across major european cities some protests against israel have taken a dark turn. >> you see a lot of demonstration, anti-semitism. we hear death to jews in the street. >> reporter: familiar cries heard at rallies and a hate also seen in the u.s. in miami on monday, members of a synagogue found spray paint of a swastika and victory to hamas.

from belgium to germany where some reportedly chanted gas the jews to france, home to the world's third largest jewish population. riots have broken out there repeatedly in recent weeks targeting jews. protesters torches a kosher grocery. at least eight so far have been targeted. it's so troubling the french foreign minister wrote an op-ed, insisting france is not an anti semimettic nation. >> you post these anti-semitic slogans, it's the values of the republic that are put in question. >> reporter: france has been tried to ban some demonstrations. but most protests have been

peaceful, if not passionate. >> you see a lot of different cultures here. >> european governments insist they are taking a strong stand against anti-semitism. >> jonathan thank you. two american aid workers are being treated tonight for the deadly ebola virus. both contracted the disease working with patients in a hospital in liberia. the outbreak has killed nearly 700 people throughout west africa. jacob ward is here. how is it that doctors are getting infected? >> that is one of the most alarming developments in this story. those doctors wear what are called personal protective equipment, because the transmission of ebola happens through direct contact with bodily fluids. when a patient, for instance, is

sick, vomits, if that is somehow aspirated by a doctor, that's when things go terribly wrong. these two doctors and a aid worker were wearing those suits and have somehow ended up sick. so now there is great concern that those two organizations created the policies and guidelines that these doctors were following, and yet they are sick anyway. >> obviously a lot of fear surrounding this. and a passenger died on friday on a flight to nigeria's largest city. what are the chances that other passengers may have contacted this from me? >> yes, this is a new front on this war against ebola. this passenger arrived in nigeria's largest city, turned himself into health authorities because he was sick on the plane. the thing to know about ebola is that doesn't necessarily mean that everyone else was affected.

you have to physically touch bodily fluid and get it into your mucus membranes. that said, health organizations do what is called a contact trace, where you basically do detective work to try to figure out who did the infected patient come into contact with. and now they can't account for approximately two dozen of passengers on that flight. and there is a manhunt underway in fight those passengers. >> what about the two americans they become infected. >> one is evidently showing only signs of a fever. and on a conference call this morning, we were told his family had been with him and has now returned to the united states, he was not similymptomatic at t

time they left him. so it's almost impossible that they would have brought it with him. but they are both in hospital right now. >> thank you. we have a medical journalist and infection disease specialist joining us tonight. doctor let's talk about the fear that surrounds this disease. we have seen it other outbreaks of violence. but why is it that a doctor could actually contract this? >> the physicians who are on the ground are wearing personal protective equipment. everything from masks, gowns, gloves, rubber boots, suits -- >> it looks like they taken credible care to protect themselves. >> basically none of their skin is exposed. but a former colleague of mine was recruited by the world health organization to work with them in guinea, and was there several weeks ago, and in these suits his temperature went up to

115 degrees fahrenheit. and when you are working day in and day out with very sick patie patients, you might get a little sloppy. >> but at the same time when you are talking about people on an air plain, and how do we know that that didn't get passed on to someone on the plane. >> well, it does still require direct contact. we as healthcare providers we touch patients. the average passenger -- >> and it can't live on surfaces? in >> if there are body fluids on the surfaces, yes, you can transmit. as a physician who has been called during in flight medical emergencies, i would be very concerned if i were traveling to one of these regions and were asked to assist with one of these issues. >> besides 120 degrees inside of

a suit, what other challenges do doctors face? >> well, these are traumatic situations where you are seeing people die in front of you in gruesome ways. and you are away from your friends and family, and you are in danger from infection and from heat stroke, dehydration, and so these situations really take a toll on you mentally as well as physically -- >> so they have got to take breaks? >> absolutely. they should be taking breaks, checking their heart rate, respiration, taking off the suits -- it takes ten minutes to take one of these suits off. so you really have to pace yours. >> important information, and we're learning more as this outbreak continues. doctor it's good to see you again. >> thank you. >> now to the flood of young migrants passing the border,

even before the border crisis a migrant could wait years to see a judge, and many migrant kids will go to court without an attorney. jennifer london has more on this. jennifer? >> reporter: john, children having to appear in immigration court without representation, is the basis of a class action lawsuit filed by a coalition of civil rights groups. they claim that is a violation of constitutional due process rights, and immigration law. and we have done a number of stories about where these children are being detained. but we also wanted to see what happens when this child starts making their way through the u.s. court system which is complex, it is overwhelmed, and ill equipped to deal with the tens of thousands of new immigration cases. >> reporter: each one of these files represents a child who

crossed into the u.s. illegally. all came alone, all are facing deportation. one of them is 17-year-old jose from guatemala. he asked that we not use his last name or show his face. >> translator: it was very tough for me, leaving my family, but i left the country, because i wasn't safe. >> reporter: jose has been in the u.s. since february, but still doesn't have a court date. stuck in the backlog of a system paralyzed by tens of thousands of new immigration cases. every few weeks his aunt calls the hot line and heres this. >> your case has not been filed with the immigration court. >> reporter: when jose and thousands of other children are given a court date, this is where they will appear. we were given special access on a day when court was not in session. no bigger than a large office, really.

immigration court is rather intimate. this is where the judge sits, you have a translator, and this is where the attorney for the government will sit, and this is where the child must appear. for fortunate few like jose, they will have an attorney with them, most will sit alone. lindsay is an attorney for the immigrant rights program. a non-profit based in los angeles, that gives free legal help to undocumented minors. >> i have been in court where you have a five year old sitting there with a highly trained government attorney arguing their case for why that five year old to should be deported. and the judge is asking them questions, and their feet don't even reach the floor. >> reporter: the agency that runs the court system would not speak with us on camera, but

wrote . . . we email also said that the doj has recently launched a grant program to help provide legal services to children. she says that doesn't go far enough. >> ultimately i think the only way to resolve this is to have something like a public defender system for the minors. >> reporter: even though jose's case will take years, he knows he has a head start because he has an attorney. >> translator: i pray to god everything goes well, because i want to stay in this country to study, to be someone. >> reporter: but as he si sick -- sings of hope and never giving up, he also knows the longest part of his journey has just begun. i observed immigrationer court

on two separate occasions. as i reported cameras are not allowed inside. but i was allowed inside with a notebook. one case really stood out to me where a child is a no show. the judge asked why was the child a no show? and it turns out the child was still being detained. and the court system has yet to figure out transportation for many of these children. and the judge in this case had no idea that children were even being housed at this facility, so that just gives you an example of the extent of the backlog. >> yes, tremendous challenges facing the courts and the migrant children. coming up next, the jewish american, and the palestinian, who call themselves brothers.

good evening, i'm meteorologist kevin corriveau. yesterday we had a thunderstorm with lightning, and it was across venice beach. we are looking at massive flooding going on across this region. las vegas has seen quite a bit of flooding just today you can see where the watches are in effect. this is going to continue because the moon -- monsoon is in full effect. today, this morning, we had a very rare tornado go across massachusetts. i want to go a little bit closer in and show you the damage. you can see this clump of dots. we're talk wind damage, rain damage, and new hampshire you

have flash flood warnings in effect. two young men in florida say a simple friendship can show others a path to piece. one is an american jew, the other a palestinian american. natasha ghoneim has their story. >> reporter: when these 20-somethings first met, they didn't heed the advise to avoid

talking politics. within minutes he started grilling him on the conflict. that first conversation between an american jew, and a palestinian american 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 havement families living through the current israeli/palestinian conflict, and feel a genuine desire to engage one another on what is happening here. did either of you have opinions that changed as a result of your friendship? >> absolutely. i didn't look at mohammed as he wanted to kill me. >> and when i met an israeli that would agree with me on some issues, i found our commonalities outweighed our differences. >> reporter: the two confess talking about their friendship

has stirred hatred among their respective friends, but they seem unphased. >> i consider him like my brother. >> very nice words, and the same goes for you sallom, i know we have had a lot of pushback, but i think we have also had a lot of support. >> reporter: the men are passionate about their belief, and fiercely disagree on a number of points. >> israel is fighting for its right to exist and has been since inception. >> and palestinians are also fighting for their right to exist. >> reporter: they both agree israel needs security, hamas needs to stop firing rockets, and the palestinians need equali equality. despite their long friendship,

the men have never met one another's families. they hope one day they can bring them together. and tonight our freeze frame is from right here in new york city. it's an image of the empire state building bathed in green. to celebrate the end of the holy muslim holiday of ramadan. i'll see you back here at 11:00. "america tonight" with joie chen is up next. @ce are

you on? borderland, sunday at 9 eastern, only on al jazeera america.

>> on "america tonight": immeny handed. why the latest for middle east peace talks come to an ends. and why a generation of young americans stand ready for the fight. >> if i got called, i would be on the plane. >> and the crisis on the border. boomerang that's bng