you can find us on twitter at aj this is al jazeera. ♪ welcome to the news hour, i'm sammy, live from our headquarters in doha. coming up, palestinians offer a truce, but israel says it wants to hear directly from hamas. more than a hundred palestinians have been killed in a few hours. in ukraine fighting in the east prevents invest gators from reaching the site of the malaysian airlines crash.

and haiti hopes to make a splash in the global tourism market. ♪ well first to gaza, and the ru news efforts to try to stop the fighting there? all factors will meet in cairo, and they are willing to agree on a 24-hour ceasefire. hamas says it is open to the idea. it is all part of the effort to try to end the israeli bombardment that has now killed 1, 178 palestinians. gaza is experiencing some of the worst air strikes yet after 22 days of violence. more than one in four people killed are children. the palestinian authorities says it has now filed war crime allegations against israel at

the icc. the announcement was made by the palestinian liberation organization. it says a delegation is on its way to cairo to decide on a ceasefire >> translator: after consulting with our brethren in hamas, and islamic jihad, the palestinian authority announced in the name of all of the factions our readiness to stop the fighting and agree on a 24-hour humanitarian truce in gaza. we're positively considering a 72 hour ceasefire as well. as an initial opposition for the palestinians, we welcome the idea of the ceasefire humanitarian basis, but we need the guarantee that the israeli side [ inaudible ] they have every time violated the

ceasefire. [ inaudible ] and every time a real guarantee from the united nations at least that [ inaudible ] ceasefire. >> a spokesperson for the israeli government says offer of a ceasefire is not serious unless they hear from hamas directly. james listening to the various things that have been said, is there a palestinian proposal for a 24-hourause in fighting, that has now been endorsed by all palestinian factions? >> certainly there's not been a lot of coordination, and i don't think there is a formal proposal or unconditional proposal from the palestinian side, but i think if they hear yes from the israelis, i think you have seen general agreement certainly from hamas and the palestinian authority, that they go idea with the idea which is for a

humanitarian pause. this isn't an end game. this is a pause for now, and the idea is that a joint palestinian delegation, and this is the first time they have agreed to this could go to cairo, with -- where they would first meet with the egyptians ago the palestinian position, and then potentially meet with the israelis negotiations about a final ceasefire deal. but we're a long way off from that. because we haven't heard from the israeli side as we said. >> no, we haven't heard from the israeli --

extendible cease-fire. it was immediately respected.

i issued two statement, yesterday and today. i hope together with the security council presidential statement i hope parties will really honor and respect international joint efforts. thank you. >> about the admission of israel that, in fact, shell hit a school, does that, from your point of view, square the responsibility despite the explanations of israel that well, there was wounded, not dead. and why is it taking so long for you to have this investigation concluded even though there are people telling you clearly what has happened, particularly for the palestinians it is your responsibility as an united

nations to provide palestinians international protection. can you address both points, please. >> i understand your concern. that is min my also deepest concern. we have a continuing situation. yesterday during we were able to see firsthand the situation. but this investigation has continued to have a conclusive result on what has happened, and i've been urging that those who have committed this attack should be brought to justice.

but you remember in 2009 the shelling of israeli tanks. i went there myself. this time because of the whole continuing violence and situation i was able only to speak with our staff by video, and i expressed my solidarity [ technical difficulties ] >> the poorly equipped fire services in gaza fight yet another blaze. attacks like these come after the heaviest bombardment o gaza city in more than three weeks since the conflict began.

[ explosion ] >> flairs and explosions lit up the night sky. another blast, more destruction, more deaths in palestine. [ explosion ] >> air strikes like this, one of three targeting a building in the morning light fishermen went to inspect the destruction. there has been a constant bombardment in this area, but there it was very early in this the morning that there was a sudden lull that lasted about a half hour. and then there were three air strikes in the building behind me. the streets were virtually empty as we drove around the gaza city. one of the largest mosques in gaza was also targeted. firemen finally arrived to put out the blaze. young men try to retrooe what they can. >> translator: i'm collecting the qurans. >> reporter: the finance

ministry was hit and leveled. >> translator: we heard a massive explosion, we were terrified. >> reporter: red cross vehicles head toward smoke. various houses along the street have also been hit. this man said he came with as many of his family as he could. >> translator: we fled thinking it fight be safer here. there were many of us. where do we go next? when is this going to end? this >> reporter: the israeli military has warned people to leave their homes in various areas across the gaza strip. it says it will expand its campaign. that mission it seems is now targeting officials. the home of hamas leader was hit but no one was hurt. rockets were fired from gaza into israeli territory too. but they were intercepted by the iron dome or fell on empty ground. the israeli government says it is trying its hardest to avoid

killing civilians. it blames hamas for using people as human shields. but its high-tech drones keep guiding its missiles in and the innocent continue to die. >> translator: we must be prepared for prolonged military situation in gaza. we will continue to act strongly and with responsibility, until we complete our mission. we know there are hard days ahead of us. this is a hard and painful day. we have to have patience and be determined to continue the struggle against a murderous terror organization which aspires to destroy us. >> reporter: to other news at least 30 people have been killed overnight in benghazi. however, rebel groups pushing

for control of tripoli airport have announced a 24-hour ceasefire that would help put out a raging fire. >> reporter: it looks like an impossible job from the ground, trying to put out a massive fire while rebels fight nearby. the oil depo that is burning out of control, has 6 million liters of fuel stored there. there are fears it could ignite a giant fire ball. the fire was started by stray rockets from rival militias. rebels have been fighting each other for more than two weeks around tripoli. there is also fighting in benghazi. rebels have taken control of the city's biggest military camp. libya has already experienced a 20% drop in the oil production. people are suffering both because of the lack of security

and lack of oil. >> reporter: libya is the world's third largest producer of oil, so how is it possible not to have oil? >> reporter: more than 5,000 people have fled the violence in libya by crossing the border intoty knee sha. they include libyans, foreigners, and diplomats. >> our understanding is that approximately 4,500 indians are registered there. >> reporter: other countries including the u.s., britain, egypt, and turkey are advising people to get out as well. solving the issue of fighting is tangled. eviden

evidence of the violence is present. still toment come on the al jazeera news hour. flying over conflict zones. the airline industry looks for ways to redoes the risk. and in echo of the cold war, washington accusing moscow of breaking a treaty. let's bring you some breaking news that is just coming in to us here in al jazeera. at least a dozen people have been killed in an attack in china's province. no further details are available. they have seen we should point out, increasing violence recently. the government is blaming it on separatists it says are determined to establish an independent state called east

turkistan. adrian what more can you tell us about this? >> well, sammy, the reports of this attack have come from china's official news agency. the report is very brief. it says basically that dozens, dozens it says, of civilians were killed in what it calls a a terrorist attack. there have been dozens of similar attacks in this province in recent months and they have blamed all of these attacks on ethnic muslim leaders who want full independence from china. they attacked a police station in a very, very isolated area. the report also says, sammy, that dozens of civilians were

killed and cars set alight. now barely a month goes by without an attack that in some way influences this province. they say those care rig out these attacks have been trained in syria and iraq. but it really is becoming the biggest concern right now. because china is essentially confronting what it hasn't before, namely urban terrorism. and that has hit other parts of china in recent months, sammy. staying with china. the communist party has launched an investigation into a former security chief. the state immediate -- media

says he is facing charges of corruption. 21 people have been killed in ukraine in the last 24 hours. and in donetsk at least two people are dead after shells hit an apartment block in the center of the city. both sides accuse each other of killing civilians. barnaby phillips is live for us in donetsk, and joins us from there now. what is the latest on the fighting? are the rebels being pushed back? >> generally they are, sammy, yes. it's clear the government is making a big push to take donetsk, which would be a huge blow for them. they are also trying to isolate the city first, cut it off from territory to the east, which at the moment the separatists control in a continuous belt all

the way to the russian border. if they can isolate this city, that would make life very difficult for the separatists gunmen who control it at the moment, they would lose an esca escape route. the government has been pushing down from the north, you were mentioning those deaths about 30 kilometers away. but on the other side, to the west and south, the government is much closer, and we did have that very flightening moment in the middle of the afternoon very close to the center of donetsk city. that's a new development. >> all right. barnaby phillips there from donetsk, thanks for that. that fighting has forced investigators hoping to get to the site of the downed malaysia

airli airline difficult. nazarene sent this report. >> reporter: the damage to the first class cabin and the cockpit has been appalling since we were here almost a week ago. there are papers strewn all over the place from the pilot's cases. flight plans just blowing in the wind. this place is just completely unguarded, the ukrainians and the separatists are battling close by. we have heard shelling in the distance. the investigators have been unable to get here so far. but we have seen holes in the metal of the aircraft which appear to show that shrapnel did hit the aircraft in places. they will be very interested in that, and also to see if there

were any remanents of explosives as well. they will need that to work out what kind of missile did bring down airliner mh17. the european union is set to impose its most punishing sanctions yet over the crisis in ukraine. russ russia's financial sectors will most likely be targeted. moscow has hit back banning the import of processed fruits and vegetables from the ukraine, and warning against similar steps against the eu. neve barker joins us life from brussels. do you know how far the eu is going to go and who they are going to target in the next round of sanctions? this >> well, it has been a long day of talks here in brussels.

eu ambassadors have been discussing proposed discussions. they have finally emerged a few minutes ago and gave us a fuller sense of exactly how far these sanctions will go. as expected the sanctions are deliberately aimed at targeting sectors of the russian economy. among some of the things listed are some of the following. i'll read them out to you. they include the russian oil sector. dual used goods, goodses used for both civilian and military purposes. russian's defense sector will also be subject to sanctions, including of course the sale of weapons to russia as well. there has been an awful lot of discussion here about whether or not french arms sales should still go ahead to russia under the current criticism that they are facing from the european

union. also there's going to be a -- a sanctions imposed on sensitive technology. we're talking about high-tech items that are manufactured in the european union that could be used within russia, within particularly its all-important vital energy sector. and all of these sanctions we gather will be reviewed in about three month's time or so. >> all right. neve barker there from brussels. thanks for that. in a sign of how tense relations have now become, washington is accusing moscow of breaking a nuclear arms treaty. the u.s. government says russia has tested a new type of cruise missile that can be armed with a nuclear war head. in 1987 it was agreed to ban the missile. russia says it has already

investigated the claims, and considers the matter closed. the obama administration is pushing back against israeli criticism of john kerry. he has been accused of favoring hamas in the latest ceasefire negotiations. patty culhane has more. >> it's simply not the way that partners and allies treat each other. >> reporter: the administration is not criticizing israel for its what it's going in gaza, but for criticizing secretary of state john kerry's effort to get a ceasefire, saying kerry was pushing a proposal they already agreed to. the egyptian proposal did not make any mention of demilitarization or tunnels or rockets. that was not in the proposal from two weeks ago that the israeli cabinet approved.

>> israel's ambassador to the u.s. made clear that israel will not change course. >> israel will destroy the tunnels we have found, and we will not stop until that job is done. [ applause ] >> reporter: prominent writers close to israel are starting to warn its leadership it could be on the verge of losing the support of the american people. television news has been showing these scenes, so proisraeli groups are trying to recapture the sentiments, countering these rallies with their own in new york. assembling their most powerful members in washington. >> a terrorist is a terrorist. and we should be very clear about that. hamas is evil. >> innocent life lost is a

terrible tragedy, and there must be no doubt who bares the responsibility for civilian deaths and that's hamas, and its sponsor, iran. [ applause ] >> reporter: the obama administration sent the national security advisor, susan rice to speak. she promised to double funding for the iron dome. she called on a ceasefire but didn't call on israel to get one. the only criticism of israeli's actions in gaza was from the soul protester who briefly interrupted the speech. >> for more on this now, let's speak to the deputy spokes woman for the u.s. department of state and joins me now from washington, d.c. good to have you with us. what is the u.s. proposing to end the conflict in gau sa?

>> well, thank you for having me today. the secretary is working very closely with our partners in the region to see if we can get an immediate shortened ceasefire in place to give us time and space to negotiate a longer humanitarian ceasefire so we can get food, medicine, and supplies into the civilians who have been so effected on the ground in gaza. that's what we're focused on right now. the details are still being discussed with our partners, but we believe this has to happen as soon as possible. >> the un secretary general ban ki-moon said on the 25th of july, i quote here, the people of gaza have bled enough. they are trapped and besieged. would you add your voice to his in saying that the siege of gaza must end as part of any arrangement to end the conflict?

>> well, look, what we're focused on right now is getting a short-term ceasefire in place without conditions so we can negotiate a longer one. clearly we have seen the toll this has taken on the civilians in gaza. but let me be clear we also believe israeli citizens can't live under the threat of rockets being fired in from gaza from hamas, and that's why you heard susan ross said we will pledge even more -- >> you are really not answering my question -- >> let me finish -- if you let me finish maybe i will. >> okay. go ahead. >> if you let me finish, maybe i will. what i was going to say was that civilians on both sides here are the casualties of this conflict, a conflict started by hamas. we have seen civilians in gaza as you asked about, but also

civilians in israel be- who actually more affected. >> i can't ask anything about civilians in gaza. so i'll repeat my question in case it wasn't clear to you, would the united states call for an end of the attack on gaza. the crippling effects of the israeli bring kayed suppress the ability of people to go about their daily lives. i reiterate my numerous calls for this blockade to be lifted once and for all. i'm not asking about your short-term ceasefire efforts. i'm asking you, does any united states as a matter matter

[ technical difficulties ] >> to get supplies and medicine and food into the people of gaza, but this is all part of a very brood strategy. the secretary has been involved in to try to get to a two-state solution here, which is in the best interests of the palestinian people. to have a state living side by side with israel. so it goes to the larger question of what you are asking. >> i haven't asked you to remove or put anything together. i am asking would you like to take this opportunity to call for an end to the siege? do you think it's normal for the palestinians to go on under siege, yes or no? >> it's not an easy yes or no question. the secretary has been working

towards a peace process here for the past year, where we could have two states living side by side in peace and security. that's what he has been working toward. but today unfortunately we confront a situation where rockets are flying out of gaza -- >> it seems to be an easy yes or no question for ores. what would you say to viewers who say the fact that you can't answer a simple question that senior un officials have spoken of really speaks to the