welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we are following for you, a middle east east fire back on the table, but we'll explain why it may not get any traction. and how intense fighting near the crash site of mh 17 is keeping investigators from doing their job. and there are new concerns about the spread of the deadly ebola virus. we'll talk to the head of the cdc. ♪ officials in gaza saying at

least 100 people have been killed in israeli air strikes and tank shelling today. the plo proposing a 24-hour ceasefire, but hamas has yet to sign off. meanwhile the palestinians are burying their dead. among them ten members from the same family. secretary of state john kerry says both sides should consider a ceasefire. >> president obama has it right, and the international community has it right, when we say it is more appropriate to try to resolve the underlying issues at a negotiating table than to continue a tit-for-tat of violence. meanwhile the death toll is rising, the numbers are changing by the minute. 1,191 palestinians have been killed more than 6900 injured. on the israeli side, 53

soldiers, 56 israelis all told have been killed, three are civilians. kim vinnell reports from the west bank. >> we have spoken to a palestinian senior official whom we can't name because he is closely involved in the negotiations with hamas, and he said he should haven't come out so quickly; that he jumped the gun in you would like. and he should have waited after a meeting due to tonight with the plo political committee. so obviously there are some divisions here, and also in the past hour or so we heard from a hamas spokesperson who said the phurricane sandyo can't speak on behalf of the resistance in gaza and saying hamas is open to the idea of the ceasefire but not until international assurances

are given that the plo would come. there should be a unity government in place, so this is an interesting development. and also as you mentioned the same official source has told us that egypt has told all sides to not go to cairo, until a ceasefire is already in place. because he also said that a palestinian delegation, including hamas and islamic jihad were due to go to cairo for talks. as the death toll rises, we are seeing some of the worse shelling since the campaign began. >> reporter: the bombing campaign continued all night and into this morning. for the first time it really focused in the middle of gaza city. this story has some graphic images. it is difficult to watch, and the bombing campaign follows one of the most grim days in this

entire war. overnight for six straight hours -- [ explosion ] . >> -- this war's heaviest bombardment shook gaza. smoke pored out of high-rises. the target was hamas's tv station. this morning that building was gutted. israel struck gaza's only power station. most of the targets overnight were symbols of hamas's power here. this was was home to hamas's number 2. this strike was much more designed to increase pressure on hamas in what israel now says will be a sustained operation. >> translator: we must be prepared for a protracted campaign. we will continue to act with force and discretion until our mission is accomplished. >> reporter: the longer the war, the greatest israel's cost.

four times as many socialeds have died in this conflict than the prior two combined. >> translator: go with peace my dear son, our hero. i love you, dad. >> reporter: just 25 miles away, down the streets of gaza city, they carry the bodies of even younger victims. the bodies kept coming. in a pool of blood those are children's flip flops. israel says this was caused by a palestinian rocket that missed his target. hamas and this little girl reject that. she lost her brother in the bombing. one mile away a father buries his son. he was 10 years old. he and at least eight other children died on eid, a holiday the equivalent of christmas.

such a difficult day, and today there are fears that that strike on the power plant isn't just about power, it's about sanitation, water, and whether hospitals can continue to function. so there is a fear that the humanitarian crisis that already existed may get worse. these are those funerals in jerusalem today. two israeli soldiers being buried. 53 have died in the operation against hamas so far. also heavy fighting in eastern ukraine. the battle is happening in donetsk and luhansk. and investigators continue to be unable to investigate the

malaysian airlines crash site. >> reporter: the damage to the first class cabin and the cockpit has been appalling since we were here a week ago. you can see the bits of metal have almost been torn apart and fallen in on themselves. and there are papers strewn all over the place. flight plans just blowing in the wind. this place is completely unguarded. the ukrainians and separatists are battling close by. the investigators have been unable to get here so far. but when they do, they will still find evidence. we have seen holes in the metal of the aircraft, which appear to show that shrapnel did hit the aircraft in places. they will ly be very interested in looking at that further and

investigating the explosives which came from a missile, they will need that to determine what kind of missile did bring down mh17. john kerry meeting with the foreign minister today. libby casey is live at the white house. libby has anything changed in the investigation? >> well, del, a team of investigators, forensic experts and neutral observers are supposed to be getting into the crash site, but they have been delayed yet again. they hope to get there within 48 hours. that is two full weeks after the plane was shot down. members of the organization for security, or osce have been blocked there the area because of heavy fighting in the region.

secretary of state kerry is calling for an immediate ceasefire in the redevelop so investigators can gain access to the site. >> the site has to be cordoned off, the evidence has to be preserved, and russia needs to use its considerable influence among the separatists in order to be able to help ensure this basic approach of common decency. >> secretary kerry pointing the finger at pro-russian separatists and also russia. >> and how has the downing of that jet liner changed russia's relationship with the u.s. and the rest of the international community. >> secretary kerry said today that there are direct

correlations between what russia is doing and what is happening on the border as well. >> but the russians in their so-called volunteers, are continuing to ship arms and funds and personnel across the border. we see this. there is clear evidence of it. we now have clear evidence of artillery and rocket fire from russia into ukraine. and while the russians have said they want to de-escalate the conflict, their actions have not shown a shred of evidence that they really have a desire to end the violence and the bloodshed. >> that has motivated the european community to work with the u.s. at this point to impose stiffer sanctions. the u.s. before this was mostly

going it alone. so now the sanctions are going into place. they are target, banks, and oil industry materials, and they'll go after some of the rush oligarchs. so we see this happening on the border with ukraine, as well as trying to influence to allow access to the crash site, del? >> libby thank you very much. a lawsuit seeking to remove a cross from the 9/11 museum has been rejected. a cross-shaped steal beam that was found at ground zero. the group is now considering whether to take the case all the way to the supreme court. straight ahead on al jazeera

america, we'll talk about the ebola virus outbreak.

it the largest outbreak of oh bole la ever recorded. hitting africa hard. killing more than 600 people. the concern is twofold. the disease could spread globally and is taking its toll of the doctors trying to treat the patients who are infected. friday an american died after he collapsed in the airport in nigeria. he had been working in liberia. now two other americans have contracted ebola. the doctor on the left was working for an aid group in liberia, meanwhile there are gr growing concerns that the outbreak is spreading.

there are more than 1,000 infections. the death rate, 90% among those infected. we are joined from the headquarters of the c dc, doctor thank you for being with us. how bad is the outbreak we're seeing in africa, and how curb -- concerned should our audience be that it will spread to the u.s.? >> well, it is proven to be a real challenge to get under control. that said, i don't think that the risk for international spread is necessarily quite large. this is an outbreak who's characteristics are known how to control, and that is to find cases quickly, contact -- trace all of those associated with those cases, and monitor the contacts closely for 21 days. the goal is to snuff out the

outbreak. >> but one of the things that the audience is so concerned about is the fact that we're seeing doctors being infected with the virus, and these doctors have taken all precautions that are necessary. and two doctors have now been infected or died and two aid workers as well. >> don't mistake my comments. i didn't say there is no reason to be concerned. i said -- and this outbreak is quite large and the number of workers involved is very significant. we are helping to investigate the circumstances around the transmissions, but the key is to be able to recognize cases and implement good precautions. sometimes the lapse is not the ability to implement the infection control, but actually recognizing the cases occurring.

and those unrecognized cases are sometimes a source of transmission. both of those things need to be addressed. in addition epidemics don't occur in a vacuum. >> let me ask you this, then. i have been to that airport. it is a room where they check your pass port and then you leave. so who are watching? and how secure are the airports when it comes to these decides, and if i'm on a plane how do i know somebody infected is sitting next to me? >> those are good questions. and the government have been looking at additional ways to implement screening in those airports, and i think being able to provide better management -- >> what about in the u.s.? >> i think the most important thing to control these epidemics is to control them at the source

rather than the points of entry. 90% or so of the international air travel to the u.s. comes indirectly through other points very few passengers are arriving on direct flights. so the dilution effect of doing entry screening is not necessarily the best way to go. what can be done at the source is the most important aspect of control. >> but if you don't mind me being argumentive, is enough being done at the source. you are talking about a country that was torn apart by war for decades, it is now getting back on its feet, so when americans think about airports they think about places like dallas or jfk, but they don't think about what these airports look like.

is anybody really watching at these airport airports? >> you are raising a really good point. this epidemic is not under control. the international community is fully engaged. who is assisting coordination with many non-governmental organizations and partners as well as cdc's deployed teams, and more needs to be done to get the epidemic under control. identifying cases early, and making sure contacts are on fever watch and unable to cross borders is very critical. >> doctor thank you for being with us, because this is very confusing and concerning. >> thank you. house republicans working on a bill before friday's recess in

august. g.o.p. leaders say they are confident they can get the votes to pass the bill before they leave. that legislation expected to cost less than $1 billion. and the white house is also said to be working on a plan to give work permits to millions of migrants. there are media reports suggesting that the plan would be for immigrants under the age of 30 who arrived in the country before their 16th birthday. there is a new agreement to help veterans. house and senate negotiations approved the measure today. it comes on the reports detailing the long wait times for veterans hoping to get care. >> reporter: a rare compromise between the two, who say their

$17 billion deal is an emergency fix for a broken system. >> this agreement will go a long way to helping resolve the problem out there today. >> a national disgrace. >> reporter: the va has been plagued for scandal, a major black log of veterans waiting for care. >> you can't do veterans like this! >> reporter: this deal is designed to drive down patient wait times and hold vsa leaders accountable. another $5 billion would be used to be beef up its own hospitals by hiring more doctors and nurses, and $1.5 billion would help open up more community-based clinics. but if the private doctor part

of this deal that could make the biggest difference to veterans who need care. >> this is something that going to immediately alleviate the access crisis. >> the clock is ticking since congress breaks on friday. and coming up on al jazeera america, when you think of neighborhoods that thrive off of technology, you think about silicon valley among others, but there is a new neighborhood catering to startups. and we'll tell you the extent of the massive wildfire in yosemite national park.

welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are your headlines at this hour. talk of a ceasefire by the plo, the palestinian liberation organization, getting no support from hamas or israel. meanwhile the fighting

continues. secretary of state john kerry says there has been no shred of evidence that russia is willing to help end the violence in ukraine. the secretary of state saying the u.s. is prepared to put more sanctions on the table against russia. california home of silicon valley. now new york is on the high-tech radar as well, this time banking on harlem. david shuster reports. >> reporter: it's a harlem renaissance for the 21st century, a tech boom fuelled by a new generation of entrepreneurs. >> we opened last fall, and we have 20 startup companies in our space now, and about half work on developing new therapeutics. and then the other half of the companies work on diagnostic devices, new implantable devices, or better research tools for other life science

researchers. >> reporter: this offers a collaborative work space to experiment and fine tune new business ideas. >> they provide access to a whole bunch of professionals. it's basically a great place to do work. >> reporter: blocks away at the new harlem garage incubator, startups and small business owners rather. others take advantage of the wi-fy and work space all for as little as $15 a day. both incubators opened in 2013 with roughly a million dollars in seed money from new york city. they are part of a wider five borough initiative to launch a wide variety of businesses. with a current network of 15 ina couple bait fors, they claim

they have helped over 600 startups raise more than $125 million in venture funding. in harlem the focus is on the tech industry, in part because of its proximity to top universities. new york had added more than 25,000 high-tech jobs but most are in hot spots. by encouraging new startups to make their home in harlem, the city hopes to boost a slow but steady resurgence already underway. it's a major win for those in the industry as well. harlem offers both luxury high-rises and beautifully renovated brown stones coupled with some of the city's most talked about restaurants, the neighborhood is on the fast track to becoming new york's hot new place to live. >> we want silicone harlem

perceived as the same way you per receive any other high-tech hub. there is a fast-moving wildfire burning through four square miles of yosemite national park. it is about 5% contained but two nearby towns had to be evaluated. no injuries have been reported. the question is, are they going to get any help from mother nature and the man with all of the answers is always dave warren. >> unfortunately no. but a little cooler weather at least. a lot of the rain falling where it's still needed because the area is under a drought, but not over the dry portions of california and the northwest. temperatures are into the 80s today, maybe not quite as hot. but this is all because of the monsoon here. the monsoonal moisture comes up from the south, area of

low-pressure here, and that pulls up the moisture that produces these thunder storms that could lead to flash flooding. here is the heaviest rain today. notice it's right over eastern colorado, western kansas, and portions of oklahoma and texas. this area needs the rain, but all of it at once could lead to flooding. next area is the atlantic. that is the satellite from the national hurricane center, but these are storms that travel over a lot of water and typically turn to the north around the high-pressure, but it shows signs of development. we'll keep an eye on this over the next few days. >> dave warren thank you very much. thank you for watching al jazeera america. "people in power" is next, and

you can always check us out on aljazeera.com. ♪ it's been over 20 years since the end of el salvador's butal cival war. but it's legacy of pain an misery still lingers. until now, amnesty has shielded from prosecution those suspected of atrocities. but the discovery of a secret directory of death squad targets has given campaigners hope that the guilty can now at last be held accountable.