>> only on al jazeera america. hello. welcome to the al jazeera america news hour. coming up in the next 60 minutes: is there a ceasefire in gaza or not? the united nations says there is, but the reality is that fighting is still taking place. we will have the very latest live. hamas tells al jazeera they will not allow israelis soldiers to dismantle gaza's network. the first destruction of some parts of gaza is now being

revealed. our team's report from those locations. also, a huge gas explosion rips through a city. 25 are dead. we will have the very latest. the villages in india who depend upon a river for life and the mining pollution that's destroying it. ♪ let's begin with gaza where some early optimism about a united nations-brokered careflite is being tempered by renewed fighting. this is the scene in gaza at the moment. there has been plumes of billowing black smoke on the horizon for the last four or five hours. it seems a little bit calm at the moment. but don't be deceived by that picture of calm at the moment. israeli soldiers and

palestinians have gun fighting in what is supposed to be a .72-hour truce. the israelis saying the careflite is over. 40 have been killed in rafah. the incident led to soldiers resuming their firing. we have correspondents who have seen evidence of some of the devastation caused by weeks of fighting. this is the scene where more bodies are being found as people try to return home. >> the new deal does allow israel continuing to the destroy titles. hamas has told al jazeera if israel continues the activity, it has the right to the defend itself. the talk of a 72-hour careflite brought the under to get out and

by food. the idea seems to be under threat. a difficult situation of people who had got in the hoping of recovering belong, finding relatives or recovering the dead. what's happened in the last hour or two hours? >> reporter: well, what i can tell you, you is just a few seconds ago, i heard a large bang in the distance right over there. i don't know what caused it. we don't know what's behind it. it really just lends to the general sense of uneasy we are seeing here and it's more than just uneasy. it's utter chaos and, indeed, anger. i will have my cameraman turn and turn the camera to show what i can see. we talked a lot over the past few days about the humanitarian crisis in gaza. this is the face of that crisis. this is the face or these are the faces, rather, of the people caught up in this conflict. these are residents of schumacher.

sh suyjaya maz seem some of the worst conflict. these people came here a few hours ago because of the careflite to try to retrieceaseo return to their homes. now, here we are just a few hours later, and we are seeing a mass exodus of people. these are internally displaced people, people who can no longer stay in their homes. most of their homes are rubble. they had a few hours to go back to salvage whatever they could, whatever few belongings they had left. but now, here they are even though they were told that it would be a 72-hour cease-fire. a few hours later, they are leaving. >> also, over the last few hours, we have heard over in the skies drones, possibly aerial bombardment. what have you been here okay that front? because that plays significantly to whether this ceasefire is

actually in place or not. >> yes, as well as what we believe are other airstrikes or drone strikes. we have also heard the sounds of munitions fire, small arms fire. it really just lends to that general sense of uneasy and insecurity here on the streets and why so many thousands of people are leaving here they don't want to get caught up in the violence that has gripped so many parts of the gaza strip. they don't want to lose their lives like the more than 1400 people whom already have. they don't want to be injured, some critically like the more than 8,000 people who already have. >> that's why they are fleeing. major are going to try to go back to the schools they were sheltering, the u.n. schools they were sheltering in. over the past week, two schools were targeted by israeli shelling killing well over 2 dozen people. they stay in shugyea or they

leave. for the thousands of people who are behind me, they are choose to go leave. >> for the moment, we will leave you there and continue to follow the coverage. with our other correspondents in the area, charles stratford is in gaza city and joins me on the li line. i think we have lost charles for the moment. these are the scenes from gaza at the moment t seems like there is calm, certainly with the images we are showing you right now. but over the last three to four hours, we have seen large plumes of black smoke hitting certain parts of the gaza strip. let's go over to west jerusalem where our diplomatic editor, james bays has been following events with me over the past five hours. it has been non-stop. the story has changed significantly. neither side has said at the moment that the ceasefire is officially off and there would,

i presume, be a lot of phone calls and conversations happening behind closed doors to try to find out what the situation really is like right now for the people that matter the most. >> so, there is no doubt because you have watched it on your television screens unfold here on al jazeera that there have been serious violations of the ceasefire. can it be put back in place? i think that is the big question right now. now, it's worth me giving you some of the information we have from a number of different sources. we are constantly trying to sift through information, trying to discard what are just rumors and trying to give you what we think are interesting, credible reports. and i think the one that is worth mentioning to you first so is what a lot of israeli media are reporting. we cannot independently confirm this. >> that's that israel has told the united nations that it believes the ceasefire has now

ended. we have put that to an israel foreign ministry spokesman. they say they have seen the reports in the israeli press. they say they can neither confirm or deny. it is said the military will respond when fired on. but as i say, it won't say what the ceasefire is over at this stage. i suspect that means there are contacts going on and maybe the israeli media even right about the what has been said in a private phone call but for now, foone wants to be the one to announce anything. i suspect international mediators involved. not just the u.n. but the u.s. and regional players are trying, rather desperately i would think now to see if they can get it back on track. >> james, stay there for a moment. i will come back to you. we want to get back to our correspond events we are losing communication with.

it's a dicey situation. charles stratford joins me from hozar. an area that was previously too dangerous to go into. just tell us what you are seeing and hearing right now. >> reporter: listening to james there and these efforts to try to get a ceasefire organized, what we have seen this morning is graphic evidence of just how difficult that is. we went to the village of qazar near the town of

. we couldn't get further forward. we don't know why that happened. absolutely no sign of a ceasefire there.

the villagers say it has been hit very hard in the last time to try to get in by ambulance and pull bodies out and get people out there. it would be surprising if someone is living there. completely uninhabitable. one ambulance is trying to get in. we saw a number trying and failing. for the bodies pulled out on donkey carts or on stretchers and loaded on to these ambulance at this large wall of mud that has been erected by a crater from an israeli shell and bodies were being taken back in. as i say, listening to these efforts towards a ceasefire, we were two and a half hours into it when we arrived there and the tank shelling started. absolutely mahem down here in the south of the gaza strip. >> we will come back to you with

th that, charles, as you have more information. charles stratford, our correspondent near hazar. let's get back to james in west jerusal jerusalem. the pictures speak for themselves as charles said, you know, flattened like and it was a scene like out of world war i. the stench of death is being all around you. bodies carried out by carts. >> effort has been ceased because of thegoing and renewed fighting in the area. so the question now, really, james is: what state -- as we mentioned a few moments ago, is the ceasefire in? and in terms of the diplomacy in making sure that the ceasefire remains intact and this can be moved forward to cairo where negotiations for some things long-term were perhaps the hope of many in the region. >> yes. i think the reality is

so. you see these pictures. i think it's pretty clear. the ceasefire has collapsed. buzz no one is going to announce it because behind the scenes, they are trying to put it back in place. i think that's what's going on. no one wants to pronounce the death of this ceasefire because there are a lot of efforts in the international community to try to speak to both sides and to stop the guns again and that, i am sure, is what is going on behind the scenes right now. for now, what is supposed to happen next, the next stage, appears to be on hold. we understand a palestinian delegation made it to jordan. it's not going to cairo. reports coming from ramallah suggesting that the egyptians are actually calling off the talks for now because of the ongoing violence. the israeli delegation, we understand, because in a few hours here, it will be shabat, which is the jewish holy time, they will not actually be leaving until saturday evening is the plan to cairo. not clear whether the tedelegatn

will go according to the israeli media. it is suggested they have told the u.n. this truce is over. i have to say, though, it is very significant that no one is actually publically announcing anything. there is no public announcement coming from the israeli prime minister or foreign ministry. there is no public announcement coming from the united nations. they say they are aware of the apparent breaches of the ceasefire. they are watching the situation very closely. they are varied worried about the situation but they are not pronouncing on whether this ceasefire is continuing or whether its ended. it has in my view collapsed but they are working behind the scenes to see if they can put it together quickly. >> we will see what happens and continue to monitor this, you and i, james, for the moment. a little earlier, hamas told me here on al jazeera that it cannot accept continued israeli operations. a lot senior hamas leader: >> i think israel has no right

now to continue the military operation on the ground because they will use it in order to demolish homes, to demolish more farms on the ground. it will be open for israel to do what she wants and at the same time, this is not fair. we talked to the negotiators that if israel continues its military operation on the ground, it is our right to the defend ourself and take mess you're measures against them. >> a senior official who joins me on the phone from ramallah. thank you for joining us live on the phone. can you confirm the stat u.s.a. of the ceasefire as far as fattah is concerned and as far as the palestinian authority is concerned? >> i can confirm to you as far as the palestinians, all of the palestinians are concerned because this is an attack on all of us.

thet in gaza t there is no shaky quiet. there is as mass murder, now up to 50 civilians have lost their lives. hundreds are injured. entire families are out. >> we are reporting that, sir. i asked you that. we are reporting that, sir but the question i asked you is: as far as the palestinian authority is concerned, are you observing and respecting the ceasefire, or is the ceasefire off? >> what you are observing is that israeli tactically has been engaged on day 1 on the talk about ceasefire but on the ground, israel has been going with its operation. >> we will ask israel it's position. i am asking you as the palestinian authority and fattah: is the ceasefire intact? are you respecting the ceasefire as far as the palestinians are concerned? >> as far as the palestinians are concerned k the ceasefire

started 8:00 a.m. today and i have not followed or documented any palestinian activity. >> in terms of the way you move forward now with regard to the incidents that we are witnessing at the area, what is your reaction to the shelling or the firing that we have heard from, we heard about from our correspondents? >> say it again. come again. >> what is your reaction to the deaths of those that we are reporting as well at al jazeera from our correspondents on the ground? >> that israel is really strategically going ahead with it. we warned it is going to happen. we warned from a wholesale murder. i think israel has called another 16,000 for 48 hours ago and i don't think israel has any change of heart or plan. all of this is just again to

find another pretext of israel. not pretext but with mounting international pressure, israel wants to find again another excuse to go ahead and obliterate gaza, entire cities again and i warn of what israel is about to do in the coming few hours in this. >> what is your position then with the potential for talks in cairo? are you still sending a delegation? and now that the ground realities seem to have changed in southern gaza, what is the message you are taking to cairo? >> the message is that there is one united palestinian position, one united palestinian front. >> that's the plo, including hamas or in addition to hamas and islamic jihad and this position has been made public. this aggression must end and political discretion about the immediate end of siege and all of the other major issues

including the position that this whole israeli onslaught is a coup de tete on the government and our response is to confirm the national consensus government, confirm the political united position and stand together against another chapter of israeli onslaught on the very people of palestine. >> dr. husband a.m. zom lot, thank you for respond to go our questions and for this interview

at the american university in beirut, a regular contibutor, thank you for your time, mr. curry. when you hear of ceasefire and you see and hear what's going on at the moment, is it really a ceasefire? >> obviously not. i think it really never had a chance to take hold because if the terms are as you describe them and as they have been published in the press that both sides would stop shooting but the israelis could continue to go after the hamas tunnels, that's not a ceasefire. >> that's a one-sided submission by the palestinians and the israelis continue to do what they want. but this is typical of what the americans have been negotiating for years, which is diplomatic political arrangements that fundamentally respond to what the israelis want and give the

palestinians a little bit of left overs, whatever is there and, therefore, clearly, it had no chance to take hold. it's troubling, also, that this is now becoming the egyptian position. the egyptians historically have had a major role as mediators because they have a peace agreement with israel, because they are close to gaza and the sta pat stennians and that position of egypt as a credible mediate offer that the palestinians and arreabs could trust, that seemso be crumbling as well and falling into the american/israeli basket. >> that's trouble if anything it continues. hopefully, it is just a momentary hiccup. >> watching live pictures now and there is smoke billowing from the skyline as i see it from gaza. so the question even as we put it to dr. zomlot a few moments ago is: where do you go with talks in the negotiation into cairo? because neither side said the ceasefire over but the pictures speak for themselves and

certainly what are reporters on the ground are saying they are seeing speaks volumes. also, there are groups in cairo. the israelis, palestinians, various faxes of the palestinians and stake holders, regional powers that some of them will talk to each other. some of them won't. some refuse to acknowledge the existence of each other. how is this negotiation, do you think, going to begin, or is that dead in the water as well? >> well, i don't think you actually have a real negotiation going on. what you have is in diplomatic circles, the mirror image of what you are seeing in the media, for instance, where pro-israeli groups and pro-palestinian groups put our their positions but they are not really negotiating in a manner that responds to the corps priority interests of both sides simultaneously. that's how you get ceasefires. >> that's how you end conflicts. >> that's not happening. the israelis think they can dictate the terms of what's

going on because they have more military power and total green light from the united states and quiet and semi acquiesce he knew on much of the part of the arab world unfortunately but the results are not pleasing to israel because a few hours ago we had reports that seem credible that an israelis soldier has been kidnapped and captured alive by hamas. we will see if this is verified or not. but this is something that tearfies the israelis. and clearly, the capabilities of hamas and islamic jihad groups are increasing despite the incredible onslaught from israel. there is no negotiation really. and that's what has to happen. the king of saudi arabia is supposed to make a public statement in a couple of hours. i think people will listen to that very cable to see what is going to come out of him. these have been heavily backing the egyptian government under president sisi and the egyptian government and sisi are quickly

losing their credibility and their stature in the arab world becau because of what have they are doing. you have this incredible political diplomatic military strategic dynamic taking plates now in which the e job descriptions, the americans, the saudis and others are rapidly losing the credibility that they once had and therefore losing their ability to influence events on the ground while meanwhile, in iraq and syria, you see islamic state becoming scary year. there is real fear a all across the region that we may be on the verge of a cataclysmic fall into an abyss that is going to frighten everybody and devour everybody. what you are seeing in gaza may actually happen in other places, including israel. this scares the day lights out of everybody. so the time for serious negotiations is here we

don't have any serious mediator. the americans and e job descriptions certainly do not fit that bill. the time is here where serious adults need to take hold of this situation and sit down with all of the parties and knock heads. >> we will see who does step up to the plate and take that mantel and role in the coming hours or days. for the moment, thank you for joining us in beirut. these are live shots out of gaza. various plumes of dark smoke have risen from the gazan skyline. we are now in to five hours of a 072 hour ceasefire that was supposed to take hold about five and a half hours ago and within the first two hours, we heard of skirmishes. more than just skirmishies. firings on these southern tips of gaza and also reports of

rockets being fired into israel into the escalan area. those have yet to be confirmed. both sides, israelis and palestinians maintain that for the moment, the ceasefire remains in place. well, of course, bring you more on what's going out -- coming out of the middle east in the gaza as the program processs. ♪ other news now, there has been a series ofplosions notice taiwanese city killing at least 25 people. they happened in the district of the center of the city. now, a gas leak was reported at the junction of two main roads. a few hours later, several large explosions just rocked the same area. he mergency services called off.

here is more. >> an inferno caused by one of the gas accidents. shops and homes went up in mramz after several powerful explosions in taiwan's second largest city emergency services had responded to reports of a gas leak just a few hours earlier and security cameras caught this explosion. terrified people run out in the street. some tried to help the injured. the military has sent 1400 soldiers to take place -- take part in the recovery effort. many lives were lost. the relatives of a firefighter killed came to the shop shortly after hearing the devastating news. >> six seriously injured people are being monitored in the intensive care unit. two are in surgery. one suffered a fracture of the spine and the other has suffered a brain hemorrhage. >> this is what people saw in the morning. some of them said it looked like an earthquake had hit. the force of the explosions

became clearer in the daylight. >> live near by and i heard a loud explosion. i was shocked when i saw the street here it was a mess. >> hundreds of people have evacuated from the affected areas. >> we have brought heavy equipment to search, life detectors and search dogs. our priorities priority is to search for the missing fire fighters. >> the government says it's likely the explosions were caused by a gas used in manufacturing. there are a number of petro chemical companies operating in the area. the gaspany that supplies local households says its pipes were not affected. caroline malone, al jazeera. >> 21 ukrainian soldiers were killed overnight in the eastern ukraine. local records say the servicemen were ambushed by pro-russian separatists not far from the rebel strong hold of donetsk. their bodies could not be recovered because of the ongoing

fighting. more dutch and australian investigators have reached the flight mh-17 crash site in ukraine and begun recovery work. they will join a site who the reached there on thursday. inspection teams had been held back due to fighting in the area. to west africa where there has been a state of emergency due to the outbreak of ebola. the virus world health organizas

the u.s. peace corpse is evacuating t here in nigeria where one man is known to have died of the disease. equipment are being installed in major international airports to screen suspected cases. >> we will be able to ensure passengers that are boarding those flights are ebola-free. we are also ensuring that as soon as those passengers are ready to take off, we have lists

of the manifests which we look at and, also, we have professionals on the ground who look at the passengers, especially from areas that ebola affected. >> an outbreak in nigh year i can't would have a huge impact across the region. >> authorities see how they will have to stop the virus speeding but many fear it will find a way in through the poorous land and seaboarders. the highly contagious virus is spread through those contacted especially through bodily fluids. some say dietary habits are helping spread the disease. a combination of poor education and a fear that treatment involves completely isolation is also adding to the problem. >> they are very concerned with what type of opportunities they will have to stay in contact with their families because they know that they will be isolated and they understand why.

but they are, of course, concerned about dying alone. >> that is complicating the effort to stop the disease. the outbreak in west africa is already the worst the region has seen and both government and medical experts are bracing themselves for more bad news. al jazeera, abuja, nigeria. >> flooding causing real problems in europe, richard. >> yes. it didn't come as any great surprise. there have been warnings out for severe weather across many parts of central europe over the last few days but it's across this central swath. we have had large rainfall from austria. we have had large ones from bulgaria and 86 millimeters in 24 hours. and this is what it looked like when it hit one of serbias major mines.

see the extent of the flooding here of course, this applies to one of the country's power stages, too, although supplies weren't too badly affected. we have had another area of cloud and rain across this region, continuing to give these heavy showers. you have noticed add contrast to find moscow's 33 degrees during friday. >> will be about what? five days straight of temperatures in excess of 30 degrees for the russian capital, kiev. notice an experience in similar weather conditions. to run the forecast into the weekend, we see this area across the balkans beginning to dissipate. further towards the west, it begins to look much more unsettled across the u.k. and across france, too. we could well see significant storm activity developing here all in all, despite warm weather, there is stormy weather to come over the next few days. >> just a reminder of our top stories, israeli leaders reporting that the planned

72-hour ceasefire is over. rafah has been the scene of intention fighting for the last few hours and at least 40 people have been killed in and more than 100 injured. renewed israeli tank shelling. 10 members of a family were killed south of the strip. negotiations were due to be held in egypt during the ceasefire. in another news, a series of massive gas explosions in taiwan have killed 25 people and injured hundreds more. the blast happened in the city of kalsong late on thursday evening. we will return to, of course, gaza, a story that we are continuing to monitor here around the clock. joining me in west jerusalem is james bays. james, we just spoke to ram rami khoury in bayroom he said it would be difficult now for the united states and egypt to act as honest brokers and

mediators in any negotiations that happen in cairo. >> will be problematic because israel looks to those two countries for its main support in the region. >> absolutely. >> that's if there are going to be any negotiations in cairo. it's clear, i think, from everything that we have watched so together and the viewers have watched of the pictures coming from gaza. the ceasefire has collapsed. but i think what is going on, en though you are hearing from the israeli media the fact that they say that israel has phoned the u.n., robert seri, no one is announcing it's over. there has been no formal announcement from israel. we have spoken to the foreign ministry here in israel and a spokesman has told us, yes, hamas has breached the ceasefire. they blame hamas entirely. when you ask the question: is the ceasefire over? they do not answer that question.

so, nothing from israel saying it's been completely breached and is over. nothing from hamas. nothing from the u.n. yet it's clear from everything we have seen that it's collapsed and there has been a great deal of violence. i think what's going on is behind the scenes action they are trying to rescue this. they are trying to rebuild this and put it back in place before everyone declares the final death of it. i think that's what's going on right now. a very desperate attempt to try to rebuild this ceasefire and get things back in place. for now, as you say, the idea of these talks in cairo is very much on hold. we understand the palestinian delegation went to aman, the jordanian capital to head to cairo. some of those coming from the west bank, we believe there were supposed to be some actually coming from gaza, itself. they are not currently going to cairo. they haven't traveled to cairo and the israeli delegation hasn't left here either. >> we want to cross over to one of our correspondents in gaza who has been following events.

let's just get an update. the situation was quite grave a little while ago. people scurrying away from the area thufringing the fighting might reach them again. >> that's right. you can see behind me there is a large number people leaving shujayea, an area which has seen intention fighting over this 25-day conflict. they were only in this area a few hours. they came when they heard the ceasefire started. they came to see what's left of their homes and salvage what's left of their lives and then there was aerial strikes not far from here. drones started hovering overhead. there was the sound of small arms fire and word that israeli snippers were in the area. >> that's why so many people fled. in fact, to give you a sense of how people are feeling, one woman we spoke to was in such a state of anguish, tears

streaming down her face, she nearly fainted because she was just in her own words so exhausted from all of the fighting, so exhausted from not having anywhere to go. >> what are you actually seeing and hearing right now? because it is sporadic. it's intermittent, but we have heard of droeningz in the sky, possibly military aircraft as well. and the odd third here and there. how do you gauge the situation at the moment? >> here in gaza city, the situation is pretty unpredictable. as you rightly point out, we hear the buzz of drones and the thud of what we believe are airstrikes or artillery shelling but what i can tell you is that we are hearing from areas in rafah, the border which separates gaza and egypt. what we are hearing is that there is very intense fighting there. in fact, in the last hour or so, we understand that 40 people

have been killed in intention shelling by israeli forces and many dozen more have lost their life or rather have been badly injured. we are hearing the reason for tha that what precip that i had fight something an unknown number of israeli soldiers were killed in fighting there and that is why we saw this sharp uptick of shell and airstrikes. what we are also hearing is that one soldier is unaccounted for. and i want to press the word "unaccounted for." we don't know what's happened to him. we don't know if he's been killed and his body seized by palestinan fighters or if he has been kidnapped or taken captive. one is unaccounted for. but again, a very, very bloody scene in rafah, which is seeing very intense fighting, fighting which we understand is still ongoing. >> that's the development over the past hour or so. we will come back to you for an

update. let's go back to james who has been listening in, in west jerusalem on our diplomatic editor. this could have been what precipitated, james, perhaps as we look at the gazan skylight, pretty quiet from where we are looking on. this is what could have precipitated the fighting in rafah. at the same time, the ceasefire was supposed to have been implemented, both sides trying to get down to the bottom of what's going on rafah and see whether it can be salvaged in any way. >> absolutely. so in the last few moments, while speaking with reports from the ground from gaza, the israeli military have issued a statement saying the military confirms that they suspect that a soldier has been kidnapped. >> a statement released literally in the last minute by the israeli military. so we are hearing it from here as well from the israeli military.

they are confirming that they suspect -- they are not confirming one has been kidnapped but they are confirming that it's likely that a soldier has been kidnapped. a formal statement -- we have not had many of those -- from the israelit military which i think is beginning to give us possibly some clarity about the situation. what we are not clear of is the timeline: when did that soldier go missing? there is also reports floating around maybe there are some other soldiers attacked at the same time. no confirmation on that from the israeli military at this stage. but what was the timeline of that and is that what then led to those airstrikes and all of that fighting we saw in rafah but also in other parts of gaza. a number of strikes as you have seen reported by nithose in gaz >> you told us earlier as well the timeline is very important because, also, the accusations that rockets had been fired from gaza into israel at around about

the time the ceasefire was supposed to be implemented and that the israeli had given their populous a warning via mobile text message. >> absolutely. what happens here is that you can sign up on your mobile phone to get warnings. there is an automated system. so we do know the times that rockets were fired. it's perhaps now not as important if the reason for the israeli response was that soldier rather than the rocket fire because the rocket fire that we have heard about doesn't seem to have injured anyone there have been a number of rockets that the israelis say have been fired. some of those suphave been intercepted. others have landed in open areas with with no casualties. >> that's the information we are getting from the israeli military on those rockets that have been fired since the ceasefire. we still have no formal position from any of the sides on the state of the ceasefire.

now, it's very clear to all of us watching this that the ceasefire has collapsed. there is a great deal of violence. there has been a great deal of violation. there will be a blame game of who was responsible actually. what is going on and i think the reason you are not getting any public pronouncements on the state of the ceasefire, whether it still is being observed by either side and what the u.n. thinks about it is behind the scenes. they are desperately working. the international community, the mediators, the u.n., the u.s., trying to shore this thing up. it may have collapsed but they want to try to get it back in place. >> if thing. it seems a tall order at the moment, james. we will come back to you. just hold there. we will go where we see these live images from gaza where there is smoking on the horizon. we believe things have changed slightly where you are. >> that's right h in the last few minutes, since we last spoke, there have been three large bangs in the distance.

some sart of artillery shelling to the east of where i am standing right now. it really just under scores how unpredictable the situation here across the gaza stripsundayscor unpredictable the situation here across the gaza strip. intention fighting in rafah but hearing with our own ears artillery shelling to the east of where i am in shujayea. ear earlier this morning, we saw strikes here in gaza city. we don't know whether it was an airstrike or a drone strike. we have also heard the sounds of small arms fire as well. which we imagine was from sniper fire. an unpredictable scene. just sort of, you know, highlighting all of it is the scene behind me, these people who are fleeing shujayea, an area which has seen very intense fighting, an area which they have only been able to go back to for a few hours before the fighting started again. heard some more bangs in the

distance. >> this could all have been precipitated in gaza as you mentioned a short while ago by reports now that james has been able to confirm for us in west jerusalem that it seems that one soldier may have been captured by palestinians or may have been killed by palestinian fire. so this could have been an important incident in and around the time that the ceasefire was supposed to begin. >> that's right. at this stage, we still don't have a lot of clarity. of course, it is very interesting that the israeli military would release this statement very quickly. you remember a few weeks ago, there was reports or the various palestinian faxes said they captured a soldier, very silent for a very long time. here we are just hours into this ceasefire. already we have a statement from the israeli military saying they

believe or there is a chance one of their soldiers may have been kidnapped. as i have been speaking with you, sir hale, i can hear the constant thud of it shelling. not far from where i am in the east of the gaza strip starting to see a bit of conflict as well, but again, as we have been saying, the rafah area has seen intention fighting. 40 people killed there already. let's go for the moment. thank you. we will come back to you in a moment. let me go back to shots live of gaza. smoke on the horizon there. but, also, great concern about what's going on in the certainly border areas with israel. let's go back to james. james, is in west beirut, our diplomatic editor. james, there were several issues here of if there is a soldier that's becaptured.

we have see the highest number of israeli fatalities in the war with gaza. and kidnapped soldiers are huge b battering tools when it comes to palestinian negotiations as well. if this soldier has been kidnapped, it raises grave concerns about the operation conce considering there was heavy israeli shelling just before the ceasefire began. >> absolutely so. and while you have been speaking to imtaz, more details from a number of sources. let me run through what we now know. i am reading this off of my computer screen. i'm sorry. i literally got this while we are listening a moment ago. the first statement comes from the israeli military who says that at 9:30 a.m., an attack was executed against israeli military forces operating to decommission a tubal. it suggests an israeli soldier has been abducted by what they call terrorists during the incidents.

the occurrence are ongoing and the israeli military is conducting extensive soldiers in order to locate the missing soldier and it adds the soldier's family has been notified. >> that's a little more detail about what we heard moments ago from the israeli military confirming the ab duction of a soldier. we now have another statement come through in the last few minutes as well which comes from the united nations. this is a statement on behalf of robert serry, the mediator, the special coordinator, ban ki moon's man here dealing with this, dealing with both sides. his statement says that he was informed by the israeli authorities of a serious incidents this morning after the start of the humanitarian ceasefire at 8:00 a.m. involving a tunnel behind israeli military lines in the rafah area of the gaza strip. he is adding, which was not in the israeli military statement, that two soldiers were reportedly killed as well as a number of palestinians. he goes on: the united nations

is not in a position to independently confirm these reports. however, if corroborated, this would constitute a serious violation of the humanitarian ceasefire in place since 8:00 a.m. this morning. i will draw your attention to the last paragraph where he says he urges the palestinian parties to last night --'s understand to urgently reaffirm their commitment to the ceasefire. as i said before, they are still t trying to put this together despite what the has happened, which appears to have been an israeli operation. as we had heard all looping, the israelis said they were going to continues their operations toss deal with those tunnels, to destroy those tunnels. as they say in the statement, decommission those tunnels. it seems when they went down one those tunnels, there were palestinians there were. palestinian fighters who then were involved in some sort of fi fire fight according to the u.n. we have two israeli soldiers

reported killed and one of those israeli soldiers captured. >> developing news for you as well. you might not be getting your end at the moment, james, is that the israeli military is saying that the ceasefire is over. so my first question would be: can the military say that? is that not in the realm of the politicians and, also, egypt confirm that they are delaying the talks in cairo. so this scenario is spiraling out of control, both for the palestinians. the islamic jihadists saying they are delaying the talks in cairo. so, it's certainly developing into a scenario where the ceasefire is dead in the water. and certainly talks seem a very long distance away. >> i think those are important developments. i think from the u.n.'s view, this is serious.

we have seen the pictures, the bombardment that has taken place and now, we know also what has happened down there in rafah which was confusing us for a time. we heard all sorts of rumors swirling but we have the confirmation that the israeli soldier has been kidnapped and that other israeli soldiers are reported to have been killed. the efforts will be on to try to get a ceasefire back in place. >> that's why until now, the u.n. has not said the ceasefire has collapsed. we have had not much comment coming from the palestinian side. clearly the talks in cairo can't go ahead while the situation continues as it is right now because i don't think either side would sit down with each other. i don't think the egyptians would host them. it's all on hold for now. the original plan was 72 hour ceasefire, both sides, mixed palestinian delegation with lots of different political parties including hamas and islamic jihad and israeli delegations

sitting down to talk about a long, durable c this was online supposed to be a humanitarian pause. it failed within three hours. >> very little humanitarian pause there. of course, w we have to come ba to the conversations we have had throughout the last four or five hours with certainly the 358 stennians. we haven't heard official comments. we have had hamdan and dr. has a.m. zomlot, also the deputy foreign minister for hamas. all of them saying that they would respect the ceasefire yet they were condemning israel for any attacks on them and their people. at the moment, we are still hearing that same line from the palestinians. how long do you think that could last? obviously, we will get some sort of response from the israelis.

>> the death toll is continuing to mount and they are continuing to go count the dead. we will have to go down to the team in gaza to see what the death toll now stands at but i think these are valley very testing times. there is no ceasefire in place right now. it's absolutely clear to everyone. but there are efforts, i think, an that's why there is no formal announcement from the palestinian side at this time that they are no longer to go along with this ceasefire proposal because i think the u.n. are urging them and the israelis that they really need to start to reimpose this ceasefire but i think it's seriously tested now that the israeli side is saying one of their servicemen is captured. as we have seen so many dead in the last few hours in gaza because of the ongoing israeli bombardment. ban ki moon and john kerry musting if not watching these pictures but listening to what's going on with a great deal of worry. they are the ones that brokered this ceasefire, james. they must be holding their head

in their hands thinking, what do we do next? >> absolutely. they are both on visits away from their offices. ban ki moon in latin america and john kerry meeting the new indian prime minister in new delhi. so they are away from the actual negotiations and watching this closely but i can assure you they will have people who are constantly on the phone updating them. i am sure john kerry who has made so many phone calls and met so many people over the last 10 days or so will be on the phone working the phones, trying to salvage something out of this. this was an effort he had been trying to get in place while he was here last week in the region. he was here, ban ke moon was here. unpress dented to have the u.s.'s top diplomat and the head of the united nations both working, every single person who has influence in this, not just hamas and israel.

also, the palestinian authority and also other countries in the region that have leverage. despite despite all of those efforts, they finally, did, after failed talks in cairo and in paris, both men went back to the united states to their basis. they then did manage to get the 72-hour ceasefire in place. it was a breakthrough. i was not a lasting deal to this. but it was a break through the fact they managed to get both sides to agree. it's really looking like it is broken down for now. >> james bays, thank you. we will join you in the rest of the day. let's cross over back to the ongoing scenario, the shelling near you. but, also, the issue that we seem to have now from the israeli officials that a soldier may have been captured. >> could have precipited the violence that we have seen in the rafah area. >> reporter: that's right and our sources on the ground in v rafah are confirming that death

toll at 40 not that long ago has now shot up to 70. we are also hearing that the hospital in rafah isn't just inundated with casualties. we are also understanding that some medical workers came under fire even some suggesting that the hospital, itself, may have come under fire. we are still waiting to get some clarity on that. but the situation in rafah, indeed, very, very dangerous and, of course, very, very deadly. and when you consider that death toll, that death toll is sent, likely to rise. when you consider the fact that i am standing here in shujayea, an area which just over two weeks ago saw perhaps one of the largest massacres of people since this conflict began 25 days ago in which 70 people were killed after intention israeli shelling. in this neighborhood just over my shoulder, what we understand at the time is what caused that shelling at the time was the death of 8 israeli soldiers.

now, we are hearing in the first few hours of the 72-hour ceasefire in rafah, at least two israeli soldiers were killed and one was kpd kidnapped. there are some suggesting the reason we have seen such violence there and why israel has bombarded it is in retaliation to that news. >> i think the suggestion is that the ceasefire is over. people who have tried to get where you are certainly haven't been able to collect any of their belongings or see if other relatives or friends are alive. >> it's an absolutely stunning scene to be honest with you. these people who had only been in their homes for a few hours were able to return what was left of their homes, had to turn around and leave. the faces. just the grief on their faces was just unbelievable. one woman with tears down her face was talking to us telling us just how overcome with grief she was that she was only able to see her home for an hour

before she had to turn around again over fear of fighting, so overcome she was, she nearly fainted in the street. it underscores, illustrates how the people of gaza are caught in the middle of all of this. in the backdrop of all of this, i can just say to you that we are hearing some pretty intense artillery shelling. we believe it's about a kilometer or two away from where i am. we believe it's an exchange of fire. a an unpredictable situation where i am and certainly in rafah, a deadly situation as well. >> just coming up almost to 11:00 gmt hours. if we could perhaps take a step backwards or sideways actually and try to recap what's happening at this point. looking at the scenes behind you, it does seem like people are still coming out trialing to take perhaps advantage of whatever is left of this

ceasefire at this point. just bring us up to speed with. @

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