tv News Al Jazeera August 4, 2014 3:00am-3:31am EDT
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culture of sports >> an america tonight investigative report only on al jazeera america a >>r a distraction - israel's limited truce in gaza begins this hour. and strong condemnation of the israeli attack on a u.n. school in gaza. washington calls it disgraceful. the u.n. says it's criminal. hello, there. i'm laura kyle. this is al jazeera live from doha. also ahead on the programme. syrian government tries to gross
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rebel strongholds near the capitals, dozens have been killed in the latest fighting. protesters in liberia demand action by the government to stop the spread of the ebola virus. it's it 10am in gaza, and the start of what israel is calling a humanitarian pause. the seven hour truce will only apply to parts of the gaza strip where there is currently no military activity. hamas says it's a unilateral act, and one designed to divert attention from israel's acts of slaughter. israel is coming under pressure. the u.n. called an israeli air strike on a school on sunday. a moral outrage at a cal act. 10 people were killed. >> the u.s. state department called the attack disgraceful.
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a strong response to israeli attacks on civilians in this offensive. we have the story. >> chaos caused by an israeli drone. this mobile phone video was shot minutes after the strike. witnesses tell us the missile was fired at a motorcycle parked metres from is u.n. school used as a shelter. several were killed. dozens wounded. more than 3.5 weeks into the conflict, and around a quarter of a million people live in schools like this across the gaza strip. the shelters have been targeted by israeli fire three times. the u.n. schools used as shelters are full of children, children killed and injured in the attack. this man shows me the footage filmed moments after the drone strike. he tells me what he saw.
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>> translation: the street was full of children buying sweets from the shop that's by the main gate. what did they do. they are only kids. so many people were dead. so many were hurt. . >> reporter: most of the injured were brought here first. this is rafah's kuwaiti hospital, specialising in osstet ricks. since the collapse of the 72 hour ceasefire, it treated hundreds that doubled as a triage. >> the hospital received this huge number of the injured. in most cases they arrived in the gaza hospital. it's very difficult the ambulance is excluded. >> reporter: rafah has seen some
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of the worst fighting. between friday and sunday morning, more than 200 were kill. many children. well some parts of gaza are quiet, but israeli bombardment continues in rafah and other areas. israel's offensive has entered its 28th day. and the human cost continues to rise. 64 israeli soldiers have been killed, along with three civilians, one of whom was a tie national. the number of palestinian fatalities is higher. gaza's military says 1,815 men, women and children have been killed. the estimates around 80% are civilians. 9,400 gazans have been injured, including 4,700 children. more than a quarter of a million people are taking refuge in u.n.
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shelters. let's get more from our correspondent in gaza. nicole, israel announced a patchy ceasefire as of 4 minutes ago. what is the situation like where you are? >> that's the word for it - patchy. we were heading south of gaza city, trying to go to an area giving you a view towards the israeli gaza border, and as we were heading out we had a loud explosion in that border area. the reports that we are getting is that an israeli tank was hit by palestinian fighters. we haven't been able to, with certainty, confirm that. that's the report we are getting. that created. tank shelling. in response, i suppose, in that area, so it goes to show, as you said, it's patchy, very sketchy. we moved from that area, up the road a bit. in the leaked-up to this
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one-sided semiunilateral ceasefire or whatever you want to call it, there has been activity in different parts of gaza. in the west of gaza city, there were rockets fired, we think about four, and in the overnight hours, five people from jib alleya refugee camp were killed in an air strike. the ceasefire declared by the u.s. recally side is not for all of gaza and doesn't include an area east of rafah, where there's a heavy military reaction going on and had been for the last few days. >> are there areas in gaza where it does apply and people feel that it is safe to return to their homes? >> well look, it's only just started, so it's difficult to assess whether people think they are safe the the experience is in the previous ceasefires that people are concerned, worried
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and are told my hamas to be careful about returning to areas. there's occasions when people attempted to go back to their houses and neighbourhoods in the north of gaza, only to be fired upon. at this statement it's really difficult to assess. i mean, israel says one thing. the palestinian faction says another. the palestinian factions are saying that this is a sort of publicity stunt in some respects. they are saying it's to disstrackt attention from a massacre that is taking place in rafah. they have not said whether they'll stop their own fighting during the sex hours that israel declared. we wait to see whether many go back. maybe some will go back to get supplies, wick up mattresses, clothes, and check whether the houses are standing. in the end most decide to head
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back to areas that they think are more safe. they don't trust the one-sided ceasefires. especially when the situation is unclear. >> thank you for updating us there from gaza city. >> well, while this is not the first time that israel has attacked a u.n. school during its offensive. it is the first time that israel's main ally has spoken out against it. kimberley has more. >> reporter: aanother attack at school. this time from rafah. israel must do more. in a statement it said the suspicion that militants are operating near does not justify strikes that put at risk the lives of many innocent civilians. a spokesman called the shelling
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another gross violation of international law. the u.n. agency denounced the attack. there's no doubt that insufficient measures of precaution and control and protection are taken. including by the israeli defence force when engaging in gaza. >> the work is almost complete, and ground troops will be deployed. israel says it will not participate in ceasefire talks. the israeli ambassador says the priority now is to see that hamas is unable to rearm in the future. >> we don't want to see us leaving, allowing hamas to use the time to rearm thousands of rockets, more tunnels, we have to hake sure we have an effective mechanism to prevent rearming. >> the european union is calling for the bloodshed to stop, and is pushing israeli and
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palestinian leaders to work towards a political solution, a few that the palestinian ambassador to the u.n. supports. >> if we allow for suppose to take place, negotiation to take place. under the leadership of mahmoud abbas, if we empower this government, we will be able to move gradually from the situation of conpron takes and fighting -- confrontation and fighting into the situation of lifting the tramming di and block -- tragedy and blockade against our people. >> reporter: it prompted protest over the world, including saturday in washington, the largest demonstration in protest of the rising casualties in gaza. [ chanting ] israeli army peter learner defended the attack, saying the school was not hit on purpose. >> we are targetting terrorists
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moving from one place to the other. perhaps they had explosives on them causing the extra damage. we struck the terrorists. this is the situation. we do not intentionally strike u.n. facilities, we don't do that. more from the diplomatic editor james bays in west jerusalem. we have a temporary ceasefire, which hamas is calling a distraction from what is going on in rafah. are we getting an indication of what the ceasefire means. from what nicole says, it's business as usual in the gaza strip. >> well, it's clear that it is not a full ceasefire. it is a pause, as we are describing it. it is a conditional partial pause, because there are conditions, as you said. the israeli military say they can continue their operations. if anyone interferes, they will shoot back. they released a statement. it was three sentences, explaining the timing and the
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mechanics of this ceasefire. but not the reasons, really, why the israeli military decided to announce the pause right now. i think it's possible to speculate that it comes after that school attack, and that stinging international criticism. also, there are possible military advantages for the israelis having a break in the bombardment. militaries like to do what they call battle damage assessment, put drones in the air, and see what they've hit and what they have still got to hit. they may well be a military purpose as well as the stated humanitarian purpose for the israeli side. >> in the meantime. we have palestinian factions that in a second day in cairo, they have been joined by a u.s. representative in the middle east envoytony blair, what do you think we'll get out of those talks there? >> well, clearly they are not proper talks, because one party
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to the conflict is not taking part at this stage. the israelis. i think they can discuss ideas because even know you this strong criticism of israel, they are playing a role and know what the decision is. there are proxies that can this some ways represent israel's interest and come up with a formula that could be put to the israelis, it's not clear if israel wants to sign up. they are doing their own operation. they are following a military track, and they plan to end this at a time of their own choosing. >> james bays in west jerusalem. thank you. syrian government forces attacked several areas near the capital killing dozens of people, according to activists.
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amongst the hardest hit areas were goosa and dooma on the outskirts of damascus. [ siren ] . >> reporter: a missile slams into a suburb of damascus. the full horror of the latest government campaign to crush the syrian rebellion, caught on amateur video. this is the boota area east of the capital. according to opposition activists it was the result of an air strike by a fighter shet. many people were out in the street when it happened. they were trying to recover the dead and wounded from another strike minutes earlier. elsewhere in the greater damascus area, more desperation after another air strike.
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the man who filmed this shouds "headless bodies - where is the world? where is humanity? save us." activists say 25 died in this strike alone. and in the neighbouring area of duma more attacks. it's rebel-held territory, government forces have been concentrating fire power for more than a year. the conflict is estimated to have killed 170,000 people, and displaced half the population: president bashar al-assad made significant gains as opposition forces fight among themselves. the ferocity of the latest attacks demand how he's trying to step up the fight. in iraq the group calling
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said islamic state has dealt a major blow to kurdish forces. its fighters seized the mosul dam, iraq's largest, after a 24 hour offense ich. it could give the group the ability to flood cities or withhold water. it's taken control of a fifth oil field. the towns of zuma and sin jar, which kurdish troops controlled until they withdrew. this shows zooumar, where black flags have been raised, a ritual followed by mass executions. the capture is a humanitarian tragedy, ever 200,000 were forced to leave. tens of thousands of evacuees are members of the yas eejy minority, moving into the kurdish region. they had been given an ultimatum, convert it islam, pay
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a tax, leave their homes, or die. >> reporter: thousands of the youse eedy people have been killed, thousands are refugees. 40,000 fled their homes. the town is controlled by the islamic state. they are killing the people, and it's a big attack. >> still to come on this half o hour. gazans return to bate hayne un to appraise damage to their homes. after weeks of israeli bombardment. brazil doesn't have enough doctors, cuba has too many. we see how they are working
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hello again. the top stories this hour on al jazeera. israel has begun what it's causing a humanitarian pause. the 7-hour ceasefire only applies to areas of the gaza strip where there's currently no military activity. the state department criticised israel for an attack on u.n. run school in gaza. the air strike killed 0 people. the u.n. says that attack is a moral outrage and a criminal act. syrian government forces attacked areas in damascus, killing dozens. activists say fighters have been trying to overthrow the syrian government since 2011.
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>> some residents of a gaza neighbourhood returned to their homes. nick schifrin tells us what they found when they wept back. >> in the bate li here neighbourhood, two miles from the border, crowded sandy streets are empty. shots are shut. and the only person, the only woman brave enough to walk down the main road walked through the abandoned market is 7-year-old girl. she wants to tell me about her destroyed home. >> the israeli f-16 and air strike interrupts her. so she walks me towards her house. yesterday the israeli military told her and the residents that it was safe to return. but she doesn't know where it's safe. as soon as we approached her home, and she tells me it was
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hit by an air strike, four more israeli strikes are in the distance. all of it is burnt, she says, and out of her scarf she touches a last coin. >> i swear to god i have two shackles, she said, which is the equivalent of $0.75. for month, palestinian fighters use the area to launch a barrage of rockets. the israeli military pum else the neighbourhood. the population fled. they came back to inspect the home. they are lucky there's no damage. so he heads into his daughter's room, the one with the mickey mouse stickers. for more than three weeks the family live in the shelter. they ask them to go home and bring back clothes. >> our lives are lost. our family is in a shelter, we are here. we go to the u.n. shelter, they
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hit the shelter. we go to gaza city, we came here, they hit here. this is no life. >> reporter: across the road his neighbours and cows inns came back -- cousins came back for good, despite the booms. the family inspects for damage. this 38-year-old man is less worried about his home than his daughters. how are your little girls doing? . >> translation: they had to grow up too fast. they have no childhood. they face shelling, bombing and war. they have nightmares. >> reporter: his oldest daughter wouldn't get too close to me. when you saw me, in my vest, are you scared of us. ? a. y"yes" she case.
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we ask why. >> translation: because you speak english and the israelis speak english as well. >> reporter: she has seen what no child should see. the house may be intact. the damage to those inside of it won't be easy to heel. >> the israeli offensive continues. diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire are happening in cairo. israel is not attending the talks. delegations from palestinian groups are there. u.s. deputy secretary of state bill burns and the british prime minister flew to cairo for the negotiations. the british member of parliament campaigned against the conflict, promoting the solidarity campaign. good to have you with us. tony blair, former labour party leader absent during the conflict. now he's in egypt. what do you think of him being there? >> it's very hard to see what correction tony blair can make
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to any of this. he's been the middle east envoy since stopping being prime minister. he has barely visited gaza. promotes the separation of gaza from the west bank, and made no contribution whatsoever that i can see during the intense conflict of the past 25 days. indeed, has spent most of his time in brit nin and won a visit to china. if he's serious, he should do the job. if he's not, don't do it. it's a ridiculous situation that we are in and i'm unclear as to what contribution he's making. surely he should be putting all pressure, if he's serious about this, on israel, to attend the talks in gaza. after all the u.n., and all the palestinian factions are there, why isn't israel there. >> that's pretty much in keeping with the counter u.k. government as well. we are not sealing the pressure on -- seeing the pressure on israel. >> well, absolutely.
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the british government's position seems to be weak, if not non-existent in that when a vote took place at the u.n. human rights council on navi pillay's request that there be an investigation into war crimes, britain ab stained. the u.s. voted against. britain has a close military relationship with israel, we export and import arms from israel, and, indeed, seems to be some of the crucial components in the drones and weaponry itself, and, of course, the european union and it's israel trade agreement is a crucial factor in israel's economy. the world is condemning what is happening, condemning the operation and the settlement policy and the siege of gaza. seriously it's up to britain to join in the condemnation rather than continuing business as usual with israel. >> we have to leave it there. thank you for joining us there
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from london. now, brazil is an economic superpower, but rapid growth has outstripped its ability to provide basic services. rob reynolds reports from rio de janeiro, where clinics found a solution to a shortage of the doctors. it's a typically busy day at a community clinic in rio de janeiro. people receive basic care and preventive medicine free of charge, as provided by civilian law. manager cynthia says 20,000 people rely on the clinic. >> translation: we help patients with high blood pressure, diabetes, prenatal care and child health. hypertension is a common problem. >> the biggest health care challenge is not chronic disease, but a shortage of
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doctors, especially in poor urban areas and rural villages. >> translation: in in community the doctor-patient ratio is one doctor for every 3,500 patients. >> the life expect si for a brazilian is 73.3 years. lower than most south american countries. in some regions, it's 67 years. last year brazil began importing foreign doctors, mostly from cuba. this doctor is one of 7,300 cuban doctors in brazil. >> i'm getting a great deal this year. in cuba i have never seen a patient with tubbish u lows sis, and over i have. the -- tuberculosis, but here i have. >> these doctors are paid left. brazil pays cuba $3500 through
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the pan american health organization for the doctor. the physicians receive less than a third of that, the rest to the kuehnan government. a -- cuban government. a handful of doctors quit the program complaining of an unfair pay scale. this doctor says she's sticking with the programme. >> i don't care about the money. i receive 10% of what all doctors get. my family at home gets money, and the rest. the personnel the government gets supports -- percentage the government gets supports free education and health care. >> reporter: to meet the needs of its people brazil must train more doctors and provide incentives for them to practice where they are needed the most. protesters in liberia are demanding urgent government action to stop the ebola. they want bodies removed from the communities.
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they say health community take too long, exposing families to infection. 720 people died from the disease since it began to spread in march. you can get more news, keep up to date with developments. >> in southern tajikistan a family gathers for a celebration. 19-year old nafisa is getting married. it should be a day of joy - yet like many marriages here it's tinged with sadness. her groom, farruk, is getting ready to take on new responsibilities. but to do that he will very soon
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