>> welcome to the news hour in doha. coming up, a scar of shame on the international community, palestinian negotiators tell aljazeera there must be justice for gaza before they can talk peace with israel. >> i'm in the ruins of gaza to report on the human damage of this conflict, the trauma of children. >> convicted of crimes against humanity, held to account of what became known as the killing

fields. >> how safe is the food on your plate? an aljazeera investigation may have you thinking twice before you take a bite. >> we begin with special coverage on gaza. palestinian and israeli negotiators fail to agree on truce talks in cairo. israel offered to extend the ceasefire 72 hours, but hamas warrants demands for an end to the siege must be met. palestinian negotiators reiterated that this was a precondition for more substantive peace talks. meanwhile, the people of gaza are doing their best to pick up the pieces. communities, homes and families have been destroyed by israel force of arms. since israel's offensive started, 64 israel soldiers and

three civilians, including a thai national have been killed. 1,186 palestinians have been killed. nearly three quarters were civilians. more than 9,500 palestinians have been injured and just 200,000 are still living in u.n. shelters. andrew simmons is in northeastern gaza. i believe this is one of the worst-hit towns in the conflict. it's one thing to turn to bricks and mortar to try to rebuild the town, but how do you start to rebuild lives? >> a massive job, i mean to look around here, well it's hard to imagine what it must be like, actually enduring this sort of onslaught. there were warnings in this district and most people did get away, but this, as you can see, it may be a hamas district, but

there were civilians living here. you can see those amounts there, a bedroom and the kitchen next door and the residence blow it employee 432 children were killed in this conflict, 100 more than 2008 and 2009. we looked at what was happening to the children, how are they coping with the stress? >> they're playing now, but this is street therapy where you never have to look far for what gaza is going through. the team of child psychologist are using techniques to calm the stress. every child under seven has lived through three conflicts in gaza. this one has been the worst. >> the whole district decimated,

a search for bodies under the rubble is still going on, and the ever present fear that the ceasefire could end and the killing could start again. >> the intensive bam barredments have been on such a scale that gaza has never seen. this a school that took a direct hit. with all the devastation, comes a damage that can't be patched up, that can't be rebuilt. >> this sort of damage, the trauma of children, the 13-year-old was one of four boys killed while playing on a beach. >> every time i think of him, i feel i'm choking, i feel him playing alongside me. my heart says he didn't die. he's in this home with us. it all seems unreal. >> their faces will never fade from my mind.

they're innocent children. what have they done. >> there's no doubt this family needs help. normally the family would be on hand to give treatment, but not right now. >> his family home has been blown up, his mother is dead, along with flee brothers, and two other relatives. >> he has symptoms that will need treatment, this a man who has worked hard to destigmatize mental health care for the people of gaza. it's hard to find anyone who hasn't been touched by tragedy. we found this man still sick and

unsteady with a head injury, returning to what was his family home, pointing to what had been the sitting room. >> we were sitting, all of us, safe and they hit us. >> her sisters are all dead, another in a coma and she is peppered with shrapnel wounds. another traumatized child with a father who also needs help. >> the devastation is just

unimaginable. >> we know that there isn't a single person, let alone a child, in gaza who isn't deeply affected by what has happened in this latest escalation. we and unicef estimates that of those, up wards of 400,000 require immediate psychological first aid, wimp is a specific kind of intervention in order to just give the essentials to cope with the immediate loss and exposure to deep, deep traumatic events. >> so there you have it, a massive demand for assistance, along with so many things that need rebuilding, the assistance needed for children, for their parents is colossal.

that involves not just the will and physical support of people, but also money. u.n. funding i guess not great on the subject. they do want more and so do the various organizations engaged. the most important thing of all is whether or not there will be more conflict here, because that is an over resounding aspect to stress here, to although of the post traumatic stress disorders is hope and whether or not there will be more violence. everyone has agreed in the psychological circles that some reassurance is needed and whether they'll get that, whether there will be a positive result to the ceasefire talks is an open question right now. back to you. >> andrew, thank you. >> the damage to gaza's infrastructure during the one month conflict is massive. roads and power lines are

destroyed, hospitals and other buildings are reduced to rubble. we report now from gaza city. >> the blackened remains of the only source of electricity inside the gaza strip, egypt and israel are still supplying a little power, but since this was hit, people now have only four hours of electricity a day. the israeli military hit gaza's infrastructure hard. >> we pleaded four times with the israel army not to target us. we coordinated with the united nations in gaza. they ignored us. our early calculations put repair costs at $10 million to $15 million. >> the palestinians deputy prime minister said rebuilding gaza's infrastructure and thousands of destroyed homes will cost around $6 billion and that's just an initial estimate. >> israel said from the very beginning that it was going to

target hamas military targets. i'm standing on the road, and it was still being built with qatar's money. as you can see, it's been hit by a massive israel air strike. >> qatar is already investing $450 million into building gaza's infrastructure. the european union and turkey are long established donors. israel's blockade means people haven't had reliable electricity, water and a sewage system for seven years. a million liters of waste flow into the sea every day. assuming increasingly flows in the streets. the israeli military destroyed many businesses in the private sector. >> at least 175 factories have been hit, including manufacturers of medical goods, food, construction projects. israel has to open the borders

to get machine and tools in to start rebuilding. >> this is what's left of gaza's large effort factory, a family business of 40 years that made biscuits and breads. the owner says just repairing the structural damage could cost $2 million. he says the israel military told him repeatedly it wouldn't target the factory. >> the factory was on fire for two days. it is utterly destroyed. 600 men worked here. what are they going to do now? >> cement is vital or rebuilding gas. this is what remains of a cement factory. the company had only just finished $3 million worth of repairs from the 2008, 2009 and 2012 conflicts. >> this is going to cost me another million dollars to repair. we hope the international community can help. this is the heard time we've been hit. >> israel said it completed the

destruction of hamas tunnels. it has destroyed many of the buildings that used to meet the basic needs of gaza's people. aljazeera, gaza. >> chief palestinian negotiator told aljazeera that they will take israel to the international criminal court in the hague. >> this will be the scar of shame on the international community, the civilized world, who still describe such criminal acts as article 51 of the charter of the u.n. >> the former u.n. specialist on human rights in the palestinian territories joins us from the hague. thank you for being with us on the show. civilian deaths are expected in a time of war. in the case of the gaza conflict, how do you ascertain if a war crime has been committed? >> there are two tests, firstly,

whether the action has been in discriminate and failed to extinguish between civilians and military targets, and secondly, whether the action has been disproportionate. i think judged by those two standards, israel's action clearly qualifies as a war crime, because it has failed to extinguish between military and civilian targets, it has targeted schools, and hospitals, and mosques, and civilian areas, and has acted in a completely wild fashion, and an indiscriminate system of bombing. i have no doubt that it qualifies as a war crime on that count. as far as proportion at's -- >> hamas and its various

factions are not innocent, as well. they are known to have fired their rockets in discriminately, as well. israel fatalities are not as high as the palestinian ones. how do you persecute a group that claims to be acting to protect their own people from a more powerful force? >> well, there's no question that the militants are also responsible. they have fired rockets in discriminately into israel, and have also committed war crimes. i think the scale of the attacks carried out by israel and scale of the attacks carried out by the palestinian militants are completely disproportionate, so whereas both parties should be held accountable, my concern is that israel which is the

principle offender is going to be free from account of its actions. >> how will either side be held accountable? >> the international criminal court at present takes the view that despite the fact that palestine has been recognized as a state by the general assembly, it must still submit an application for full membership. i.c.c. or declaration accepting the competence of the tribunal or a particular situation, namely the events in gaza. i can't understand why the palestinian authority has not yet submitted either an application for full membership or made such a declaration. i realize, of course, that he's

under great pressure from the united states not to do so, because there's always the fear that the united states might itself be complicit in the commission of war crimes, because it has provided military equipment to israel for the present offensive. >> thank you so much for your in sight. that is the former u.s. specialist on human rights in the palestinian territory speaking to us from the hague. we've got plenty more on our website at aljazeera.com. >> also to come in this news hour, including the u.s. president calling for the release of three aljazeera journalists wrongly imprisoned in egypt. >> ebola on the move, a spanish man with the disease arrives home and a second person has died in nigeria. we will be live.

>> in sports, the goal that left the top club competition in the balance. >> calling for a meeting in iraq, the french foreign minister said that meeting should focus on the terrorist threat. there's been a series of explosions across the country in the last couple of hours. please say at least 19 people have been killed in a suicide bombing in baghdad, it's believed the blast took place in one of the city's shia neighborhoods. meanwhile, two explosions in the city of kirkuk left 17 dead and 45 people injured. the first blast is believed to have been caused by a car bomb, the second by an improvised explosive device. >> to other news in a special

u.n. backed court in cambodia found two leaders of the regime guilty of crimes against humanity. it's taken years for the verdict. >> nearly 40 years after the crimes they committed, this was the moment justice caught up with them. >> the chamber sentences the accused to life imprisonment. >> as they were sentenced to life in prison, he was wearing his customary dark glasses and they showed no emotion. for the victims, there was no lack of feeling.

five family members were lost to the regime. >> even though both men are old, we were happy. >> the court detailed the massive evacuations of cambodian cities that resulted in thousands of deaths from starvation and disease. it recounted the exterminations and political killings which amounted to crimes against humanity. >> one of only a handful of people to survive the main torture center spoke to us. >> i'm happy with the decision, but there are other leaders who should be brought to justice. >> this was the biggest victory yet for the unique u.n. backed court that brings together cambodian and international judges. more than $200 million cost and counting, supporters believe this judgment will be felt far beyond cambodia it sends a

message to people in syria or sudan or the central african republic or other places mass killings are occurring of the in sent that the day of j will arrive. there is no escaping it in this life. >> found guilty of crimes against humanity, the bigger issue for many in cambodia is which other commanders will follow them into this courtroom, created nearly 10 years ago. this has been only case number two by this tribunal. >> it's thought more trials could implicate senior officials in office. some want this trial to draw a line under the legacy. aljazeera, phnom penh. >> let's take closer look at the two convicted lead he isers.

the first is known as brother number two and the second motor powerful man in the regime out of poll pot. ette widely seen as carrying out the execution policies. the other received a doctorate in france and later returned to cam breed to become a professor. he officially replaced poll pot after it had been convicted of power. both men have been found guilty of crimes against humanity. david shearer is the u.s. special expert on u.n. trials and joins us now by scape from phnom penh. thank you for being with us. now was there ever really any doubt that these two senior

khmer rouge members would be convicted and sentenced? >> there was a tremendous amount of doubt that this day would never arrive, a tremendous amount of doubt, whether this court would survive year after year to finally reach this day of judgment. the court has faced a long journey, created in 2006. it has had to survive on voluntary financial contributions by donor nations, and it has also had to investigate the deaths of 2 million individuals in cambodia during the 1970's. atrocity crimes are very complex, require years of investigation and prosecution, and, you know, there's a very strong defensive bar with this court, as well. it is a process that is recognizing standards of due process, and that takes time. >> but david -- >> you also --

>> see justice being done for the crimes during the regime. others are saying what is the point of sentencing these two weak, fragile men in their 80's to life in prison? >> you could ask that of any national war crimes tribunal. you could ask that of the courts in germany still prosecuting and convicting nazis from world war ii in their 90's. the point that we stress, these individuals are charged with atrocity crimes. it doesn't matter how old they are. they need to face justice within their lifetime. that's important for society, for the victims. it's not a question of time. it's a question of justice during their lifetime, however old they are. >> our reporter rob mcbride said this was case number two in the trial. are there any others that will be brought to justice?

>> there are two cases under intensive investigation, rewarding four individuals. now, under this system, those matters remain confidential until it's possible to publicly reveal them in terms of charges, closing orders and finally indictments that lead to trial and we respect that process, so yes, there are further investigations underway and the court has a process of determining whether or not the facts will point toward indictment and ultimately trial, so there is more to come. >> david, briefly, what does this actually mean for the victims? >> a tremendous amount. this court has historically pointed toward the victims with a role in the trial.

4,000 victims submit evidence, testify in the courtroom, it's a tremendous exercise of recognizing the rights of the victims, and they, i think they generally appreciate that. everyone is always i am patient with justice, but this court has truly recognized the rights of the victims. >> thank you for joining us, the u.n. secretary general expert on the khmer ridge trial. >> the number of dead has increased to 615 and 114 are still missing. rescuers have yet to reach remote communities as we report from the disaster zone. >> the priority for survivors is food and water.

these people have had little of either since the earthquake struck on sunday. atstriction point, ration paction are handed out. the desperation of some is clear. this man walked 10 kilometers to get here. on tuesday, we met a woman who just buried her mother, her home unstable to return to. she lives in a tent in a government-run camp. there isn't much room, but then her possessions are few now. she's a farmer, but her crops were destroyed, the family's only source of income. >> i am very concerned that i won't be able to afford to send my daughter to university. i don't know where i can get the money. my fields have been destroyed. >> the odds of finding more survivors are low now. rescue teams are not giving up, but it's increasingly the dead and not the living they are pulling from the rubble. the air is becoming putrid,

raising the risk of disease, so soldiers have been straying disin effectant. the military's leading the relieve operation with more than 10,000 soldiers from the people's liberation army now on the ground. >> all under the flag of the communist party. nine chai's military respond effectively to the disaster. within an hour, food and blankets were being distributed and this temporary bridge were in place. >> in the rubble of the homes, they salvage what they can, which isn't much. scattered everywhere, glimpses of every day life. a page of homework, a souvenir photo. the town is in an active quake zone. now the government has as to decide if it should rebuild. >> adrian brown, aljazeera in southwest china. >> before we go to the weather, we want to show you some

pictures that have just come in. this is the body of u.s. major general harold green in the coffin there. he is a senior u.s. official killed just recently in afghanistan. his body arrived back in the united states, just as the u.s. secretary of state john kerry arrived in afghanistan to mediate between two warring presidential candidates. we will be covering both events even further on aljazeera, so do stay with us for both events. >> now, let's take a look at the weather with steph and hawaii is bracing itself for its first hurting in 22 years. >> i know, you'd of thought in the middle of the pacific, it's quite vulnerable to hurricanes, but it's only seen three since 1950. so this would be the fourth and potentially fifth, as well.

this is edging toward the west, iselle. there's another behind it, two days behind it, that one is called julio. both storms are working toward the west. we expect the first to make landfall around 6:00g.m.t. friday. that's not long. we've got to prepare. the second is going to follow very much later. if we have a look at iselle then, sustained winds when it makes landfall are expected to be 130 kilometers per hour, on the bottom end of a category one hurricane. but that can still bring down trees and power lines and rip removes off houses, as well. >> julio is the more intense at the moment but will weaken traveling toward the west. another thing it's going to do is track further towards the north, so that means there is

the chance that julio could miss us altogether. if we see both of these storms, it will be very disastrous for hawaii to be hit by two powerful storms in three days, but fortunately, it looks like the second should miss the island. >> we have a lot more throughout the day as we continue our special coverage, marking one month since the start of israel's assault on gaza. >> israel says from the very beginning that it would only target hamas military targets. i'm standing on the road that was still being built. >> what he said needed to rebuild gaza. a report, plus an interview with the palestinian development minister, also ahead. >> it's hell of a pinpoint operation. it's a hell of a pinpoint operation. >> the most dramatic images from a month of war in gaza. stay with aljazeera. stay with aljazeera.

>> two explosions in kirkuk left at least 17 dead and 45 people injured. >> thousands of christians are fleeing the north of iraq where fighters from the islamic state group gained control of the mainly christian town approximate. is d.l. is fighters are making gains after taking control of a base in syria. >> brigade 93, the bodies of soldiers in president bashar al assad's army scattered in the desert near the base. dozens of tanks abandoned. activists say it began when three suicide bombers blew open the gates of the brigade wednesday evening when fighters stormed the base. fighting followed. by dawn on thursday, isis

fighters are in control. activists estimate there were 600 soldiers in the base. hundreds were killed or captured, while many escaped. this could be the syrian army's worst setback of the syrian war. some observers believe it may allow the group to wipe out the army presence in the province and islamic state's momentum is growing not only in syria. across the border with iraq, they continue to take town after town. the latest was 15 kilometers east of mozul. almost all of the residents of the town are christian. when the city fell in june, half the population fled to the kurdish north. thousands more now have

reportedly begun to do the same. aljazeera. >> let's return to our top story, the gaza conflict and look at how the on going siege and now a full scale ground invasion affected gaza's economy. interestingly, the economy grew strongly back in 2011 at 14.7%. that's a lot of that due to the crossing with egypt being open. by 2012, that growth eased to 6.6% and other indications had weakened, unemployment stood at 41% and poverty rate 39%. all that combined means growth per captain a capita in gaza is. half of that in the occupied west bank. now, add on to that what's happened in the last month in gaza, and more than 10,000 homes were destroyed by israel, which could cost more than

$800 million to rebuild. 141 schools damaged, five hospitals closed, and gaza's only power stage and suh and water systems could cost as much as $3 billion. aljazeera counting the cost spoke to the palestinian minister in charge of development and reconstruction, and he began by asking what reconstruction had been achieved before this latest offensive. >> there has been some construction, saudi arabia has contributed to some of it, the united arab emirates did, as well as qatar and kuwait and so on. the most serious problems are still there. i hope now, first i hope that this will be the loft reconstruction of gaza. i should mention to you, sir,

that the bridge, i myself, my organization, my council has reconstructed the bridge. this is going to be the fourth time! and every time, it is don nor's money. i think the community should voice their voice loud to tell israel to stop killing the palestinian people and to stop the destruction of the infrastructure. on one hand, it is our infrastructure, on the other, it is the donors, the international community's money. israel should not be given a free hand to do whatever it wants in the palestinian territory. >> if the siege is lifted, do you believe gaza will be able to pick itself up and rebuild properly? even if lifted, things will be dependent on not going into conflict again. >> if the siege is lifted, what i need to see is i want the people's life in gaza to be

different. i want the people to enjoy some sort of normal life, which they didn't enjoy for so many years. gaza does not need to rely and depend on west bank communities. they can provide the gas market for all work it needs and products produced in gaza can find markets in the rest of the palestinian territory. all work you need is really a flow of goods and people by lifting the siege. >> you talked about wanting to trade more freely. i wanted to ask you about the gas deposits off the coast, obviously something that could bring money in trade. is that something the palestinians have a capability to tap into and utilize with full access to it? >> by all means. we did actually sign a contract with britain.

it is going to be very important natural resource for our economy the moment is commercialized. palestinian does enjoy these natural resources. unfortunately, the british gas contract was sabotaged by israel, because israel is actually excavating in the same area on one hand and double taxation and because of the war and all these object stack else that israel is putting the process to continue. it is there, and it is our natural resource. i think it should be all and fully assigned for the benefit of the people of gaza for the development of gaza, and for the welfare of our people, wherever they are. >> you can catch that full interview and more on gaza's economic situation an this week's edition of "counting the cost" on friday. >> an israeli play has been

forced to give up its venue after protestors boycotted it over gaza. the show gets money from the israeli culture ministry and protestors say it needs to be blocked. that's led to a furious row over whether art and politics should be immune from each other. >> any bit of space becomes a stage at the festival, hotel lobbies, into the city, this is a show which has suddenly found itself without a home. >> it did have one, this place, one of the festival's most prominent locations. look at all of these shows, this is the perfect place for drawing a crowd. it's also the perfect place for protestors who want to make a very public point, which they did. this is a show which comes from israel and receives money from the israeli government and the demonstrators have been quite clear they do not want it here. >> the protests have been loud. the determination obvious. the show must not go on.

it's had to give up its venue and fueling this dispute, one question, should theater and art be immune from politics. two very different opinions here. >> the israeli government used cultural events to promote israel as a modern democratic society, covering up for what is really happening, israel and the west bank and in gaza. >> we are not here as in a agent of the government, but that's -- so that's not the issue. nobody talks about our artistic qualities, only about the situation and politics. >> our show has been missed. >> the face of the campaign is scott landed national poet, but she's not dressing up her words on this one. >> we want to whole cultural and economic boycott of anything israeli that's official. you know, and that's terrible to say to universities, we don't want to hear your speaker coming

here, but it's about saying that people in this country find that a pariah state and i think it's important to do this. >> it's a dangerous precedent. now it can happen to anyone, i think. >> it will become an arena for politics. >> this is now a political story, whether the artists want that or not. aljazeera. >> adjustment president obama has added his voice to release aljazeera journalists held prisoner in egypt. they were given long jail sentences following a trial that most observers see as an assault on press freedom. >> the aljazeera journalists, we've been clear publicly and privately that they should be

released. we have been troubled by some of the laws that have been passed around the world that seemed to restrict the ability of journalists to pursue stories or write stories. >> final arguments in the murder trial of south african athlete oscar pistorius have begun. the state prosecutor said his version of events is devoid of any truth. he is charged with the premeditated murder of his girlfriend in february last year. the athlete and double amputee faces 25 years in jail if convicted. >> the world health organization is considering whether to declare the ebola outbreak in west africa as an gnarl crisis. it's holding a rare emergency meeting in geneva. nigerian president announced that her countries state of emergency will last a minimum of 90 days. some communities are quarantine and the president warned

extraordinary measures needed tort very survival of the state. >> a priest infected with ebola in lie berra arrived in his home country of spain. he is 75, and was working as a missionary in liberia. he was carried home by plane and ambulance, and will be treated at st. joseph hospital in madrid. >> in nigeria, second death ebola reported by the health ministry. we are joined live now. i believe you were at the main hospital today. what did you see there? >> well, we just returned a couple of hours ago from the ebola isolation camp at the mainland hospital. there we saw new isolation wards being constructed, because medical workers say that in case there's a spread of the disease, they don't want to be caught unawares and want to be prepared.

right now they are treating up to seven patients who have been confined to have the virus and four others, all of them are medical workers, state medical workers who treated a liberian man who came last night and collapsed at the airport. they are also complains of shortage of medical workers, because this is happening at the time when nigerian doctors are on strike. >> thank you for that update, speaking to us from lagos. >> still ahead in sport. >> on the golf course in florida, across the u.s., players are leaving the game in droves, but at this course, they've come up with something different.

>> an undercover aljazeera investigation has found that toxins are being used by food producers in china. illegal chemicals are being added to replace natural ingredients. >> our investigation centered on a bowl of noodle soup, toxic ingredients are tainting simple dish. at this market, we are taken to buy illegal add i was, one he said restaurants use to cheat consumers. many mixtures have been found to contain toxic industrial chemicals. most don't have labels listing ingredients, which is against

the law. >> in his kitchen, the add i was are used to whip up a fake bowl of noodles. he adds water to white powder, along with coloring and flavoring. he said this is five times cheaper than one made with natural ingredients. >> these vendors are blinded by greed, putting profit above all other things. >> on one farm, researchers show pesticides banned in the 1980's still used. some are so lethal. it kills chicks on the spot. on this pig farm areselves of pharmaceuticals. they are overused in china. >> the government is trying to get tougher on the antibiotics and growth hormones used.

this whole shelf is full of it. >> the farmer who suddenly appears admits to more illegal practices. >> if it's a sick pig, it's going to the market. if it's dead, there's a chance it will go, as well. >> police have arrested and charged 10,000 people for selling toxic food. they are passing a tougher food law and say they are doing all they can. >> trying to tackle the chinese market, i don't think they will dare to. >> it's a global concern as made in china food is exported. as for the fake bowl of wonton soup, lab tests showed it contained formaldehyde and embombing fluid and borax. just a teaspoon can kill a

child. >> time for sport now. >> the top club competition in in south america is square after the first. paraguay drawing with argentina, the hosts for the game. with both clubs seeking their first title, in the first half, it was the teams going first. the equalizer and very late on in added time. 1-1 the final score. the return next week. earlier on, i spoke to south american football writer about the current state of the continent's football and whether too many young players are still heading in the direction of europe. >> that talent drain is a problem. you've got to see that these

countries are still producing fantastic players, now its columbia and paraguay and uruguay, as well. they are brought over as a young age. while this might be good for the national teams, the league is struggling and argentine has gone down in quality the last couple of years and the league will suffer now because it's an investment post world cup. >> german champions ended their season with a defeat. pretty good goals in this game.

opening the scoring day, the top scorer in the mls equalizing the score. then a winner from donovan, the striker who was left out of the u.s. world cup. >> tiger woods managed to recover from his back injury to tee off at golfs final major of the season. number one mcelroy yet to get underway. wood one under after two holes in kentucky. this latest injury saw him pull out midway through his final round last week at invitational. >> in cricket, finishing strongly on day two against pakistan. five wickets, for 177, as pakistan bold out for 451.

still trailing pakistan by 152 runs. india has recovered a little bit, 89-6, this series level at 1-1. >> ahead of this month's u.s. open, most of the top tennis players, djokovic surviving a scare. this is his first match since a wimbledon title last month. >> it might surprise you to know that golf in some parts of the u.s. is in serious decline. the sport has lost 5 million

players and hundreds of courses have been forced to close. the younger players in particular, the game is seen as elitist and expensive. some clubs are fighting back. >> abandoned, overgrown and off limits, even in the sunshine state famed for its greens, this is becoming a familiar sight. close to 700 courses across the u.s. have been forced to close due to golfers who simply stopped coming. >> many in the sport blame the requestion, and that tiger woods stopped flying. the truth is the gentleman's game is viewed at time consuming and expensive. golf is in trouble. at this course, something revolutionary is happening. >> this is foot golf, about as far from the traditional game as you can get, the holes bigger, the game shorter and rules simpler. it's been a big success since

introduced here. >> football golf is more of a fun, relaxing environment, you can play with a whole bunch of friends, it's really fast. you can play in half the time of golf and soccer is getting big in america. >> it's changing the experience of being on the golf course that could attract new players and keep them. it is hoped some foot golfers may pick up a set of clubs and play. >> to be creative and program within the confines of what we can do and try to think of different way to say make money. it doesn't interfere too much with our regular golf game but brings a whole new demographic. >> most revenue at the club still comes from traditional golfers, many whom were skeptical of bigger holes and footballs, but the club's process of seeing a new generation on the fair ways has helped changed minds. >> they love to see the kids out here. we've got them from four years

old to 60-year-olds kicking the ball. it's very good for the course. >> these days, more golf courses are closing than opening and the game's decline alarming an industry worth billions, but football is growing fast and attracting just the kinds of people golf needs so badly. aljazeera, florida. >> that is how sport is looking for now. i'll be back later on. >> thanks very much. >> we leave you now with the most dramatic images taken of the month of war in gaza.

>> on the stream, >> the most pressing security, health and development issues on the second largest continent... africa... and it's impact on america. join us. on al jazeera america

>> saturday. gaza, experience what it's like on the ground, first hand, as our crew gets caught in the chaos. the reality of war. shujayea: massacre at dawn. saturday, 10:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america.

nouns gaza, israel, one month of fighting. promises broken. trust shattered. children in the line of fire and living in fear. we take you inside the conflict. >> nowhere is really safe. >> from the streets to the tunnels. we'll hear from both sides. >> our special report "30 days of war." i'm john seigenthaler in new york. this week marks