kurdish peshmerga fighters launch an assault against islamic state group in iraq, retaking several strategic towns. hello, welcome. i'm steven cole in doha. the village is burning and planes shut down. fighting continues between russian separatists and groups. gaza under fire. israel's devastating campaign left parents with a schooling dilemma. >> and reopening cypress's forbidden zone. a plan to breed new life into a

toub that the divided island forgot. we'll start in iraq where kurdish pesh forces are fighting -- peshmerga forces are fighting to retake control. mosul dam. these pictures show smoke from the attack rising above the dam. it was ceased by islamic state fighters several days ago. the attack is part of a wider advance by the peshmerga. so far those peshmerga forces have retaken the some towns. some troops pushed on to a town taken by rebel fighters, down there a few days ago. fierce fighting continues at the scene. >> there's a major battle in missual. the peshmerga are massing the

troops at the mosul junction. kurdish forces are marching towards the city, one of the first to fall for islamic state fighters. hoda abdel-hamid is live in sharifa. tell us what is happening in the village where you are? >> we are in sharif. one of three christian villages. the forces managed to recap fewer the islamic state group. this is part of the retaking the mosul dam. it's in the hands of the islamic state group. an hour ago we showed you the smoke billowing from around that dam. the kurdish forces are not carrying out the operation alone. this is a major military operation. they are receiving support from the u.s. military. we hear planes in the skies. the u.s. military carrying out air strikes and the peshmerga

forces are using air cover, really, to advance. this village is abandoned. we have not seen anyone return. the only peshmerga forces are on the ground. they recaptured it a few hours ago. this is not going to be an easy fight. there was no fighting here. the islamic state pulled back we understand that the forces are massing around the dam. it will be difficult because the u.s. military cannot strike the dam itself, because this is such a strategic installation providing water, electricity to surrounding areas. >> is it possible, zeina khodr, to gauge or measure the effectiveness or otherwise of the u.s. air strikes? >> well, undoubtedly the u.s. air strikes pushed the islamic state fighters back. they retreated from the area. this is not going to be an easy fight. now that they know, they are facing a threat from the skies,

they are adopting on the ground. they can hide among the civilian population. it may be easy in this region. what about in the urban centers. we have to remember the objective of the military operations, the strikes, is to defend the kurdish territories and the minorities, and protect the kurdish region. there's no plan on the table of how to defeat the group. you cannot defeat them from the skies. the peshmerga forces are ill-equipped. without the support of the u.s. it will be highly unlikely that you'll see them here now. this is the beginning. we have to remember last week the islamic state group pushed into kurdish regions, capturing a number of villages and territories. they are 40km from erbil, the capital of the kurdish region in the north. >> zeina khodr reporting centre

sharifa. in parts of northern iraq the refugees flees out number the residents, putting a strain on local services, including hospitals. as jane arraf reports, hospitals are struggling to cope. >> reporter: public hospitals were struggling. as a region of iraq, they are supposed to get drugs and other supplies from the ministry of health and baghdad. because of a dispute over oil revenue between baghdad and erbil, neither supplies nor salaries have come for months. >> the last few months we have shortage in drugs and medical supply. because of economic crisis and baghdad interrupting or sending small amount of drugs. >> reporter: this maternity hospital is trying to cope with

displaced iraqis and the regular caseload of spectant mothers. it's a difficult time for everyone, the same story in hospitals across the region. >> this is one of three trauma interests in the kurdish capital. it has fewer than 200 beds, and usually they are filled with patients hurt in accidents. on top of that the hospital was filled with a flood of peshmerga fighters wounded on the front. >> the hospital director says on one day alone last week they treated 40 wounded peshmerga fighters. >> in this unit this is only seven beds. a hospital like that, or a city, in a situation we are in, in a war situation, we need more than seven beds. >> this fighter was wounded in a battle to take back mack more from the islamic state group

last week. surgeons removed shrapnel from his brain. the prognosis is not clear. upstairs another kurdish fighter is treated for burns and eye injuries, caused when the armoured vehicle he was in hit a land mine. in the room next door is a kurdish fighter from the p kx k, fighting for decades. he was wounded defending the camp. where thousands of fighter lived for more than 20 years. staff tried to cope with wounded fighters. >> that is the mother of a 2-year-old boy that fell from the second story and as been told that he has decide. behind the doors the hospital vaf prepared his body from going to the morgue. in eastern ukraine, the

situation is becoming increasingly hostile. in the latest development pro-russian separatists shot down a jet in the east. the plane was targeted in luhansk. >> heavy shelling overnight in donetsk, the local mayor said 10 civilians killed, several buildings damaged. ukranian supporters pushed separatists out of large areas, saying it entered the rebel-held city of luhansk, taking control of a police station. >> we have this update from eastern ukraine. >> we are hearing that the fighter jet was brought down close to luhansk after taking part in a mission against separatist fighters in the area. we were sold that the ukranian forces - that the pilot managed to reject safely. what this suggests is the

separatists have fire power. despite the ukranian forces gaining momentum and gaining ground over the past few days. it brings to 15 the number of military aircraft brought down in the last few months here. with regards to the aid conveyed, sacked on the russian border, part of it has now moved closer to the border crossing. they still do not have the security guarantee in place to take it through the border. it could be some time yet until we see the aid getting through to where it's needed. >> four suspected al qaeda operatives and a soldier were destroyed. killing happened when government forces raided an area. they targeted members of the al qaeda, and the arabian peninsula in the area. israel says it will not agree to

that. binyamin netanyahu made the statement at the beginning of a weekly cabinet meeting. in talks resuming in cairo, as the ceasefire finished on monday. >> the military wing threatened to fire more rockets if ceasefire talks break down. al jazeera has been given access to a rocket-making factory. they are making rockets in case israel faces attack. >> now, there are divisions among the cabinet. many are very opposed to any discussion of a development of a seaport in gaza. this is something that had been an important demand. there is also a feeling among the hard liners that there should be no stopping of the campaign until there is a

demilitarizition af hamas. something that hams said was a redline. i think this is something that is not negotiable. i can tell you the israeli media reports that the chances of their being an agreement of the egyptian proposal are slip. >> translation: hamas things it can compensate for military defeat. it is mistaken. if hamas things through firing it will make concessions. he is mistaken. he will continue to sustain the strikes. if hamas think we can't for an extended period, he will be many. >> binyamin netanyahu made comments at the opening of the cabinet meeting, and instruct the delegation he told his cabinet to make sure the security needs of israel are met in these negotiations, saying that the priority and the focus

would be on stopping the rockets from gaza, making sure that the border security along the gaza border are safe. if there is no a cease in the rockets fired, israel will bill hamas heavy blows. >> in gaza, hundreds of thousands of palestinians shelter in u.n. run schools. many are forced to find refuge, with nowhere to go as their homes are destroyed. jane ferguson reports from gaza. >> there's several hundred thousands of palestinians sheltering in schools. people here are waiting to find out what will happen in cairo. just after midnight on tuesday. the ceasefire runs out. people need to find out if that will be turned into a pan ceasefire under some sort of agreement. however, regardless of what agreement is come to in cairo,

many sheltering don't have homes to go back to. >> reporter: the gaza girls' prep school is home to 3,000 people. they ran from their homes during the bombardment. hoping the school would offer protection, over 200,000 palestinians are packed into u.n. schools. a new school year was due to start next week. officials say it's been delayed. many, have no homes to return to. i have 11 children, six of them going to school, and the new school year is coming. her children attended the same school they are sheltering in. entire families are crammed together in classrooms. outside the queue for food and supplies. teachers volunteered to help them. to return to their studies.

>> a quarter of a million go to the same u.n. schools they are living in. the u.n. says 65,000 have had their homes destroyed. it says it's trying to find a solution to the crisis. >> we will not force displaced people to leave the school. >> we have some thousand of families. and we will consolidate them. that may many families will share less state and fewer schools. half go to u.n. school. the other study, many damaged, some beyond repair. gaza faces a dilemma, getting children to school or providing shelter for their families. schools were meant to start a week from now. however, the authorities in gaza say they'll begin term time here

two weeks after a permanent ceasefire is announced. what they'll do with the families of those students is not clear. still to come on al jazeera, how the conflict in mali is affecting neighbouring niger. and an ice-cold shower for one of the world's richest men. why bill gates is passing the bucket for motor neurone disease.

the top stories on al jazeera. kurdish peshmerga in iraq are fighting to retake the

strategically important mossel dam back from the islamic state fighters. the troops seized control of three nearby towns, battling for the town of t ejs lket. >> pro-russian separatists shut down a ukranian fighter over luhansk in the east. the pilot managed ject pt the ukrainian -- managed to eject. the ukrainian army entered luhansk, taking a police station. government forces raided an al qaeda hideout. there has been anti-government protests across egypt. in the capital cairo demonstrators blocked the road. it follows the first anniversary of a crackdown at two protest sites that killed hundreds of people. protesters said the government failed to carry out

investigation into the daths. >> al jazeera is demanding the release of three journalists that have been imprisoned in egypt for 232 days. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed and were falsely accused of helping the muslim brotherhood. mohamed fadel fahmy and peter greste were given 7-year sentence, baher mohamed had an extra 3 because he had a spent bullet in his possession, which he picked up at a protest. >> two u.n. peacekeepers have been killed and senn wounded in marlie. a vehicle exploded next to a u.n.s base. it's the third time this week that u.n. troops were targeted. a conflict in mali has been confined to the north. those in niger seem unsafe.

>> reporter: this is an area of niger, isolated and remote, home to hundreds of people who fled ongoing tribal fighting in mali. they say getting here involved an arduous journey, and their r ordeal did not end when they arrived. >> we have been here for 10 months without rep from the unhcr. what makes getting aid here hard is remote habitation and the closeness to fighting in mali. what few roads there are are impassable, and when trucks can get through, it takes time. abdullah works for a gulf charity that is trying to help the people here. his is one of the few agencies able to get in. today we are distributing the aid in tilia.

we represent relief health and education charity. for those who have not fled their homes, life in the baron landscape is hard. a war between the tuareg and elements of the feelan tribes heightened tensions. and not too far away is the threat from armed groups like al qaeda in the islamic maghreb. >> in tilia the deputy mayor is helping to superviz aid. this woman is grateful, but says it's not enough. >> translation: we are in bad need of this aid, but we need more. we need to supply and expand the health center, and need more medicines. >> reporter: to do that will be difficult. many western aid agencies are wary of visiting the area, for fear their staff may be targeted or kidnapped.

a curfew has ended in the united states town of ferguson, missouri. police fired what they said were smoke cannisters at protesters who remained after the curfew began at midnight. it follows days of protest after police men killed an unarmed black teenager. it's 40 years since turkey invaded cyprus, but disputes over the island remained. paul brennan sends this report in a turkish controlled area of the island where plans are under way to break the deadlock. >> reporter: the science say forbidden zone, a barrier of wire and screens and a threat of prosecution keeps the curious away. it was a playground for the rich and famous. in its heyday it was ended and homes and hotels were abandoned with the 1974 turkish invasion.

this is to show what a neighbourhood might look like. the greek cypriot was 7 years old at the time. now he's part of a determined coalition of greek and turkish cypriots seeking to reopen the area as an eco city. >> this is a wonderful area of the city. by talking about it, by planning it, we actually are starting to - in a way, to live in that future. we are starting in the souls of the people, to build the peace. >> in the past four decades, few civilians entered. the few photographs on the internet show a coast town. the resort on the ordinary side have been sealed off. uninhabited. like a modern day pompeii,

exactly as they were 40 years ago. other parts crumbled into the ground have been absorbed. re opening this jewel of the mediterranean coastline could be crucial in dividing the future of the island. >> reopening would attract much-needed tourist dollars. >> there's only one thing i want to say here and in turkey, the appropriates back to us and let them use them. the question of the ownership could be problematic. >> we can't just say let's open the area, who will we give it too. the questions are dependent on a comprehensive solution of a cyprus problem. turkish and greek negotiators meet but are doing little to

resolve the problem. this grassroots project offers an example of how the breakthrough may be on the horizon. flash flooding and land slides kill 53 in nepal. 3,500 villages have been rescued. more than 200 were destroyed. hundreds of other homes are inundated. a public memorial is held in brazil for eduardo campos, the socialist party candidate. he was killed this week when his private plane crashed in the city of santos. the body was flown to the home city. the politician is disu to stand in presidential elections in october. we have more from the town where many have been waiting for his body to arrive. very sombre scenes out in front

of the mansion in the city, the capital of the state. people gathered, are holding up signs, newspapers, waiting for the ex-governor of the state, camp's body to arrive. he was wildly popular here. he was a governor for seven years. he stepped down so he could run for president. his approval ratings were 80%. people of all stripes have great feelings for a popular man. >> translation: besides being a political man and a good man, he was a family man, a father, he was proecteding the state at the national level. >> translation: he did many things, i'm grateful for him. he reformed my schools. >> officials are expecting 150,000 people to be here on sunday for the funeral,

including the president. there were all sorts of political ramifications from the death. and it's really shaking up the entire presidential campaign in brazil. right now, especially in the home state. no one is worried. they are waiting for the funeral on sunday to pay respects to the young and up and coming political later that most m brazil say lost his life too soon. >> thousands of people are causing themselves with ice cold water and placing their videos online to raise money for a fatal motor neurone disease mac feret has more. fmpts if you have been online -- john terrett has more. >> reporter: if you have been online, there's a good chance you have seen people undertaking the a ls challenge. ster

too cold for you, you can make a donation. als sfand for amyothophic lateral sclerosis, known as lou gehrig disease, after a baseball great diagnosed with it. it's a degenerative disease, ending the brain's ability to initiate and control muscles. a viral campaign is thrusting the fatal disease into the spotlight. according to the als association. 15 cases are diagnosed. as many as 30,000 americans have the disease at any time. als affects 20% more men than women. the life expect si of an als patient averages 2-5 years after diagnosis. there's no cure. it is why money for research is important. ice bucket challenges are not new, but 29-year-old als patient peter fraities who can no longer talk or walk decided to use it to call attention to the disease

he is responsible for launching the campaign. before this, so many did not understand what a ls was. >> i am accepting the a ls ice bucket challenge. >> celebrities and politicians joined in the trend. it's paying off. the als association say between july 29th and august 14th, it's national and state chapters see 146,000 donors, raising $7.6 million. compared to 1.2 million in the same period last year. >> the only way to do this is quickly. this is why al jazeera reporters are always totally immersed in their stories. john terrett, feeling this may not have been a good idea, al

jazeera in new york. good man, john. a reminder - you can keep up to date with all the news on the website pt the usual address applies. aljazeera.com. . >> i was disappointed in the actions of tonight. defiant once again. protesters in ferguson, missouri met with tear gas after ignoring a government curfew. >> i wholeheartedly and unequivocally stand behind my veto. >> rick perry standing his ground, calling charges of abuse of power nothing more that trumped up political