>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello and welcome to the news hour live from doha. peace in gaza after 50 days of conflict with israel, we're counting the cost to both sides who are both claiming victory. afghanistan's presidential election hits a brick wall as the candidates pull out of a recount supervised by the u.n. plus: i have instructed my lawyer to appeal this decision which i

consider totally without merit. >> reporter: the ifr's former finance minister is being investigated. and the biggest film festival is getting underway. who will take the top prize, the golden lion in ten day's time? ♪ hello, well gaza and israel are enjoying the first day of a long-term ceasefire, both sides are claiming victory, but after 50 days of pain was it really a victory, or did everyone come out worse off. 64 israeli soldiers and 6 civilians were killed. 2,142 palestinians were killed, and the u.n. says almost three-quarters are civilians. the cost of damage has been estimated to be at least

$6 billion u.s. dollars. jane ferguson has this report from gaza. >> reporter: in just 50 days much of gaza was destroyed. the morning after peace returned here, the dust was literally settling. 1.8 million gazans are now surveying the worst c-- war damage they have experienced. it should be a boom time for this cement company owner, but his business was badly hit. >> translator: first of all we have to rebuild our factory. we are waiting for the crossings so reopen. this will help us get metal, cement, and other materials. >> reporter: importing such items has been heavily restricted. part of the ceasefire deal involves easing such rules so

reconstruction begin. but similar measures were also promised in the 2012 ceasefire. money from the international community will be needed to rebuild gaza, but this won't be the first time. again, and again here infrastructure projects paid for my foreign donations have been bombed by israel when conflicts break out. the arafat international airport was a multi-million dollars initiative paid for by the international community. this was to international standards, just over there where the dome was was the vip section of the airport, beyond that was the runway. it was only open for a few years before it was bombed by the israel list and has never been functional since. three times over the last six years gaza had needed reconstruction after conflict. this time, says the u.n., is the last time. >> they are all tired of this

cycle. they said a couple of weeks ago that this must be the last time that we are repairing gaza. and, you know, even before the war, there were plenty of things to do here, 52% without work, young people without hope, and 95% without potable water. >> reporter: but without a real political solution to the conflict, people in gaza will end up rebuilding their lives from scratch many more times. jane ferguson, al jazeera, gaza. we are going to speak to jane ferguson, who is joining us from gaza, and jane filed that report. jane, you were talking about the devastation in gaza, the reconstruction material that is needed. but i would like focus on fishing for just a moment. because during the conflict israel only allowed gazan boats

to sail 5 miles from the shore. and now there is a restoration of the preconflict perimeter. and they will look at an extension of more than 22 kilometers out to sea. so we'll have to wait and see if that extension will be implemented. but when you look at this, how much difference does it actually make to the livelihoods of the people in gaza? >> reporter: it makes a huge difference to the livelihoods of the fishermen,esten -- essentially they can only fish tiny fish, so this will make a huge difference for them. there are about 4,000 fishermen

across gaza, however, that is a tiny fraction of the population in gaza of about 1.8 million people. they will of course benefit from more fish, but realistically when you look at the siege on gaza, the fishing issue is a small one compared to many other issues such as the bringing in of construction goods to reconstruct gaza as you saw in the story there. so this is a big issue for the fishermen and their families, but for the wider society in gaza, it's not going to change things a huge amount. what it is, is a sovereignty issue. it is something that is really symbolic of the palestinian cause in gaza. people say this is really more about sovereignty in their own territory. that they have the right to fish in their own area, so that's why it is so important.

it gives the palestinians something to show for this war, and it's something that the negotiators can come back to the palestinian people and say they have achieved. >> thank you, jane. jane ferguson reporting from gaza city. two leading palestinian figures have now come out of hiding. take a look at this man right there, he was a senior hamas leaderer, and he came out of hiding shortly after the news was announced and he addressed the crowds. and this is an islamic leader who also emerged after the truce was agreed. it was one of the palestinian factions involved in the ceasefire. these two men were speaking right after the ceasefire was announced. but live pictures right now from gaza. that is a senior hamas leader. he is speaking in gaza, let's listen in for just a moment to

what he is saying. >> translator: -- has chosen mohammed [ inaudible ] and other martyrs symbols for this victory achieved during this battle. [ cheers ] >> translator: with them, our beloved one [ inaudible ], and all of the martyrs of the palestinian people are tried before -- a woman before a man, those in their houses are equally like those who are fighting on the ground to protect the land and to protect the dignity. they are all our symbols. they are the symbols of our victory. they are the symbols of our

glory, and the symbols of the dignity of our people and our nation. salute to the martyrs, and to those injured and to those behind the bars in israeli prisons, and those who are still there take their places from every battalion. so that was senior hamas leader, he is speaking right now in gaza. saluting the families of those that have been killed, more than 2,100 palestinians, three quarters of them civilians the u.n. says. joining us is a senior foreign policy advisor for fattah. your initial thoughts on what the trust has achieved with more than 2,100 palestinians killed.

>> exactly. since this ceasefire was announced yesterday at 7:00 pm, which is almost 24 hours now, we have saved 42 palestinian civilians of being murdered by the israeli murder machine, saved 12 palestinian children and more than 8 women, so just by this very basic statistic, i think it's an chiefment if that with stop this israeli murder house, and the ability to recover not only in terms of murdering and targeting civilians, but actually reeking havoc in the infrastructure of gaza. a quarter of gaza has been obliterated. but i would go further than this, and say that the warring party, the party that has imposed on us this war, israel, has failed on every account, and every account of itsen declared

and undeclared intentions in this war. and in that sense we have managed to resist and -- unite. they have failed in their declared intentions. and they also have failed in toppling the unity government, and we even went further by going to cairo as a united political position. >> what is it that fattah is going to do to ensure the palestinians in gaza uphold their end of the ceasefire? >> there is absolute -- this is a very relevant question my friend. there is no guarantee for israel to deliver its promises. we have been in peace talks for the last 20 years -- 21 years to be precise. even hamas itself has made a

deal with israel via egypt in 2012, and never has israel ever ever committed or adhered to its commitments, and therefore there are no guarantees, except our unity on the ground, and two, our ability as fattah and hamas to continue united and realize that there shall never be an end of the siege without ending the occupation. the siege is a product of this occupation, and israel uses so many tools to control the captive civilian population of the palestinians, so israel will not give up control -- >> but what it is that the palestinian president abbas -- what is he going to -- we understand that he is putting forward his own initiative to put an inend to the conflict, and he says the calling for an independent palestinian state. what sort of initiative is it? what can you tell us about it?

>> the initiative is not yet been made public, and it is still being discussed with the highest [ inaudible ] of the palestinian leadership across the board because the president is engaging and consulting. however, the gist of it is just as i said, the president with the leadership united, that the bilateral route has failed miserably. that the u.s. did not deliver, and we have to put back the palestinian cause on the right track, which is a political legal tract and we have to put this track on a time limit -- >> and does he have the full support of hamas as well as the palestinian factions in this initiative? >> of course we have the full support of hamas and the entire palestinian people, and this is a moment where we say never

again for the murder house in israel, and never again for wasting our time in futile negotiations. this is the time we seek international impose situation of a deadline -- >> you speak about the international community. so he is supposed to put this initiative forward to the united states. what happens if he doesn't get the support of the united states? >> no, we are supposed to put this initiative to our brothers, the arab league. and this is a major, major achievement. then we go one step further, and once we do that, we go to the united nations, not to the u.s. and we wage the war there, as we did wage the campaign in 2011, and 2012, and let me remind you, we won that war against the will

of the united states, and israel, and we got 138 countries. my friend our cause is universal and righteous, we have support of millions of people and we have a nation here steadfasting, resisting, and staying on their land. and if we fail we have so many cards to play and to put on the table. >> thank you for joining us. let's look at the other side of this now, and there's any israeli prime minister, benjamin netenyahu, he received support for the israelis for the offensive in gaza, but as the war dragged on and tourism wanes that caused problems. >> reporter: it's the summer holidays but business is slow. the few tourists we met are jewish or people that like

adventure. >> i brought my family to be here and show the people of israel that we're with them. >> translator: i'm not afraid, because i love to travel and war doesn't stop me. >> reporter: these visitors bring in vital foreign currency. confidence among tourists and investors is affected by sentiments, so even if the immediate danger has passed, as long as people perceive there is a threat, they'll stay away. and that can effect israel this year and also next. tourism is the life blood of the israeli economy. pilgrims of all religions come to the old city, while some head to the beach. but for most tourists war is the ultimate turnoff. >> i used to make about 5,000 shackles a month. this was in june, and then after that tourism started dying like my july pay was like 2,500

shackles, and this month it has been completely dead. >> reporter: israelis are taking stock of what has been achieved after 50 days of conflict. the images of killing and destruction from the gaza strip have tarnished the country's image. >> israel came out as the goliath, as the superpower that -- or if you like -- an elephant that is fighting fly and not even succeeding. >> reporter: israeli's sats faction with their prime minister has drawed dramatically. 82% approved of his performance. then on august the 25th with the conflict dragging on, only 38% said they were satisfied. so a few days of rest before the

end of the summer break. but it's only a brief respite. israeli and palestinian negotiators will soon have to grapple with the biggest news that the ceasefire does not address. and if they fail to agree, many israelis fear the day of quiet will be short lived. >> jackie joins us now to talk more about whether the israeli public opinion differs from that of the government. >> reporter: well the government has tried to portray this as a complete success. they said they have struck a very harsh blow to hamas militarily, and in the end they were forced to accept a ceasefire without securing agreement to their previous conditions. however, critics of the government within israel have a different take on things, some

of the political opponents of mr. netenyahu within the parliament are saying that a ceasefire without demilitarization will simply give hamas the chance to rearm itself. and i have to say that people who live in those communities surrounding the gaza strip are particularly skeptical, and it's understandable. they have seen ceasefires come and go. they bare the brunt of the rocket fire, and some of the most gloomy predictions are fearing that there could be a return to hostilities within a matter of months. so clearly ordinary israelis do not share the view of the government in terms of the outcome of this war. here is what is coming up, syrian forces and fighters from the islamic state group are accused of committing war crimes. and new leaders for turkey's

ruling party. but the political landscape remains unchanged. and one sporting legend watches another at the u.s. open. we have action later this hour. ♪ but first afghanistan's presidential election has run into more trouble. both candidates have pulled out of the u.n. supervised recount. it is a worry for the united states, which suggested the audit after abdullah said that vote in june was rigged. jennifer glasse reports from kaboul. >> reporter: the ballot review process was briefly halted when events of one candidate failed to arrive at election headquarters. officials soon had a solution, supporters of the other candidate should also withdraw,

the ghani team agreed. >> translator: until the time that abdullah's team comes back to the process, the process will continue in the presence of national, international, u.n., and european observers. >> reporter: the inauguration is scheduled for september 2nd so the new president can attend the nato summit next week. the remaining boxes are the most contention and need to be recounted. ghani's supporters say the process should proceed. >> we should not sub -- succumb to threats. those who are threatening because they are losing power, their threats will be short lived. >> reporter: and the stagnation is paralyzing the economy. >> the afghan government coffers are empty.

>> reporter: outgoing president has met the candidates twice this week to try to keep the process on track. abdullah's team says it will not recognize the outcome of the audit, because it is not there to observe. the political crisis hasn't just hurt the economy, it also threatens afghan's faith in democracy. jennifer glasse, al jazeera, kaboul. the head of the international monetary fund is being formally investigated by french authorities over a political fraud case. jonah hull is joining us to tell us what the case is about, and what has been christina's reaction? >> reporter: well the allegation against christina la guard was in 2008 she was involved in a high profile arbitration between the state and a businessman to settle a commercial dispute, and

the settlement gave him hundreds of millions of dollars in a payout, and the suggestion is that the arbitration was skewed in his favor because he had been a big benefactor of president sarkozy in his presidential bid in 2007. christina la guard has always maintained her innocence in all of this. she in fact broke the news that she had been placed under investigation in an interview. here is what she had to say. >> the investigationing commission has decided to place me under formal investigation. after three years of procedure. the only surviving allegation is that through inattention, i may have failed to block the arbitration that put an end to the long-standing litigation. i have instructed my lawyer to

appeal this decision, which i consider totally without merit. i'll return back to washington where i will indeed brief my board. >> reporter: well, she is going to report back to the board of the imf in washington and explain her situation. up until now she has been supported by the board. we're told that last year they discussed all possible outcomes, and decided she was fit to continue to lead, but of course up until today she has only been considered a witness in this case. she is now under formal investigation, which meaned that the court believes there is evidence of a crime. a crime in this case that could carry a sentence of up to a year in prison. jonah hull reporting from paris, thank you. turning to libya now. the security council is holding a meeting on the worsening

situation. kristin joins us to tell us what the united nations is doing about the rising violence in libya, kristin? >> reporter: as a sign of the international community's growing concern about the situation in libya, the security council has just passed a resolution expanding the sanctions regime in that country to allow them to sanction individual militia leaders, perhaps like those responsible for the takeover of tripoli's airport in the last week. this resolution requires countries who want to sell arms to the libyans to get approval there the commission first not only arms, but parts for equipment and so on. the security council has been hearing from the special representative for the u.n. in libya, and he is painting a very grim picture there, saying that the violence is escalating, and the u.n. hasn't been able to not

only get a ceasefire, but also to bring the parties together to the table to discuss a possible political way forward for the country. he is very concerned about the situation. and we also heard from libya's ambassador to the u.n., and he said for the first time he is worried that the country may be on the brink of a full scale civil war, but the security council seems to be confused or unsure of a further way forward and there has been some talk about a stabilization mission in the country, but without some sort of political solution or political talks happening, they seem like their hands are tied to move forward on that at this point. >> kristin, thank you. turkey's next prime minister has been officially named as the new chairman of the ruling party, and he is taking over both posts from the man who will be sworn in as president on

tuesday bernard smith has the update. >> reporter: this is the last time this man as president elect is effectively able to speak to the party. has president elect he must cut all political ties, as the office of president is supposed to be above politics. but he has told his supports that he is not leaving them. he said this is not a change. the mission continues. we have just reached a milestone. the next challenge for the party is to increase support with an eye on elections next year. with an increased majority they'll be able to make the constitutional changes that would allow him to create the more executive presidency he has made no secret he wants. the who closes one of just two labs in sierra leon. and fc seoul reach a dramatic

shootout to reach the champions league. ♪

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hello again, you are with the al jazeera news hour, here is a reminder of the top stories. celebrations are being held in gaza on the first day of the long-term ceasefire signed by hamas and israel. but the 50-day war has caused at least $6 billion in damage as thousands look to rebuild their lives. in afghanistan both presidential candidates have pulled out of the audit process. the head of the international monetary funds has dismissed claims of a fraud case. to syria, and rebel