>> we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they were. president obama threatens air strikes in syria as he lays out a plan to strike the islamic state group. hello, i'm darren jordan from the world news in al jazeera. also ahead, new accusations against israel on attacks from u.n. schools used as shells in gaza. accused of the murder, a judge about to deliver a verd o ict in the trial of -- verdict of oscar pistorius. and we look at what

revolutionized the fight against crime. welcome to the programme. u.s. president obama authorised air strikes against the islamic state group in syria as well as in iraq. in a televised speech on wednesday night he laid out a plan to degrade and destroy the i.s. group. patty culhane has more from washington d.c. >> reporter: americans overwhelmingly feel the islamic state group is a threat to the united states. with that backdrop the u.s. today tonight president obama promised action. >> our objective is clear. we will degrade and ultimately destroy i.s.i.l., through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy. >> the goal - total destruction. he promise to accomplish that with limited u.s. action, through increased air strikes in iraq and possibly into syria, and with the help of a coalition

of countries. >> it will not involve combat troops fighting on foreign soil. the counterterrorism campaign will be waged through a steady effort to take out i.s.i.l. using air power and support for partners on the ground. >> the secretary of state was less definitive. >> unless something dramatic changed. >> the u.s. will have 1500 transin iraq, many to advise iraqi and kurdish fighters. the goal is for those forces to do the fighting on the ground. as for the plan in syria - air strikes will not help bashar al-assad. the goal is to defeat his military, they hope to do that with aid and training of the moderate forces, taking place in saudi arabia. the president promised a somewhat painless fight. some say that comes with risks.

>> the main risk have that it will not work, the situation will be seen as getting worst, the islamic state will extend its hold on the territory, and will continue its campaign against ruthless brutality and the americans will be seen as ineffective. >> with falling poll numbers the president is under pressure to project strength and have a plan. he is reassuring the country it's one he can win with limited cost to the united states. imran khan is in baghdad, let's talk to rula in beirut. let's start with you first. president obama says he has not ruled out air strikes in syria. how are his plans to fight the group likely to go down there. what is the reaction so far? >> well, we had an official reaction from the syrian opposition, saying they are willing and ready to partner and

help the new alliance on the ground and are keen on stressing that they feel they need help to fight president bashar al-assad at the same time. they don't want the chance, a new alliance to be fighting i.s. weaken it, because it's the most effective force on the ground, and strengthening bashar al-assad at the same time by weakening his opponent. they want to make sure the strike will help them replace i.s. >> what about the plan to arm and equip moderate fighter groups in syria. is that likely to work? >> we have heard such plans from the united states before, to cultivate and nourish a moderate force from the syrian opposition. this did not work in the past. they trained them, they equipped them. on the ground the new forces failed to gain support from the people on the ground. they failed to fight bashar

al-assad, and the more radical groups like al nusra and i.s. took over and became the fighting force, and that's why they got more recruits. what will the u.s. do differently so the moderate force is on the ground working and effective and at the amount, they have to be careful. the last time they give them weapons, some fell in the wrong hands, going to the radical groups. that's why the united states will do more vetting. there is a lot of skepticism on how it will work this time, and that's why the bashar al-assad regime feel that even though now he is excluded from the plans to fight i.s., the u.s. has not come and asked for his help. he feels the plan will not work without the bashar al-assad cooperation, and that sooner or later they'll have to knock on damascus's doors for help. >> rula, thank you. let's cross to imran khan, live in baghdad. we heard from president obama

outlining his plans against the i.s. group. what is the plan in the iraqi capital? >> there's no official rehabilitation. officially it's welcome, the military strategy. part is setting up a national guard unit to protect the cities. the americans are willing to spend time training and giving arms to the new national guard unit that will fall to the iraqis. they are happy about that, and they are happy that there'll be air support for iraqi troops on the ground that, will go in and fight the i.s. a lot of lawmakers are saying this is the cooperation we need. what we don't want is ground troops in iraq as they worry about civilian casualties. those two things have been welcomed. also, the americans have said that prime minister haider al-abadi is moving forward with forming the national guard units. things seem to be moving quickly

on the ground in iraq. there is a moment of skepticism from lawmakers about his language on syria. they wanted tougher language. president obama didn't bother air strikes, instead alluding to them. they would rather a more straightforward clearer plan on syria. >> what is the rehabilitation from i.s. themselves? have they said anything? >> yes, they had. what they said is we haven't declared war on america. the beheadings were a warning. their key goals are in place. they want to build and strengthen the islamic caliphate and dismiss u.s. action in this country. >> human rights watch says israel likely committed war crimes during the 50 day war on gaza. a report by the rights group highlighted attacks on u.n.

schools, saying israel caused civilian casualtiesies in violence of law. more than 2,000 palestinians died. 73 died on the israeli side. 67 soldiers. >> israel launched an investigation into allegations of what it calls military misconduct by forces in gaza, among the cases was the bombing of one school and the killing of four children on a beach. nick schifrin has more from west jerusalem. >> the israelis have opened up five criminal investigations, including on july 16th, when four children were targeted twice on the gaza beach outside a hotel where many of us journalist were staying at the time. another notorious incident that israelis say they'll launch a criminal investigation, a tank shell entered a u.n. school that

became a shelter for so many that lost their homes, killing 20 people that morning, and that is also a criminal investigation. three more incidences that were not covered at the time didn't get attention during the war. on the 18th of july, a gazan woman coordinated movements with the israeli military and was shot, despite the coordination on 20 july. the israeli military is calling a pillaging by a soldier, the epicentre of this war, and on 23 july the israeli military calling the unlawful holding of threats and abuse. this is an attempt, of course, by the israeli military to get ahead of a criminal investigation by the international community, accusations of war crimes, the israeli military trying to show it can police its own soldiers

actions. there are critics of the investigations. a pro-palestinian group in israel. it says that this will be a whitewash with the israeli military, they point out that the people who are conducting the investigations were not in the chain of command during the gaza war, and they did not have any kind of responsibility for these particular action, and they say that all of the people on the investigations are senior military commanders who had combat experience before, and that, the israeli military says, is proof it can police its own soldiers actions and hold its own soldiers accountable. the israeli police have been charged with beating an american. images were released of the 15-year-old being beaten by officers, he was at a protest for the murder of his cousin.

the judge in the oscar pistorius case will deliver her verdict shortly. these are the latest pictures. oscar pistorius arrived a few moments ago. he is accused of killing his girlfriend on valentine's day. the judgment is expected to take hours or go into friday. >> reporter: oscar pistorius's daily dash into court has been broadcast around the world, his every move devoured, an appetite for details. the most sensitive moments were restricted by the judge to audio only. the paralympian is accused of shooting his girlfriend reeva steenkamp, who is behind a bathroom door. he says the killing was an accident. he thought she was an intruder. the prosecution alleges he shot her in a jealous rage. witnesses say they heard sa woman's terrified screams and a

gunshot. most of the trial has been broadcast on television, a first for south africa. this law professor says it's a great thing. >> they have given people of south africa, where they don't get to see justice in action. it's given them access to justice in a way they would never see in their lies. there's always a present threat of sensationalism and misreporting. >> oscar pistorius's status as an athlete would lead to interest. there are journalists from all over the world. the viewers see it as enthralling entertainment. south africans are reminded it's the justice system at its best, a defendant that can afford the best lawyers. gender rights specialist says the media put too much focus on legal intricacies, and not enough on domestic violence and gun control laws. >> in south africa there's almost an immunity to violence.

many people accept it. violence has become bein my opinion. it is something essentialal that makes us think about it. >> reporter: whether it's entertainment or not, millions await the outcome. al jazeera continues to demand the release of its three journalists. egypt has detained peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed for 257 days. they are accused of aiding the muslim brotherhood, charges seen as politically motivated. they are appealing their conviction. al jazeera continues to demand their release. >> a lot more to come on al jazeera, including the fight against ebola. doctors in senegal say they cured a young patient suffering from the disease. more than that. stay with us.

is welcome back, a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. u.s. president pledges to degrade and destroy the islamic state group. he says they'll fight against i.s. fighters wherever they exist. human rights watch says israel likely committed war crimes, after several attacks on u.n. schools, and accused israel of causing casualties in violation of the laws of war.

oscar pistorius arrives in court in south africa where a judge will start to deliver a verdict in the murder trial. the athlete is accused of killing his girl on valentine's day last year. back to the top story, president obama laid out a plan of action against the islamic state, will it be enough to push i.s. fighters out of a large area under their control. here is a look at the territory, showing the i.s. group acted in syria and iraq. over the past few months they've pushed deeper in iraq and out of strongholds in syria. political analyst who works for peace and social justice says the u.s. strategy for iraq doesn't offer realistic solutions. >> i was disappointed that the war political doesn't show up at all in the president's speech regarding iraq. the president speaks about bombing the extremist group i.s.

the president speaks about creating troops to send combat forces, but he doesn't speak about political solutions to extremism. so we are stuck in that mentality that they believe in. we have a mentality that believes that we can bomb iraq into moderation and stability, and we can fight extremism through military means. i don't think that is unrealistic. the president's speech today reaffirms the myth that extremism can be forced through military means. the u.s. tried that in the past and failed. i don't see any reason that will work. the white house is trying to portray the situation as a place where there is one bad guy called i.s., that the u.s. will

step in with our legitimate good partners in iraq to get rid of him. the reality on the ground is that there is no legitimate partner in iraq. we are talking about shi'ite and kurdish militia who are, in many cases, as brutal as i.s.i.s. relying on these partners in iraq is a huge problem. the iraqi government is not a legitimate central government that has support from iraqi sunnis, and they see it as their representative. iraqi sunnis in the sunni provinces seems to be more toll ranked to i.s., the crazy terrorist organization i.s., than dealing with their government. that is a problem leading to the fall of almost a third of iraq's territory over a week. microsoft cofounder bill

gates and wife melinda are pledging $50 million to help fight ebola. to buy supplies, diagnostic tools and vaccines. the united nations appealed for $600 million to fight the outbreak that killed nearly 2,000 people. senegal announced the full recovering of a 21-year-old patient suffering ebola. it was the first case, and raised fears that the disease may have spread in a fifth nation. nicholas hart reports from dakar. >> reporter: it's a victory for the small infectious disease department of this hospital. led by professor zai heedy, they took turns treating a young man. they had no access to experimental vaccines. the patient's chances were slim, but made a full recovery. >> translation: we monitored the

patient, making sure he was hydrated. >> he is still in care. and authorities are monitoring people he was in contact with. senegal is the first country to have eradicated the violence. >> translation: we are in the state of alert. the border with guinea will be closed. we'll monitor the situation. countries should lift the restrictions put into place against us. >> reporter: the government considered prosecuting the patient. he travelled into senegal with the patient. putting many in danger. instead, he will be deported out of the country. doctors in this hospital say his treatment is not over. the virus may not have left his body, but he suffers from deep psychological trauma. he has lost half of his family to the virus.

doctors say treatments can be dramatics, because patients must be isolated. >> translation: it's difficult to be sick on your own, not knowing if you will survive, knowing that your family is dead. beating the virus is a mental challenge. >> reporter: ebola can inflict deep mental scars that require psychological treatment. too often overlooked. for these doctors, fighting the virus is the first priority. meanwhile people travelling from the democratic republic of congo to some south african countries will need to show a document proving they are ebola free. the outbreaks unrelated to the ones in west africa. congo's health minister visited a treatment center. the virus killed 32 in congo. >> it's 150 days since more than

200 schoolgirls were kidnapped in nigeria. the army has been leading the search. little has been made public about their whereabouts. we have this report. this man thought he and his family were lucky to escape an attack on their village, escaping on foot to cameroon. they started a journey across nigeria, before settling in boouja. he left a daughter at her boarding school in the north-east, wanting her to finish the year of school. sara was one of nearly 300 schoolgirls abducted by boko haram in april. >> translation: every day, every night i pray. i ask god to bring my daughter back alive and in good health. >> translation: i try to be strong for my family. it's hard. being a poor man, i have no means to take the government to task. >> reporter: parents have been weighing to hear about the

missing girls. the military say they know the location but can't go in arms blazing. since then, boko haram has been expanding its reach. the government says it used the past five months to improve the quality of intelligence on boko haram. for many families, the process has been excruciatingly slow. >> rebecca is one of the girls that escaped. she spent the past month at a cousin's house doing house chores. this is not what she wants to do with her life. >> all i am thinking of is to find a better and safe school. i want my family to be proud of me. i want to support them. i can only do that with education. >> activists have been working with local organizations to find placements with the girls that escape the. >> a handful of girls have gone to lagos, and others to the

united states. >> there are supports coming from different groups, but not enough. the problem is so much so that many people are affected. >> like this family. they have been living on handouts and church charity. there's no money to send the children to school. they worry about their future, and how to calm them. now, torrential rain is hitting the northern japanese island of al qaeda, forcing authorities to issue an evacuation alert. roads have become inactionable in bringing transport to a stop. weather experts say the area has not experienced heavy rain. conditions are expected to continue throughout thursday. in indian-administered kashmir flood levels are falling

making way for the air force to reach those affected. rescue teams reached areas that were previously under water, allowing them to receive vital aid. more than 450 people died in india and neighbouring pakistan. rising waters there have sent the river over its banks. more flooding in the region could force several thousand from their homes. helicopters are being used to force many from their homes. >> more than 30 protesters have been arrested in the u.s. city of ferguson. they were trying to block a highway near the street where black teenager michael brown was killed by police last month. organizers are dissatisfied with the probe on the killing, they bant darren wilson arrested and

are dissatisfied with the mayor and the police chief. former ukranian prime minister tymoshenko has called for a referendum on whether they should join n.a.t.o. the vote is expected to take place in october, at the same time as the parliamentary elections. now, exactly 30 years ago a scientist in the u.k. found patterns within d.n.a. were different even within the same family. we meet the man behind d.n.a. fingerprinting, that revolutionized the fight against prime. >> we have a replica of the d.n.a. fingerprint... >> reporter: the school group is getting to grips with a case that made history. there was doubts that that boy accompanying a woman from ghana, that it was her son. she was able to prove he was, that is known as d.n.a.

printing. the scientist that discovered it remembers the reaction he got from people at lester university. >> i stood up and told them about the biology. it was speculated that maybe they could catch rapists by analysing the semen. at that point i remember the back row of the audience. they taught it was mad and i lost the plot. history proved me right, and them wrong. >> in the last 30 years, genetic fingerprinting is something many have taken for granted. as well as fighting crime, it led to a range of applications. >> the technique was used to prove that this sheep called dolly was the clone of another animal. >> it was something stumbled across in a lab 30 years ago is being used today as an educational tool for genetics. it's exciting to think that the

same things are happening now - people are stumbling across things and in 30 years time it would be nice to think they can be used as tools. >> in the real world it's crime fighting benefitting most. the latest break through is rapid d.n.a. >> a sample that gets to the machine, we get the result or the barcoding or the profile within 90 minutes. that can go to a scientist to compare against the d.n.a. database, and they'll say whether that person is or isn't on the d.n.a. database. for investigations, that is huge. >> reporter: as for finding future applications, the only limit is what the human brain can conceive of. three astronauts landed on earth after five months in space. an american and two russians touched done in khazakhstan in a russian soyuz capsule.

they have been on the international space station since march. they completed scientific research and make way for a 3-member crew to depart later this month. you can keep up to date with the news on the website. there assist on your screen, aljazeera.com. that's aljazeera.com. >> to hear al baghdadi hear it, he's head of state. the status that merges religious and governmental leadership. who al baghdadi, how he got where he is, and the caliphate are all on "inside story." >> hello, i'm ray suarez.