hello. i'm david eades with bbc world news. the prime minister calls the shooting down the malaysian jet a crime saying they have gone too far. >> more than 170 passengers were did dutch. netherlands is in mourning. >> i'm live at the airport in amsterdam. this is a country in national mourning after the strategy. 178 nationals died on board mh

17. i'll have the latest. we'll have the latest from the israeli ground offense in gaza. netanyahu warns the situation could intensify. hamas warns of dreadful consequences. 200 palestinians are dead and one israeli soldier has died. hello. malaysia says if confirmed one of the passenger planes was shot down by pro russian rebels that's outrage against international law and human decency. all 298 believed to have died when the flight came down. it took off from amsterdam after

10:00 a.m. "gmt" thursday morning most passengers coming from the netherlands itself. let's go to amsterdam and join clive. >> reporter: hello from amsterdam. this is a nation in mourning. so many of those that died, at least two-thirds on board were dutch nationals. we believe some of the relatives of those that died are here today. they're a waiting word to board a special flight to kiev to possibly identify their loved ones, to find out exactly what happened in this tragedy. tributes have been laid by the side of the main terminal here. this is an airport that's one of the busiest in europe as a hub for international air travel. yesterday began as a normal day with hundreds of passengers and

flights. it ended as an unusual day and circumstances still in mystery. here and around the world, there are numerous questions asked to why the plane was flying over the active war zone in eastern ukraine and who exactly was responsible for bringing it down. it could be the flight box recorders in that debris once discovered provide some of the answers to some of those questions. let's get the latest now. >> the moment flight mh 17 burst into flames. from this angle, debris can be seen falling from the sky. on the crash site, a scene of utter devastation. strewn with the remains of the boeing 777 and the bodies of the 298 people on board. no one survived.

the malaysian airliner left amsterdam thursday after midday local time. as it was flying over eastern ukraine, an area that's seen intense fighting it crashed near the village. it had been on route to kuala lumpur. the ukrainian president was firm about what he believed was the cause of the crash. >> i'd like to draw your attention to the fact we are not calling it disaster or accident but an act of terrorism. >> ukrainians have alleged a buk missile was responsible and have asked russia of supplying to rebels, a claim moscow denies. the ukrainians say this intercepted phone conversation is proof pro russian separatists are to blame. the audio recording has not been independent verified, but claims to show a conversation between a

militant leader and a russian security official. in another conversation, two rebels are heard talking about the crash site and asking why a passenger plane was flying over this part of the country. the cause of the crash is now under intense scrutiny. there's no doubt this is an international tragedy. relatives gathered at the airport in amsterdam looking shocked, upset and confused. the passengers on board the flight were are from all over the world including australia, britain, france, canada and philippines. by far, the majority of people were from here in the netherlands. bbc news. >> let's get the latest from eastern ukraine. david stern is standing by there. david, the authorities there certainly in kiev believe that

it's the separatist rebels responsible for this. is that the view across the the country? >> it's difficult to say if this is the overall view across the country. i can tell you there are people i talked to and i know many if not the majority believe the rebels are behind this. they echo what the government says that moscow is ultimately supplying and backing the weapons and holds responsibility. the government says as we heard from the report there's hard evidence including the audio recording that reports to have the rebels discussing the downing of the plane. that hasn't been independently verified. obviously the government is putting that forward as the fact. we've been hearing strong words from the country's prime minister and from the president

petro poroshenko. he says this is a case of international terrorism, a wake-up call to the world. he's expecting adequate response from the international community as what they describe as terrorism from russia. >> as you say david, that recording allegedly suggesting that two rebel commanders were discussing what happened yesterday. that hasn't been independent verified. the buk russian missile launcher that's alleged to have been involved in this, the ukrainians have that in their arsenal. >> well yes. there's many, many questions as you and other people have been pointing out. it needs to be thoroughly investigated. obviously the ukrainians do not have just or at least they say

they don't have the audio recording. there's a question of what brought it down. was it a buk. ukrainians said they did not capture from ukrainian forces. where is it now? if that concerns the rebels. the russians say the missile was fired from ukrainian territory. we need to be very careful with the claims and counter claims. we can say this is taking place during a situation which already the tensions were rising to unprecedented and worrisome levels between russia and ukraine. just hours before this plane was brought down, ukrainians accused the russians of shooting down one of their jets with a russian plane over ukrainian territory. they're repeating their claims or accusations that russians are firing missiles or were onto ukrainian territory. this is a very sensitive, very

volatile situation that we had already before this shooting down took place. >> david stern live in eastern ukraine. thanks david. let's get the view from malaysia. it was a malaysian flight mh 17 apparently shot down by the missile. more than 20 malaysian nationals were on board and died of course including crew as well as passengers. let's get the latest from the kuala lumpur airport. we know there was a press conference earlier today from the malaysian transport minister and representatives from malaysian airlines. the big question they had to answer was why was this plane on route taking it directly over hot water? >> indeed. that was certainly the bulk of the question about that very issue. why did they take that

particular route? i should point out at 4:30 this morning in the first comment we got on this from malaysia's prime minister, it was made clear this air route had been approved by the international aviation safety organization. indeed in every question that was put to the transport minister this afternoon, he repeer repeated that. he reported other airlines continued to the route. there was no instructions not to fly the route. he said 15 of 16 airlines in the association of asia pacific airlines flew that route on a regular basis. they certainly anticipated the criticism. it didn't stop the questions coming. it was a war zone. why did they make that decision? why didn't they change their mind? do they take responsibility? they maintained that line since 4:30 this morning. it had been deemed safe to fly by international authorities.

>> what's your reading and your sense of how the malaysian authorities are handling this crisis? they came in from a lot of criticism following the disappearance of mh 370. a lot of anger and those that believe the authorities didn't do enough to inform them and keep them updated on what was going on. >> indeed. this is a very different situation. i think it is very clear that the malaysian thosauthorities h learned. we've had three statements, press conferences. the questions were curt tailed by them saying the investigation is in the hands of malaysian authorities. they're responsible authority. further information will come from them. what is left for malaysian airlines authorities to produce is a passenger manifest. the final details of the

nationalities on the flight and names. they'll release that once names have been notified. unlike with mh 370 this is one situation malaysian airlines feel they can pass over responsible. the question of what happened and why it happened beyond that # question of why malaysian airlines was on that route, they pass that now to ukrainian authorities. >> sure. one wonders about the reputationalle problems malaysian airlines may have following this yesterday and the disappearance of mh 370. this is a bad time for them. >> it is. it's extraordinary one airline can have two such extraordinary tragedies in the space of six months. the prime minister said early this morning it's a tragic day on what has been a tragic year for malaysia.

at this stage there's no suggestion this is anything but an absolute appalling coincidence. this is not just a question of the fact they can push off responsibility for the question but it is -- they've been closely watched in how they handled it and what treatment they give the relatives and how much information does flow. as i said that first press conference was different to what we saw in the early days of disappearance of mh 370. >> sure. good to talk to you from kuala lumpur. thanks. now the manifest for that flight yesterday is pawed over as to establish how many were on board and where they came from and who they were. what has transpired in the last few hours and that quite a few on board, perhaps as many as 100

people, were actually on their way to a very important international conference on aids. something like 100 people potentially may have been heading on that flight mh 17 with the stop over in kuala lumpur. a little earlier we spoke to one of the delegates flying out today to attend that conference. she was actually a friend and colleague of one of those that perished on board mh 17 yesterday. let's hear what she had to say. >> it's really terrible loss. it's unbelievable. i think the people like the founder of the global program on aids and who died on the plane crash from new york to geneva

and now a person with such huge heart. my colleagues and i really cannot comprehend. we really cannot comprehend the terrible loss of the program. not only the program but the people, patients, everybody who knows him. i would also like to give my deep, deep condolences to his family and to family of many other colleagues who were on this flight. >> one of the colleagues and friends of one of those who died on board the plane heading out to that international aids

conference being held in melbourne. it's not just that the conference was held in australia and of course the tragedy there has touched people there. 27 australians died on that flight. tony abbott has been speaking about what happened. >> as things stand, this looks less like an accident than a crime. if so, the perpetrators must be brought to justice. i can inform the house as quick as possible australia will be working at the united nations security council for a binding resolution calling for a full and impartial investigation with full access to the site, with full access to the debris, with full access to the black box. with full access to all individuals who might be in a

position to shed light on this terrible event. >> the australian prime minister tony abbott addressing parliament there. let's talk to phil mercer there. he's our correspondent in sydney. he's standing by. my understanding is that it would be possible for certain international parties from other countries to be involved in the investigation under international flight rules. is there a sense tony abbott would want his own people to be involved in what goes on? >> i certainly get the sense that australia wants to get to the bottom of this mysterious disaster. abbott doesn't believe the explanation for the crashing of mh 17.

he told the press conference innocent people had been killed by russian backed rebels possibly use russian supplied weapons. this was no accident according to the prime minister. this was a plane shot down. very, very stern words indeed from mr. abbott. i get that if australia has the opportunity to send investigators to the crash site in that field in ukraine, it would almost certainly do so. >> yeah. is there any -- what is the relationship between australia and moscow at the moment? what are the links between if two countries? the dutch have really quite close ties to russia. >> australia/russian relations are bad at the moment. abbott hasn't had direct content with putin. both have been -- both

governments have been talking face to face. it was asked what was russia's view of the plane coming down in ukraine. according to the prime minister, mr. abbott doesn't believe what the ambassador said. apparently the ambassador insisted it was ukraine's fault the plane came down in that field. mr. abbott said that's deeply unacceptable. later in the year australia is to host the g 20 sum mitt. vladimir putin would be invite odd to that event but whether he's welcome now is another matter. >> that will be interesting indeed. finally we have been talking about the international aids conference due to take place in melbourne. delegates are still leaving the airport from all over the world heading down to where you are.

is that conference still going to go ahead? is that confirmed despite so many people and delegates due to attend may actually have died? >> we've been hearing in the last hour or two from organizations of the international aids conference that begins in melbourne sunday. the event will definitely go ahead. the feeling from organizers is that the spirit of event, of research and determination and thoroughness will be applied to this research conference. research organizers say no doubt those people that perished in the plane on their way to melbourne would almost certainly have wanted the conference to proceed. this is a conference with 26,000 people from all over the world. one would imagine a great deal of thought and sympathy will be

extended not only to victims of mh 17 and the ripple spreading further to friends and family members in other countries. >> very much so. okay phil in sydney. thanks. let's get more now on the reaction from malaysia. it was a malaysian airlines plane mh 17. it took off from here yesterday afternoon. everything was normal with that flight until at 2:15 local time here in holland, radar disappeared. it completely went off the screens. there was no may day, no warning. no suggestion beforehand that the plane was in trouble. let's hear from the transport minister. he's been speaking in the last hour and a half. >> malaysian airlines takes

response. the airline has arranged staff to be flown to amsterdam to support the families. separately prime minister announced this morning malaysia will have a special disaster assistance. in total 62 people, 35 team members, 15 medical staff, 10 malaysian airline staff representatives, five airline staff, two aviation staff are deceased. on passengers, earlier today malaysia airlines released those on board the flight and nationalities. these included 41 passengers

nationality could not be verified at the time. they were in transit and had not entered passport to amsterdam. 21 of these passengers nationality have now been verified. the break down of nationalities of those on board is totals. 24 malaysian, 27 australian, 12 indonesians, nine from the united kingdom, four belgium, one canadian. >> that was malaysian's transport minister speaking in the last hour and a half or so. much pointed the finger of blame

of what happened yesterday at russian backed separatists in the east of ukraine. we know for a fact that they have been able to shoot down a number of ukrainian military transport planes and aircraft over the last few days and weeks. that for those people who believe the the russian backed separatists are responsible is proof enough they have the majority of the blame on their shoulders. let's get the view now from moscow to all of this. are the russians speaking publicly about what involvement they may of had in yesterday's events or are they still making it clear they had nothing to do with it? >> they do not connect themselves to whatever happened in eastern ukraine. this has been a line throughout the months of the conflicts. russia says separatists are on their own. it admits separatist leaders

come to moscow n. events like this, russia tries to distance. the russian statement is slowly going to action. we heard russian foreign minister talking about the air crash saying that russia demands the most thorough, objective investigation into what happened. he said the ukrainian statements are not helping this by blaming russia, by blaming separatist. he's trying to pressure the investigation which is about to start. >> live in moscow, thanks. there's so muany many questions that need to be answered. was it a missile fired by separatists in the region? why was that plane flying over what was obviously a hot war zone? we'll have the latest continuing

throughout the day from here in amsterdam. now back to you. >> live in the airport there near amsterdam clive bringing us up to date on developments on the story regarding mh 17. we'll keep across the situation in gaza as well. thanks for being with us here on bbc world news. don't go away. hello. there's a line of storms working through southern brazil. it's a weakening weather feature. most places will actually end up with a fine end to the weekend. through friday, that weather system will take showers, maybe a storm, maybe gusty winds with a top temperature 23 degrees. we look in greater detail. dry weather in southern argentina, chile seeing rain. we head further north. that new guy is like a donut, tasty.

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the operation could intensify. hamas itself warns of dreadful

consequences. 24 palestinians are dead according to the gaza health ministry. one israeli soldier has also died. hello. thanks for being with us. in the last few minutes, in fact ukraine yaes foreign minute city said it located 180 bodies from the scene of the malaysian airlines crashed close to its border with russian shachlt ukrainian authorities claim to have evidence pro russian rebels shot down the boeing 777, something the prime minister described as a crime against humanity. rebels deny any involvement. flight mh 17 took off from amsterdam after 10:00 a.m.

"gmt." most were from the netherlands. the plane itself had a clean bill of health and following an approved flight path. air traffic controllers are lost contact with it four hours into the flight. >> the moment flight mh 17 burst into flames. from this angle debris can be seen falling from the sky. on the crash site, a scene of utter devastation. strewn with the remains of the boeing 777 and bodies of 298 on board. no one survived. the malaysian airliner left amsterdam on thursday just after midday local time. as it was flying over eastern ukraine, an area that has seen intense fighting, it crashed near the village. it had been on route to kuala

lumpur. the ukrainian president was firm about what he believed was the cause of the crash. >> i would like to draw your attention to the fact we are not calling it an accident or disaster but an act of terrorism. >> the ukrainians have alleged a buk air missile was responsible and accused russia of supplying the missile to rebels, a claim moscow denies. the ukrainians say this intercepted phone conversation is proof pro russian separatists are to blame. the audio recording has not been independently verified but claims to show a conversation between a militaitary leader an russian official. two rebels are heard talking about the crash site in another conversation and asking why a passenger plane was flying over this part of the country.

the cause of the crash is now under intense scrutiny. there is no doubt this is an international tragedy. relatives gathered at airport in am administer down looking shocked, upset and confused. passengers on board the flight were from all over the world including australia, britain, france, canada and philippines. by far, the majority of people were from here in the netherlands. well let's go to eastern ukraine. david, we listen to all international condemnation and pressure. the pressure on pro russian rebels at the moment really is intense isn't it? how far are they going do you think to exceed to those demands for an open, fair, unhindered

investigation? >> well david that's the question. the main question at this moment in addition to what actually happened. people are looking to see will there be full access to the crash site? will the investigators be able to conduct a full investigation? it's not just question of access. this is a combat zone, war zone. the tensions there are extremely high. we are getting mixed signals. some rebel leaders say there will be access. others say no. it really boils down to what a actually will happen, what will be the reality on the ground. the question about the rebels being under a great deal of pressure is absolutely right. this may force them to exceed or they may feel their backs are to the wall and they need to push back harder. >> despite all shouts directed at them, is it possible for them

to have one coherent voice in response? it's typical. there are reports about who the rebels actually are. some say there's a number of groups. others obviously say there's a cohesive group directed by moscow. they're full of russian fighters and russian leaders. we do know in fact a large number of rebel leaders are russian citizens. they admit this. they come from moscow or a couple do. the question is, yes do they speak with one voice. ultimately it boils down to what is going to happen on the ground and how this is going to play out in the rest of the conflict. we were seeing heightened tensions already unprecedented before the airliner was shot down. the ukrainians were accusing

russians from shooting down the plane. >> there's direction from the press in ukraine media suggesting that this is either a turning point or a point of no return. >> i wonder. i suppose it depends if your in kiev or eastern ukraine as to which side of the fence you may fall on. >> exactly. i'm in eastern ukraine now which is located on the river which is right behind me. i guess this is the last port of call from the border zone. opinions vary. one opinion that has been fairly consistent since this started, i'm based in kiev and hearing from people the great fear that the this will escalate further. the fighting there was worse. is this now becoming uncontrollable, the downing of a

civilian airliner, close to 300 dead. is this something that will ultimately see ukraine engulfed in all out fighting not just donetsk but will this provide people to pull back from the brink? >> thanks very much david stern. at least 27 australians were confirmed among those on board the plane. it was scheduled to fly to australia after stopping in kuala lumpur. tony abbott told parliament his country is calling for full and impartial investigation. >> as things stand this looks less like an accident than a crime. if so, the perpetrators must be brought to justice. so i can inform the house that as quickly as possible australia will be working at the united nations security council for a binding resolution calling for a

full and impartial investigation with full access to the site, with full access to the debris, with full access to the black box and full access to all individuals who might be in a position to shed light on this terrible event. >> tony abbott, bbc phil mercer joining us from sydney. with that number of australian citizens, this must be hitting home very painfully indeed where you are. then exacerbated by the fact so many on board that flight were actually bound for melbourne for a major conference. there's been shock and dismay as you'd imagine here in australia. we're beginning to learn about the 28 australians it is now whom the government here in australia says were on board that flight. there was a catholic nun, estate agent a, businessman traveling with three young grandchildren,

all perished in that fiery crash in the field in ukraine. reports in australia suggest 100 passengers on flight mh 17 were on their way to the southern australian city of melbourne for international aids conference that starts sunday. we'd been speaking to organizers down there in victoria. they say the event will definitely go ahead to spirit and dedication of all those researchers and other people heading to the conference in melbourne who sadly will no longer make it. we don't allow russia to have the comprehensive investigation to what happened here. that's the concern there will not be the full, open ended and independent investigation. >> we've heard from the prime

minister at a press conference in the last few hours and the prime minister sounds very, very angry. he says he doesn't believe russia's explanation for crashing of malaysian airline plane. he said that the russian ambassador was called in. the ambassador blamed ukraine for the tragedy. mr. abbott said this was deeply unacceptable. australia was extremely angry and wants answers done independently and hopes russia will not get in the way. phil mercer in sydney. thanks very much indeed. thank you for being with us on bbc world news. still to come this the program, israel's prime minister warns ground troops could step up operations against palestinian militants. we'll have live reports from gaza.

the boeing airliner was reportedly shot down at 33,000 feet. debris and bodies are scattered across the territory. the prime minister netanyahu says israel is prepared for expansion of ground offensive in gaza. there's more on what benjamin netanyahu had to say. he said air strikes alone were not sufficient to destroy the tunnels used by hamas to store rockets. at least 24 palestinians and one israeli soldier were killed. paul adams has the report from

gaza. >> the heaviest so far lighting up gaza night sky, shells and missiles hitting throughout the gaza strip. under darkness, reports of troops operating inside gaza. with hamas still firing rockets, israel says it has no choice but to launch a ground separation. >> the only reason the israeli government had to send in troops is because hamas rejected the proposal on the table by the egyptians, the cease fire proposal supported by the arab league and united nations. >> earlier another three children were killed by an irali air strike as they played together on the roof of their house. two boys eight and seven and their 10-year-old cousin. the funerals took place quickly. israel picks targets with upmost care. it's a claim being sorely tested.

>> my grandchildren were playing on top of the roof when they were struck from above. they weren't doing anything. they didn't go outside. they weren't fighters, did nothing. >> this latest phase of the conflict is unclear. all day israeli armor was on the move preparing for order to go in. among the possible targets, networks of underground tunnels in the early hours of thursday, 13 palestinian gunmen were intercepted as they attempted to infiltrate israel. the israeli army told us staying on the beach front not to move. as they expand operations they don't want us getting in the way or seeing what's going on. we can see and hear a certain amount of activity around here. we're getting reports it's worse in other parts of the gaza strip, places for now are too dangerous to reach. >> hamas spokesman said israel

is making a serious mistake. he warned israeli soldiers could be kid that napped. we could be entering a more dangerous phase. >> let's find out. chris morris is are there. the message from netanyahu is clear enough. this could go on a long time and could intensify? >> yeah, it could david. i'm close to the israeli border with gaza. let me show you of where we are to get a bit of geography. we've heard constant explosions since we arrived here. you can probably see the wall that marks the border between israel and gaza. those are israeli houses. we've seen armored vehicles moving in that area in the last half hour. if you come over my other shoulder, that's gaza,

palestinian towns, areas we know the israeli defense forces have been operating on the ground since that ground incursion began. palestinian officials say more than 20 palestinians have been killed. last night, one israeli soldier also died in the northern gaza strip. >> chris, i'm struck by what the u.s. secretary of state john kerry said. he said that he told mr. netanyahu there was a need to avoid further escalation and restore the 2012 cease fire as soon as possible. i wonder if that's seen by israel as the green light to get on and do what it needs to do? >> i think the trouble for israel is what does it need to do? it needs to keep hamas much quieter, needs to try to find a way to prevent hamas firing rockets to israel. we've had one siren suggesting the possibility of incoming fire.

the trouble is since the last israeli ground incursion into gaza at the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009. hamas rebuilt capability. constructed thousands of rockets and constructed underground bunkers and tunnels. the aim to begin with of the military operation is target tunnels. there were 13 palestinian militants intercepted yesterday morning. having got in yesterday close. that's why mr. netanyahu said this morning the stand by for significant escalation for ground offensive. this is important he also said in a clear message to israeli people, there's so no such thing as 100% success. everyone involved knows this sooner or later has to come to an end. it's a question of how much damage israel can do to hamas military capability. on the other side, does that

focus on hamas mean politically in gaza, hamas emerges stronger from this? >> thank you very much indeed. let's find out the view in gaza. clearly a desperate place for citizens to be, for residents. hamas weakened or strengthened by these sorts of incursions? >> first of all it's quite frankly a terrifying place for people to be in gaza at the moment. we've got the air strikes to the north and east and south of the gaza strip. a lot of shelling happened as well. people are watching at home on their television sets. they're seeing quite awful pictures such as those of three pill -- palestinian children

brought in. that brings the total number of palestinians killed to more than 260. you can really understand why people are laying low in their homes and just trying to keep the information coming into them. really, it's much more worrying for people, this idea there could be a wider offensive. it's too soon to say this is building support for hamas or militant groups in gaza. the one thing we should make clear, hamas says in the cease fire negotiations being brokered through egypt, it wants to see political gains as well. it doesn't just want hostilities with no return. there should be the release of many activists from israeli jails. these have been rounded up in the west bank, in the past few weeks. also it wants to have a much bigger easing of the restrictions of both israel and egypt imposed on the gaza strip. these were tightened after hamas

came to power here back in 2007 a year after the election. they have made life really unbearable for people here. they strangled the the economy. many who don't support hamas, hamas has had financial difficulties recently that meant support dropped away. everyone is affected by this. they want to see the situation changed as part of long term comprehensive truce. >> thanks very much indeed. reference from the discussions in egypt to try and broker some cease fire which is clearly failed so far. bbc is in cairo. >> the egyptian ministry of foreign affairs issued a statement late yesterday condemning the ground offensive and saying israel is putting the lives of civilians at risk.

it also says another thing. in a meeting with the foreign minister -- [ inaudible ] >> very keen on keeping the palestinians safe. he blamed hamas, turkey for the initiative. he says this presented by egypt is perhaps the only means to protect the whole region from being fragmented and provided to countries fighting each other. egypt is condemning the israeli offensive on one hand but on the other hand it's holding hamas, cut tar and turkey responsible for undermining the initiative as he says. >> i suppose the blame is handed in a sense. where does it leave efforts to negotiate a cease fire?

are people still doing what they can to move this on? >> what we understood from egyptian officials we have spoke ton over past days, egypt is exerting efforts trying to convince parties to come together, sit at one table and negotiate a cease fire. again the foreign ministry says all parties involved have to accept unconditionally the egyptian cease fire initiative. now after the escalation on the ground, it seems that these efforts are in limbo. the president was here yesterday and met with representatives for hamas and islamic jihad in attempt to convince them for cease fire initiative. he's today in turkey meeting with officials and one mediator. all efforts are in limbo. hamas continues to reject the egyptian cease fire initiative.

israel is going with a ground offensive. >> this is the problem isn't it? hamas perhaps is never going to willingly go with the egyptian proposal given the tensions between the two. do you think the authorities in egypt honestly believe they are still the best brokers for this? >> in fact i've spoken to the minister of foreign affairs yesterday. he said that egypt perhaps is the most credible regional mediator and egyptian initiative is the only one that won international recognition. however, there's some kind of tense relationship between egyptian authorities and hamas since ex president morsi has been deposed. egypt has banned these here in the country. current regime has very critical situation because it wants to negotiate with hamas. at the same time it has banned

activities of this group. this might complicate the mediation efforts exerted by the egyptian authorities. there are some reports saying that hamas perhaps wants to bring turkey to be involved in the mediation talks. so far the egyptian authorities do not seem so much willing to do that. >> there in cairo. i want to bring you the scene live in gaza now. looks relatively calm. she was saying there's still plenty of noise going on. many terrified residents who are staying firmly put in their homes. we've heard that at least 24 palestinians are being killed since the ground offensive began. israel -- those figures from the health ministry in gaza. israel says one of the soldiers has been killed. i want to show you the scene from eastern ukraine because in the after math of the crash of

flight mh 17, we understand that up to 180 of the bodies of passengers have been recovered from the scene. efforts for a full investigation demands continue to rain around the world. thanks for watching bbc world news.

hello and welcome to "gmt" on bbc world news. i'm stephen sackur. our top stories. not an accident but a terrible crime. after flight mh 17 is apparently blown out of the sky over eastern ukraine, governments around the world demand an immediate investigation. 298 passengers and crew are killed. more than half dutch. as investigators tried to reach the wreckage, ukraine accuses pro russian separatists of downing the plane.