qantas and ianna decided not to fly over ukraine, there were many airlines that were still flying over ukraine, malaysia being one of them. should the airline be criticized? the airline flies a flight plane. if the air route is closed, it's rejected. if it's open, then they're allowed to fly. that's what happens here. looking over the last 48 hours before the flight, there were many long haul flights from singapore, from bangkok, from malaysia that were all going off this route and around this area. the question that really needs to be asked is to the authorities. why, when they knew that the capable of the separatists to bring planes down has had in recent days, why they didn't realize having reached that level of capability they didn't close ukrainian air space. to put it bluntly, it was put to

me by one chief exec of an airline. to blame the airline for flying the route is a bit like blaming the car for being on the road when the road is open. the question you need to ask is why was the road open? >> the search for answers into the investigation continues. alex is an avenuation consultant and a rm toer pilot himself with more than 30 years in the industry. would you fly over ukraine? >>el with, not today, obviously. >> would you have done it before the crash? >> well, if my airline had produced a flight plan which took us over there, presumably, yes. one would wonder if the wisdom of it, certainly. the airline i used to work for, i believe, had been avoiding that area for very good reasons. >> you wouldn't expect a ground to air missile to target, that's the reality, isn't it?

>> no, i wouldn't have expected it. but, you know, you always wonder about the wisdom of flying over combat zones. but, you know, there are war zones all over the world. as an airline pilot checking in for a flight, you tend to -- well, you have no choice, really, but to accept the decision made by your company and they produced a flight plan. you do occasionally reject a flight plan or a routing and select a different one. say, for example, they route you over a tie phenomenon and you choose a different route. same applies with severe turbulence, you might choose a different level. but in the case of making a political decision like this, it would be -- it's not really up to the flight crew on the day. >> should that flight have even existed? >> well, i would say no, but retrospectively, obviously, no,

but -- >> who would be to blame for that, then? >> i would blame first and foremost the ukrainians because they know the dangers in their own air space, they're the ones who manage it and they're the ones who should inform other states that these airways are to longer safe and they should have closed them. no question in my mind about that. but also, you have to ask what the intelligence authorities were doing in our countries not to have flagged this up as an area of extreme danger in view of high level shoot-outs. >> we're looking at these scenes from the site right now. the site has been contaminated. it's still not secure properly. can there be a proper investigation now, do you think? >> you're talking about a conflict zone. i'm surprised anybody has had access to the site at all.

as far as i can see from pictures that have been shown, there's nothing more than taking investigators on a tourist trail. you can see what is at the other side of the tape, but you can't walk among the debris and start equity collecting evidence. to my mind, they haven't even started the investigation. >> i want to ask you about the bodies because, obviously, the families in malaysia want those bodies back as soon as possible, particularly muslims in asia who are affected because they want to get them buried. but how important is the bodies to the investigation? do you think they should remain on-site? >> no. they should be taken to refrigerated facility as soon as possible. and i believe that is happening, albeit in rebel-held territory. but i don't -- you know, personally, from a human point of view, i think that recovering bodies in body bags and taking them off to fridge rated units,

even if they're not managed by the investigation team is undoubtedly the right thing to do. it's the warm temperature up there. you can't leave bodies out in the open for any longer. okay. thank you very much, indeed, for joining us. at least 70% of the passengers on board the plane were dutch nationals. in the netherlands, is giving away to rage over the way the tragedy is being handled. aaron mcglock lynn is live in amsterdam. and the problem you've got there, aaron, is you're just not getting the information, are you? the victims' families aren't, as least. >> no, they're not, max. people have been arriving here at the airport for the past few days to pay their respects. they've been laying flowers and signing a book of condolences at a makeshift memorial of that

way. up until now, we haven't seen any families here. they've been choosing to mourn their loss in silence. but today, celina frederickson chose to speak out. his girlfriend, daisy, 23. she told me she's horrified by some of the reports and images coming from the crash site in eastern ukraine. take a listen. >> mr. putin must take care of my son and my daughter. >> who knows where they are. >> who knows where the bodies are. i can do nothing but wait for their bodies. >> do you have any idea of where your son's body and his girl friend -- >> no. i don't even -- >> maybe they took it. maybe it's there. maybe it's in one piece, maybe a thousand pieces. >> no one knows.

>> our government official are telling you anything? >> no. they don't know. the only thing we know is from the media. how do they know? the officials don't know. >> ifb might be horrifying for you. >> it is horrible. >> no doubt about that. >> it's impossible to imagine the pain and anguish that family must be feeling. she told me she was the one who purchased their plane tickets, that daisy's mother had died 2 1/2 months ago and she wanted them to go to bali. they were supposed to fly there after landing in ka ewe la lumpur as a kind of escape. but what has turned into tremendous pain and anguish for that family, max. >> erin, thank you very much indeed for joining us.

ahead on "cnn newsroom," israel announces an expansion of its ground operation in gaza. we'll have an update. plus, the young victims in war. we'll show you why the children are vulnerable as the violence increases. neutrogena naturals. a line of naturally derived skincare with carefully chosen, clinically proven ingredients and no harsh chemicals. healthy skin-starts from within. neutrogena naturals. ♪ ♪ ♪here i am. rock you like a hurricane♪ fiber one now makes cookies. find them in the cookie aisle.

let's updated you on the latest developments in the conflicts between israel and gaza. more than 200 people are reported wounded and thousands of fled the area. the attack came shortly after the israeli military announced it was expanding its operation in gaza. gaza officials say 386 palestinians have been killed since israel launched operation protective edge. the israeli military says hamas has not stopped firing rockets

from gaza and is now infiltrating and attacking israel through underground tunnels. the united nations says a fifth of the more than 300 palestinian dead so far are children. senior international correspondent ben wedeman shows us why children in gaza are so vulnerable. we caution you, some may find images upsetting. >> they were killed in the morning and in the afternoon. two brothers were killed in an israeli air strike saturday morning in northern gaza. the burial was a hurried affair. its tank rounds landed near bayt. >> we can die there, we can die here, says abu.

we all end up in the grave. it's more honorable to die at home. as dangerous as it is here, there's worse. people in livestock are fleeing. this man came here for his animals and his safety. he describes the town he fled in northeastern gaza. >> destruction, destruction, he says. it's a disaster. they're hitting house after house, empty ground, everything. across the street, a house hit an hour ago still smolders as another round lands in the distance. at 2:15 in the afternoon, 10-year-old hamid suazey arrives at the hospital. he's the last surviving member of his immediate family killed in selling to the east of here. in another bed, 12-year-old

mahamad shama screams out in pain. he was on a horse cart when missiles landed nearby. he suddenly found himself underneath, crushed by the load. it happened in jabaliyah, an area where no warning had been issued. >> when i saw my son mohammed like this, i lost all hope in this world, says his father. everyone here is in danger. children in the emergency ward, children in the street, children in the graveyard. there's a reason why so many of the casualties of this war are children. according to statistics, 43% of the population is 14 years old or younger. death comes often in gaza these days. and it comes early. ben wedeman, cnn, northen gaza.

>> iran and international negotiators have agreed to a four-month extension of talks on sunday's talks. iran is seeking sanctions relief and access to world markets. john kerry louded the progress that both sides made so far in progress. in iraq, militants are heaving. and in southern iraq, seeites have fled isis are seeking safe haven. but as arwa damian reports, there's no escape from their sorrows. >> they will never know their father. they were born in a stranger's home while their mother was on the run in a village whose name she doesn't remember.

fatimam doesn't know arabic. her father-in-law helps us communicate. her answers? single words or gestures. her tears speak of the depth of her pain and sorrow. when she was barely two months pregnant, her husband of nine years, a soldier in mosul was killed before isis took over. when isis took over mosul and replaced the shia flag over one of the flags with theirs, her father tells uses he knew mosul was no longer their home. what am i supposed to do? my son dies, he tells us. it's tragedy after tragedy. you know, i was billing him a house, a whole house. it was almost finished. i had all the faucets installed. the vast majority of those we met made the trip from northern iraq by road, what should be a

harrowing journey or four to seven days, forced to navigate their way around isis strong hold. we brought nothing, not even close, just horrors, this man says, as he drives off. most of those who made it are shia, relying on the kindness of the community. but at least here in iraq shia heartland, they are safe. basic food supplies are distributed through religious organizations and residents donations. so far, some 23,000 and counting have arrived. >> the refugees are being sheltered in houses that line this entire stretch of highway between the two holy cities of karbala and nejah, normally used by the millions of pilgrims that come here during a shore up. >> sadness etched in the elders'

faces, a mother lost in thought as she stares at her youngest, while other children play around with donated pillows and mattresses. the twins' cousin lying next to them was born a refugee. the baby's eyes are all lined with -- a tradition believed to strengthen their sight and protect them from evil, evil they have already seen. ahead on cnn, remembering one dutch chemistry student who was heading on vacation with her boyfriend ahead on malaysia flight mh-17.

let's take a closer look at the fighting in eastern ukraine right now. the map highlights the area of prorebel territory in ukraine, and it includes the cities of donetsk and the plane crash. in the weeks leading up to the downing of that flight, several ukrainian aircraft were shot down over eastern ukraine. that has many questioning why commercial aviation flights were allowed to fly over the zone. >> the signs of danger were all around. this follows a pattern of russian backed separatists. june 13th, pro russian rebels

rebels shoot a ukrainian helicopter, killing nine. and this week, monday, july 14th, a cargo plane shot out of the sky. then wednesday, a fighter jet shot down. the next day, flight 17 suffered the same fate. were red flags ignored? malaysian airlines says no. >> the flight path taken by mh-17 was approved by the incident every national civil aviation organizations and by the countries whose air space the route passed through. and international air transportation -- >> ukraine authorsed flights above 32,000 feet, an altitude that was considered safe. nonetheless, some airlines did avoid the area. unless the air space is restricted, it's their call whether to fly through.

carriers like british airways and air france flew around the conflict zone altogether. reuters reports so did qantas, air berlin, asianna airlines, korean airlines and taiwan's china airlines. carriers like malaysian airlines flew directly over the war zone. >> you can't simply take every air space that might have a problem and say we're not going to fly there because, as i say, the global scope of that would be enormous. >> late this week, the dangers of the air space now abundantly clear. those aviation authorities took action. the aviation arms of the u.n. and europe recommending that airlines avoid the air space. and the u.s. and ukraine prohibiting flights there. but for flight 17, it's too late. renee marsh, cnn, washington. >> malaysia airlines have just

announced that they are retiring the mh-17 flight number. the flights will continue, but the flight number is going away from the 25th of july and it's out of respect for the crew and passengers. the impact of the crash is being felt around the world with people in many countries grieving. as you can see, most of the victims were from netherlands. the rush were from indonesia, the uk, philippines, new zealand and canada, as we mentioned earlier. the 298 people on board malaysian airlines flight 17 were traveling for a wide variety of reasons. at least six of them were medical researchers heading to an aids conference in australia. >> reporter: the health community around the world in utter shot. the international aids society says a number of its members were on board malaysian flight

mh-17. typically attended by thousands from all over the world and among them leading hiv experts. their loss, likely to have an impact on research regarding diagnosing, treating and curing the disaster. former become become say it's awful, whavrps to so many people. >> we do this on a regular basis, have these international aids conferences. i try to go to all of them because i'm always so inspired by what other people are doing and what we can learn from them. since i left office, it's been a -- kind of a regular part of my life thinking about those people being knocked out of the skies, it's pretty tough. one of the victims, prominent dutch scientist joe blank. i first met him in 2004.

those who knew him say he was a hard core scientists with the heart of an activist who worked tirelessly to get affordable drugs for hiv patients living in poor countries. one small example of his working with he is the one who argued if coca-cola could get fridge rated soda to mayss all over africa, we should be able to do the same with ridge rated hiv medicationses. >> it would be such an impact. it's an incredible loss. we're all just bracing ourselves to arrive and find out who else may have been on that flight. it's just -- it's unbelievable. it's not really real yet. >> reporter: the world health organization tells cnn that their spokesman, glen glenn thomas, was on board that doomed flight. a friend says he was a wonderful man doing great work in the world. he was also planning his 50th

birthday celebration. his life and so many others cut tragically short. dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. well, the victims came from all walks of life. another a nun, another an employee for the world health organization. and some were heading on vacation. caroline's gloe glowing personality will forever be in the memories of her family and friends. >> caroline seem to make the impression on every she met. >> she could brighten anybody's day. she just was so full of energy and so bright and thoughtful. >> and talented. a former member of the rowing team, the fourth year doctoral student at indiana university was studying computational chemistry and teaching undergraduate chemistry, which

the department chair says she was fantastic at. is she was very outgoing, very straightforward. she smiles a lot -- she smiled a lot. >> the dutch citizen was taking a few weeks off from her studies to visit family and travel. her family posted the news on karlijn's facebook page saying our beautiful, daughter was in the plane that crashed together with her boyfriend laurens. we grieve for rarlijin, cowell and their futures they had together. >> she was such a beginin can person. she always was honest with you, even if it was something you didn't want to hear. but she -- you could always tell that she cared very much. >> this, to me, is an act of courtess and terrorism.

it's crazy. you don't expect to go boo an airplane and get blown out of the sky as a civilian. it's up believably stunning. >> ted rollins, cnn, plu bloomington, indiana. >> thank you for watching. new day is coming up with continuing coverage of the mh-17 disaster. [ aniston ] when people ask me what i'm wearing, i tell them aveeno®. [ female announcer ] aveeno® daily moisturizing lotion has active naturals® oat with five vital nutrients. [ aniston ] because beautiful skin goes with everything. aveeno®. naturally beautiful results™. aveeno®. of swedish experience in insidperfecting the rich,ars never bitter taste of gevalia. we do it all for this very experience.

[woman] that's good. i know right? gevalia. ♪

so glad to have you with us on this special edition of "new day," starting early, 5:00 a.m. i'm christi paul. >> i'm victor blackwell. >> this morning, there are a lot of new questions and a lot of frustration and fury as well internationally about what is happening to the bodies of the 298 people who died when malaysia airlines flight 17 was shot out of the sky. >> there is outrage being expressed by world leaders through every hour we're getting reports. malaysia airlines is retiring, we have learned, that flight number. mh-17 out of respect for the victims. we know next