position, it's time to introduce arms embargo because it's not logical and continue trade arms with aggressor. >> foreign minister, it sounds like the words coming from officials in europe are a lot harsher than some of the sanctions being discussed. are you frustrated? would you like more economic punishment to come russia's way? >> yes, i think you're right. we are warning, expressing our concerns. at the same time we are talking, time for others, to say, strategic thinking and spreading some lies around the world. so, we should defend ourselves not only from the rockets but sometimes lies and this propaganda machine is working

with high speed now. so, we are really -- we are really talking, but this is not enough. in addition to what i can say, really we should give status of terrorist organization for republicans of donetk. i believe these developments so far will open eyes to those who believe this situation, this conflict is far away from home, not very close. tragically close, reminder of the downing of the plane and so many victims of this tragedy. the turning point and to really reset our mind set. >> do you believe, foreign minister, that russia was mind the downing of malaysia airlines 17 by providing the weaponry to pro-russian rebels who many

believe took this plane down? do you believe russia is to blame? >> russia is to blame because -- because russia did not -- not just the flow of military people but mill tapts group, and heavy weapons, rocket launchers through the border, uncontrolled. it was done definitely by the government. that was signals for possible disaster to happen. we can see clearly who is behind. you're quite right asking these and putting these questions but statements will go to actions. inaction is sometimes the problem, not part of the solution. but we have a chance to contribute. only is it will be confident if our message is clear and coordinated with other actors, included notably the united states, which takes decisions

and really going targeted to close circle of decision-makers. i believe today we should speed up the process, should really intensify the process and to say clearly, to name names and to see clearly who is behind that and how to deal with that. >> okay, foreign minister of lithuania, thank you very much, live from brussels where emergency foreign ministers meeting is taking place, trying to discuss ways of responding to the hm 17 downing. no truth, no let up in fighting and a spiraling death toll. is there a diplomatic solution between the conflict between israel and hamas? we'll talk live to a top palestinian official coming up next. ♪ honey, we need to talk. we do? i took the trash out. i know. and thank you so much for that. i think we should get a medicare supplement insurance plan.

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there's already been one failed attempt at a cease-fire and death toll is rising dramatically. when will this end? who can end this? let's talk with our plo executive committee member and joins me from ramallah in the west bank. thank you for being with us. first of all, let's talk about potential cease-fire discussions right now happening in cairo. secretary of state john kerry is there. do you place much hope in this latest attempt, do you think? >> look, if the u.s. thinks it can do much of the same with results, it's not met with much

success. if you are only going to deal with the outcome of the latest israeli assault or the latest israeli violence, then you're going to keep in place all the conditions that have led to this cycle or to this other form of violence. it's important that we deal with issues. john kerry seems to be working for an extended humanitarian cease-fire and then others can discuss cease-fire. the problem is, any intermittent phases, is fill with israeli violence. unless you have the courage to deal with issues, to curb israeli violations, you will be repeating the same thing hillary clinton did in 2012 when she brokered along with egyptian president morsi the 2012

cease-fire which they violated and disregarded and prepared the grounds for this assault on gaza. we need a complete political will on the part of americans. >> as well, what is -- who is taking part in this discussions? we know hamas, the first failed attempt, they said, how can we agree to the cease-fire? we weren't really consulted on this. in this case, or at least all the parties that have a stake in this present in cairo? >> well, all the parties are being consulted. i don't think initiative is american. of course, the americans always adopt israeli position and try to pull chestnuts out of the fire for it. right now it's the egyptian initiative, several countries involved, even turkey is voltd, qatar is involved, the president

is going to kuwait. b ban ki-moon is going to the region tonight. ee quipgs fighters are included, included representative in cairo and islamic, they're all engaged. there is ongoing palestinian discussion and also arab discussion and also an international sort of mul multilateral discussion. the issue is to get straight to the point to save lives. we want to stop this blood shed, we want to save lives, but we want to ensure israels puente and free hand to inflict more pain, death and destruction would be ended, would be curbed. >> what israel says, as you know, and we're hearing it echoed around the world, is

fighters in gaza and hamas are taking no care to prevent civilian deaths because they are enkoushlging civilians to be in the line of fire. that this suits their propaganda war. we heard this from israeli officials in the last few hours. what would you say to that? is there some part of truth to that? >> no. no, no, no, no. i think this is cruel and heartless propaganda. a spin that adds insult to injury. i think the batsis is purely racist approach, habitual discourse. blame the victim, blame them for loss of their own lives. to me it's not only unconscionable. what is worse is people like obama or john kerry is reciting

the litany without looking at the facts. let israel prove it. it's not only to deal with spin doctors of israel and believe them. what is happening is israel is bombing, shelling, destroying a captive population. the most densely populated area in the world with nowhere to go. they're telling people, leave their homes because they want to scorch the earth to clear a path for their tanks. where would they go? those who left their homes were shelled in the streets. who did not leave their homes died in the rubble. this is discourse, deal with the lies and deal with the facts. >> let me ask you one last question about hamas. i got your answer there regarding whether or not palestinians themselves bear some responsibility in what is happening to them. what about this organization.

what is the end gym for hamas in continuing to fire rockets and dig tunnels and things like that. is it not -- what is the end game here because people are saying, they're not going to militarily defeat the state of israel. >> no, we know that. hamas did not start this. israel started it. israel has end game in sight, which is impossible to achieve. it's not just hamas. it's all the palestinian people now. it's a national issue now and everybody who is engaged. the resistance fighters in gaza want to ensure that we do not go to status quo. we don't keep in place all the elements, all the components that allow israel to continue with siege, policy of destruction, with ongoing isolation, with isolating gaza by air, by sea, by land, and

very cruel blockade and keeping them as fodder. this is unacceptable. they are trying to get in place remedies for the situation by lifting of siege, allowing even conditions of 2012, allowing the palestinian fishermen to be able to fish in their own sea. we do not have airplanes, gun ships or f-16s or gun boats or tanks. at least they should allow the palestinians minimal level of a decent life. >> thank you very much. a plo executive committee member joining us live from ramallah. >> thank you. >> thanks for that. israel says part of the reason the death toll is so high is hamas, as we were just discussing, deliberately puts civilians in harm's way. they have accused palestinians

of using humans as human shields. we talked about the growing casualty numbers. >> the union itself says they are relying on numbers by hamas-controlled government, hamas ministry of health. at least we have to say those numbers are -- we have to check them and independently look at them. having said that, we don't want to see a single civilian casualty. not one. unfortunately, you have a situation where hamas adopted a strategy, they want to pile up for propaganda purposes. the fighting where israel urged local population to leave, not get caught up in cross-fire between us and hamas terrorists. hamas said, no, don't leave. why did hamas want to deliberately keep civilians in a combat zone?

what was their motivation? it's clear. they want as many civilian deaths as possible. it advances their rad gal agenda. >> israeli government spokesperson speaking from jerusalem. he was interviewed last hour. amsterdam remains a city in mourning. after the break, we'll bring you a live report from the place where malaysian airlines flight 17 began its fateful journey.

separatists in ukraine have handed over the black box recorders from malaysia airline flight 17. authorities took control of the devices at a meeting in donetk. it was filmed. there is the video. a top level leader says he

believes the flight data recorders will reveal the truth and reiterated his claim that separate ists did not shoot dow the flight. let's get more from international correspondent ivan watson covering this from ukraine. the train, we were reporting at the top of this hour, ivan, the train had stopped. where is it, do we know, with the remains aboard? >> reporter: it appears there was mixed communication coming from the dutch foreign ministry, hala, where they had announced that the train had been delayed some 16 hours. and since then have corrected that statement. that has come from the ukrainian government, emergency ministry announced the train left before dawn this morning from straightist-controlled city of donets carrying bodies of 200

victims from this airline disaster. that train will have to cross front lines from separatist-controlled territory into ukrainian controlled government territory with ultimate destination of the ukrainian city of harkiev where it will undergo dutch flying the bodies to amsterdam, which was the original flight of origin for mh17 on thursday and repatriating the bodies of the victims. as you mentioned, before dawn this morning, this ceremony where the self-declare the prime minister of the donetsk people's republic, this region, in a handover ceremony, handing over those flight recorders, which up until the handover ceremony, self-declared prime minister had described aztecal objects and

said he did not have technical expertise to determine they were the black boxes. even in plain english on the side of these devices it said flight recorder in bright letters. they were handed over and borodai taking that opportunity to tell the media rebels had nothing to do with the shooting down of the doomed airliner last thursday. >> i would like to know about some of the other unfortunate souls on that flight because i understand not all of the individuals, the remains are on that train. others are still missing. what do we know about that side of the story? >> reporter: also included in this rather difficult shipment aboard the train cars are fragments of victims.

in addition to that, part of the wreckage of the plane clearly burned at great temperatures. so it is possible that that explains why some of the victims have not been found yet, not yet been accounted for. it explains how difficult this process is and why it's so important to get experts on the ground who would normally come to a place in the wake of such a disaster. this is complicated by the fact this is an active war zone. there was shelling on the borders of this separatist-controlled city overnight. we witness the throughout the day on monday residents of this city fleeing because of yoen going shelling taking place here, fighting taking place. residential neighborhoods hit by

artillery fire, appearing to come from ukrainian positions. city authorities say here that on monday at least fives ive s five civilians in a largely deserted city trying to flee this area, many cursing ukrainian government and ukrainian military as they fled this troubled region. >> thank you, ivan watson live in donetsk, ukraine. we were talking with ivan of the victims and 298 people aboard melalaysia flight 17, 183 were dutch. mourners and well-wishers have been leaving mounds of flowers at amsterdam's airport where the flight originated. aaron erin mclaughlin joins us with

more of a country still grieving, erin. >> reporter: ha >> reporter: hala, i'm outside schipol airport, meters away from victims of flight 17 checked in. this make-shift vigil grows. people are leaving flowers, candles, people over there are signing a book of condolences and leaving notes. one reads, our hearts goes out to those who yearn for their loved ones who died so tragically. we share your anguish and despair. i spoke to a family who lost two sons, their mother and grandmother describing to me just the anguish and the pain, their inability to understand how and why this could have happened. now, the dutch prime minister yesterday and today expected to

reiterated the calls for the bodies to be brought back here. it is, after all, the country's number one priority to identify the victims 37. and we understand now from the dutch foreign ministry the bodies have been loaded onto refrigerated trains and making way to ukrainian city of karkeiv and loaded onto trains and from there they'll arrive back in amsterdam. we understand they'll arrive around 6 a.m. eastern. i can tell you, hala, the families here want answers. >> reporter: a mother's regret. >> if i could just turn back tirnlgs you know. i had -- i didn't listen to him. i don't know. i have no words to say.

>> reporter: her three boys were setting out on a fun-filled holiday to the other side of the world. but the youngest, miguel, was nervous. >> my youngest son came to me. and after answering for the passport, he came back around to me and said, momma, i love you. i'm happy to see oma, but i'm going to miss you. and what happened when the plane will crash? i said, don't be silly. you've been traveling already so many times. everything's going to be okay. >> reporter: miguel and shaka were on their way to meet their grandma in bali. their other brother had to catch a later flight because mh17 was fully booked. and their big brother volunteered to go first?

>> yeah. >> reporter: from all over the world, the families have come together. they're struggling to make sense of it all. >> everybody is crying. everybody is losing something that belonged to them. but we feel like we have lost ourselves as well. why didn't they take my life? they're still young. they still have a future. why the children? why not me? >> reporter: how are you going to remember them? >> it feels like they are one with me now. the bond i have with them is just they're my best friends and they're my brothers. and i feel like they're going to watch over me forever. >> reporter: hala, i can tell you, there are so many families here in the netherlands that feel the same way.

so many families grieving their lost loved ones. >> erin mclaughlin, thank you very much. thank you for watching. i'm hala gorani live in london. for the rest of our viewers around the world, i'll see you after a break.

breaking news this morning, major developments. pro-russian rebels handing over mh17 black boxes and the bodies of the victims on board. as investigators move on to the scene, what evidence will they find and will it lead them directly to russian president vladimir putin? we are live with team reporters covering every angel of the story. >> the death toll rises sharply in gaza. more air strikes, more ground assaultsil