breaking news this morning. the faa lifting the travel ban to tel-aviv. u.s. flights may resume. it lasted 36 hours, causing plenty of controversy.

we are live in israel and why the air space has been declared safe. somber ceremonies playing out as more coffins from malaysian flight 17 leave in airplanes bound for netherlands. the investigators are looking for clues as to who shot the plane down. we are recovering all the angles from the developing story. welcome back to "early start." i'm poppy harlow. >> i'm christine romans. we welcome all the viewers in the u.s. and around the world. breaking overnight, a ban on flights out of tel-aviv has been lifted by the faa. israeli officials pressed hard to convince the agency to reverse their decision. it's up to delta, united and us airways when to resume their flights. we want to get to martin savidge in tel-aviv. you had sirenses and explosions in the air from the iron dome

trying to shoot down rockets. tell us what's happening now and whether you are seeing more activity today in terms of take offs and landings than you did yesterday. >> reporter: christine, for the second time, actually in a half hour, more detonations of what appears to be israel's iron dome. to give you an idea of how that sounds, any american listening to fireworks in the air, a loud bang, that is what it sounds like when one of these missiles goes up and makes an intercept. that means it sounded like four of those going off over the span of a half hour. the last ones were sounding more distant. still, you could hear them if you were standing here at the airport. the other ones that came at the top of the hour sounded much closer to the vicinity. the latest ones were not prompted by siren, that means it's further away. take a look at the airport now. that tells the story.

we are at the departure terminal here. the gates behind us would be normally where you would see the carriers like delta, like us airways and united airlines or the major international carrier. british airways still comes here. the big ones have not been coming. the faa ban lifted. very welcome news. they said it was a mistake and overreaction. however, you are not seeing the planes yet because it is up to their individual airlines to determine whether or not they feel it's appropriate to come back. events like we have been having in the last half hour are not likely to reassure them. though, the israeli's maintain, they have made the area more secure than what it was. christine? >> a hamas spokesman yesterday telling wolf blitzer that the airport because it has military

presence is a target for hamas and will continue to shut down the airport is something hamas leadership is very, very happy about. shutting down u.s. flights. something hamas leadership was very, very happy about. >> reporter: they were. i mean, you know, they stated this was something they targeted before. as you say, because of military installations near the airport. if you can stop commercial and civilian aviation from coming in here, it's a big blow. it hurts the pride of a nation. it implies israel is not as secure as it says it s. on top of that, the financial impact. israel maintains it is secure and safe and flights should come. >> thank you so much, martin. now, a top rebel commander's stunning admission. he told reuters separatists did have control of a buk missile system at the time malaysian flight 17 was shot down over

ukraine and may have come from russia. he goes on to say it was probably sent back to russia in order to quote, remove proof of its presence. later he told media his comments were taken out of context. they say they have been able to download valid information from the jet liners cockpit voice recorder. they also say there is no sign the black boxes had been tampered with. all of this as the violence rages on in the region around the crash site. two ukrainian fighter jets shot down within miles from the wreckage of the mh17. officials from london are coming from a possible employment to eastern ukraine. their goal is to secure the crash site and do a proper investigation. let's bring in nick paton walsh. you spent a lot of time in

ukraine and a lot of time at the crash site. let's talk about the victims. we know more of them will be returned to the netherlands this morning. 74 coffins. do we know, at this point, if we are anywhere close to bringing all the victims home? >> reporter: well, about 26 minutes from now, we will see the second set of planes take off from here to the netherlands. a dutch c-130 followed by an australia c-17. they will have 74 coffins on board. i spoke to a representative of the dutch here. they hope tomorrow, the last load will go. they may need one more flight, potentially. it's hoped work can finish up tomorrow. that will probably involve another 74 coffins. that's 188 coffins, perhaps. could be slightly higher or lower. the number of coffins, sadly, doesn't represent the number of bodies specifically on the train

because there are body parts and body bags and some body bags go into coffins. more than one are inside each coffin. it's an extraordinarily gruesome task. sorry to go into the details. it explains the nature of the job. the fact that the final toll of how many people was on that refrigerated train that came from the crash site will only be known once they are able to do their investigative work back in the netherlands, rather than when they go through the fourth refrigerated wagon today or tomorrow. >> nick, what we heard time and time again yesterday, as this country literally stopped and honored all the victims is that they are finally getting the dignity and the decency and the treatment that they deserve. not one of these victims, you know, was from either of the countries in this conflict and they are the innocent 298 victims of this fighting. when you talk about the investigation site and trying to

find anymore remains, it clearly hasn't been secured yet. so many people are scratching their heads saying why? why have investigators a big international team of investigators not been able to get there yet? >> reporter: well, there is civil war in eastern ukraine, there has been for a long time. not always in the world spotlight but a lot of heavy weaponry used. it's not well equipped and rebels divided amongst themselves. a leader that said there was a weapons system that could have brought down the plane and shipped back to russia. he's feuding with other leaders. it's a mess. trying to negotiate passage for international inspectors, australian police arriving in london to come here later. that's an extraordinarily hard task. safety, security to how intact

is that crash site. is it too compromised? they have to do everything they can for those relatives of those who died on board that plane. although, many feel the final results will be inconclusive because the damage done to the aircraft and the scrappy, messy nature of where the crash site is now. >> i think that's an important point to make. the world has seen all the journalists and have been asking that question, but of course it is dangerous for anyone to go there with two planes being shot down yesterday within 15 miles of the crash zone. we appreciate the update, thank you. hearts are heavy in the netherlands. the first 40 coffins from flight mh-17 arrived marked by somber ceremonies and a steady flow of quiet tears. by tomorrow, all the coffins carrying the remains of flight 17 victims have been retrieved

are expected to be on dutch soil. >> joining us live from amsterdam is laura. thank you for being with us. we appreciate it very much. i think we want to start with this. first of all, our deepest condolences to you and your entire nation. it was a beautiful tribute to gave to these victims yesterday, one they certainly, certainly deserve. can you tell us about what it's been like for you on the ground, this country coming together to give them the honor they deserve? >> well, i think it was an impressive day. a day of relief. after almost a week of waiting for the bodies to come home, seeing the horrible pictures of the crash site where rebels were working or taking things of people, disrespectful to the bodies, it was like a sigh of

relief. at least part of the bodies have been recovered. it was an atypical day. a day of mourning the atypical. they said there wouldn't be a day of mourning because it's not corresponding. he spoke to relatives and eventually did. >> it was displayed beautifully yesterday. there are no words for what that -- you are just from top to bottom, it was well done. i would like to know, what happens next here? the dutch, in terms of the investigation, in terms of the crash site, in terms of trying to remove the other victims who may be there, tell us about how the government is working to try to bring everyone home.

>> well, of course, this is a very difficult task. the dutch, together with the australians will probably take the lead in the international investigation. so far, there haven't arrived big crews of investigators on this spot of the crime, which will make it very difficult to find out what really happened there. that, of course, is because of the situation with the rebels. there is talk now in holland about a police mission or maybe a military mission to go with this international team that will recover the lost parts of the body and will research the sites to find out what exactly happened. this is a very difficult -- this will be a difficult mission because as you know, it's a war zone and we are not experienced

with these situations. >> do the dutch people, do they want sanctions? do they want punishment on vladimir putin? >> well, yesterday, i heard one relative say one word, which will -- the dutch have had a tough year with putin. the last year, we have seen numerous incidents in which the dutch were involved. just to name a few, talk of boycott of the olympics because of the anti-gay law adopted in russia. there have been the international conflict around the arctic sunrise the ship under a dutch flag arrested and the dutch minister of foreign affairs had to release the crew. so, all the time, the dutch government has been very, very cautious with sanctions because the economic and financial

interests with russia are enormous. but both the prime minister as our minister of foreign affairs did a moving speech in the united nations security council. they said, more or less, this is a game changer. something has changed in our relationship to russia. >> we'll continue to watch that. that speech to the u.n. was very moving. i think it was a real testament to your countrymen. >> thank you, we appreciate it very much. now this, is the world ready to punish russia more heavily? vladimir putin facing harsh criticism for his ties to ukraine. the kremlin could be hit in the wallet. we're going to talk about that story. the potential, harsher sanctions, next.

according to u.s. intelligence officials, russian troops are gathering along the ukraine border sending tanks and artillery maintaining the

ability to launch attacks without entering the country. now, all eyes are on the european union as they discuss new tough, tough sanctions on russia. diana is live for us. in the coming days, it seems imminent that europe is really gathering together, getting ready to enact tougher sanctions against vladimir putin and russia than the united states has at this point, right? >> reporter: that's right. i think the line from europe now is that enough is enough. the crash of mh17 and the fact that the conflict in eastern ukraine, which is being fueled in the eyes of the west by vladimir putin has allowed for this terrible situation to happen, has been a sticking point for europe to overcome its differences, really, in terms of sanctions against russia and really press ahead with tough measures. they are now discussing banning

access to capital markets for russia's biggest banks and hold secretarial sanctions on energy and defense. it's crucial to the russian economy. they are already heading toward a recession. the government, the kremlin brushed off, if you will, sanctions to date, with an element. there is no doubt a lot of capital has been flowing out of the country. if sanctions become tougher, people on the street will begin to feel it. nevertheless, there's a big difference that the economy may be beginning to hurt. will it change mr. putin's course in terms of his strategic goals in eastern ukraine? we are seeing a build up of troops, again, according to u.s. and nato officials and an increase since mh17 of arms coming in.

russia's defense minister said on russian state media, we have troops on the border because we are being shelled from ukraine. we have one russian citizen killed because of incoming fire. what would the u.s. do in that situation? we are showing restraint. he asked to see harder evidence from the u.s. in terms of the case that they have built up that incriminates at least the self-defense groups and russia. that is russia's position on the day when europe decides on possibly tougher sanctions. >> going to be interesting to see the choreography between the european nations that deal with russia in different ways, a finance sector in london, france building two military ships for russia and what will happen with those and of course energy when it comes to other european nations dependent on russia. diane ya, appreciate the report, thank you. we'll be right back.

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♪ check it out. this my account thing. we can tweet directly toa comcast expert for help. or we can select a time for them to call us back. the future, right? ♪ this doesn't do it for you? [ doorbell rings, dog barks ] oh, that's what blows your mind -- the advanced technology of a doorbell.. [ male announcer ] tweet an expert and schedule a callback from any device. introducing the xfinity my account app. officials from the departments of defense and homeland security are on their way to the texas/mexico border. the white house is sending a team to see how the national guard can help there. a surge of children crossing the boardser illegally overwhelmed

texas. governor rick perry is going to send guardsmen into the area. president obama is on a fund raising tour to raise money for democratic candidates running in november's midterm. people are criticizing the timing of the trip with the fighting in gaza and trying to determine who shot down flight mh17. he delivers a speech on job training at a los angeles technical college. why is mcdonalds standing by their supplier? we'll discuss next. stuart! stuart!

stuart! stuart! ♪ check it out. this my account thing. we can tweet directly toa comcast expert for help. or we can select a time for them to call us back. the future, right? ♪ this doesn't do it for you? [ doorbell rings, dog barks ] oh, that's what blows your mind -- the advanced technology of a doorbell.. [ male announcer ] tweet an expert and schedule a callback from any device. introducing the xfinity my account app.

all right, mcdonald's standing by the supplier that sold it rotton meat. a company in shan high sold out of date meat. they are all cutting tyes with that supplier. mcdonald's will continue to use the supplier, but a different facility. it's not affected meat at locations in the united states. "early start" continues right now. our breaking news this morning, u.s. flights to and from tel-aviv lifting a travel

ban that lasted 36 hours and caused plenty of controversy. we are live with the latest at the airport. new developments this morning into who shot down malaysia airlines flight 17. the black box is being analyzed this morning. the pro-russian separatists play this out. more coffins leaving ukraine bound for the netherlands. we have every angle on this developing story. >> i'm poppy harlow. >> i'm christine romans. it's thursday, july 24th, 5:00 a.m. in the east. we welcome all the viewers in the u.s. and around the world. the faa lift iing -- workin hard to convince the faa to reverse that decision. delta, united and