welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world. israel has resumed military operations in gaza. these are live images. just a short time ago, the israeli defense forces said these operations would resume after a ceasefire was agreed to by the israeli cabinet about ten and a half hours ago, that's because hamas did not agree to that ceasefire and continued to fire rockets from gaza into israel. at least ten of those rockets have been fired since midnight. sirens were heard in southern and central part of israel. at least two of those rockets were intercepted by the iron dome missile defense system. right now the israelis have resumed their operations over gr gaza. doiptic efforts continue to bring this to an end, about you they seem to be going nowhere. for the latest, let's go to carl

penhall, he's there. we know hamas has been firing rockets. we know the israelis have said their military operations will begin again. what have you seen? >> well, john, we got news of that statement from our jerusalem bureau just a few moments ago here in gaza, that israel would resume hostilities by air, sea, and land. i'm going to step out of the picture and show you that it didn't take long from flash to bang. i'm going to step out of the way. i'm sure now you can see what i'm talking about. plumes of black smoke going up over eastern gaza. that's one of the front-line neighborhoods that's been so hard hit over recent days. and once again, it appears to be bearing the brunt of this resumption of hostilities. you're right, israel was the

first to agree to a four-hour extension of the ceasefire, and then after a cabinet meeting agreed to a ceasefire that should have taken us through the whole of today. there were mixed signals from hamas. the international spokesman said initially that they -- that they would agree to a ceasefire and then we heard from a local representative, that there was no such agreement. overnight, they gave some clarification to that. and the clarification really was that hamas would not accept an extension to the ceasefire that permitted israel to continue to do its work of destroying militant tunnels and going after militant rocket launchers. that really, because hamas essentially felt that the ceasefire was lopsided, that it allowed israel to continue to attack his military

infrastructure while tying its hands. so far that reason, even after the saturday ceasefire expired 8:00 p.m. local time, within two hours, they'd fired at least 12 rockets towards israel and that was a trend through the night. israel has said, all bets are off, the war is back on, john. >> so the smoke we're seeing now is coming from a neighborhood, you were out there during the humanitarian sceasefire. neighborhoods have been entirely flattened. i guess my question is, what else is there to be hit by the israelis? is there anything still standing? >> well, you've got to ask yourself, a lot of these neighborhoods have been flattened. certainly on the front-line areas. so the areas closest to the

border, at some points are no more, the built-up areas are no more than 700 meters or perhaps a kilometer from the border. israeli ground troops have clearly come deep into those areas because you see the marks of tank tracks down asphalt streets. and there has been intense fighting. a little deeper into the neighborhood, some buildings are standing. but quite clearly what israel feels, it hasn't done its intended job, which is to destroy all the mouths of the militant tunnels, those tunnels that militant commandos have been using to burrow into israel and launch a fight on the israelis' home turf. and also the fact that rocket fire has continued to go out to israel means that israel has not achieved his target of destroying militant rocket

launchers. in terms of strict guerrilla warfare, hamas believes it's put up a good fight, that it's waging an effective campaign against israel, that's filtering into hamas who are describing this as the war to end wars. they're saying the war is now on, so let's give this a real push and finally get a change to the conditions on the ground. the political and social conditions in gaza, the politicians in hamas want to end what they call the siege of gaza by the israelis, and they think that the war right now is doing their talking. there's little in the ceasefire for them, especially when that ceasefire, as we've been saying, was agreed by israel, but israel within that ceasefire, retained the right to go after militant infrastructure such as its tunnels and rocket launchers. so from hamas' point of view, it was a lopsided ceasefire indeed.

it tied hamas' hands, giving israel free reign to operate. and hamas said while there are israeli troops there, there can be no ceasefire. >> it seems israel has the same point of view. they're now into gaza. they want to see this through. they essentially made these tunnels to be some kind of existential threat, they're now on the ground there, they have to continue there with the operation to destroy that infrastructure. caught in the middle of this, hamas on one side, israelis over here. 1.7 million palestinians. i know it's difficult for them to speak out and many are reluctant to criticize hamas, but surely after so much destruction, is there anyone there saying, listen, hamas has to stop this. we're not winning this, we're taking a pounding.

more than a thousand people have died. this has got to end. is there still the support there that we've seen over the last week or so? is that still at the same levels, i guess? >> i think there are several ways to look at that question, john. it must be mentioned that all the time we've been talking on air, we've heard the pounding of artillery going on across that eastern border, different from overnight when things were silent, but certainly following the news of the end of that ceasefire, the artillery fire has really picked up. that's tank rounds that seem to be going in, from 155 millimeter self-propelled guns as well. but in response to your question, yesterday when we were out and about, a woman came up to us, started screaming. she says, where is the entire world to help us? and then she was railing against the militant factions, she said

my home is destroyed, where are they, why didn't they stand and defend me? but you talk to other people of gaza, and they say we've put up these dead, yes, we want peace. we don't want war, that would be crazy. but then they add a caveat to that and they say, but, there cannot be a return to the status quo. we cannot go back to the situation before the start of this war. they say right now, we might start -- we might finish what we've already started and that's basically to get a real push on now to change the living conditions in gaza. under peace conditions you might see, yes, this dissent against hamas and some of the militant factions. a lot of people maybe not in agreement with hamas's ortho docks and religious rule as well. but when it comes to the war against israel, a confrontation with israel, that's a rallying call for different parts of society, for different militant factions. so they come together, against a

common enemy, and yes, we saw a great deal of grief yesterday. people who have lost their loved ones. people have lost their life savings. a shell destroys a gaza house. there's no insurance company that's going to come and do an assessment and pay them to rebuild. they put their life savings into their home. those homes have been destroyed. the gaz an people are suffering. they don't want war, but they don't want to carry on living how they lived before. that's what they're telling us. so in a sense, some of seeing this as the sacrifice that they have to pay and certainly hamas on its political wing, have been telling us over the last few days, they will not agree to a ceasefire unless the fundamental conditions -- living conditions in gaza change. they say, war now, no talk later. the war will end if the talks go on in parallel and there are a change in those living conditions, john. >> and quickly, if we look at

the areas which are now being targeted by the israeli air strike and by that artillery which you said you heard just a short time ago, i guess this is why the israelis warned palestinians not to return to their homes during this humanitarian ceasefire, but i guess some did not listen to that advice. so right now, could there be people pretty much in the firing line? >> well, john, a week ago now, it was exactly a week ago, we saw the residents of one neighborhood, that neighborhood you see over my shoulder where the black plumes of smoke are coming, more or less at this time in the morning, a week ago, thousands of people were fleeing in the face of an israeli bombardment with really nothing in their hands, only the clothes on their backs. so now when they get the chance to go home, they go home, a, to see if their house is still standing, and b, to see if they can gather up a few possessions. we saw these pathetics scenes of

women, of men, walking out of the destroyed neighborhoods yesterday with just a few bits and pieces bundled on their heads. it's natural they want to get back. while it may be true the israelis have given civilians warning to clear out, it may be true the israelis say they don't want to harm innocent civilians and they have said that, then that tactic has not been effective, given that according to the united nations, around 75% of the dead and wounded are civilians. there's a sub figure there as well, and that is that 1/4 of the dead and wounded in gaza have been children, according to the united nations. and there are also of course the rules of war enshrined in the geneva conventions and you really cannot be hurting civilian populations from a to b and say, well, if you didn't get out of the way, it's your fault. the rules of war say something a little different, john. >> okay, we'll leave it there. as you've been speaking, we've

been watching the smoke billow out from that neighborhood, according to the israelis, that's hamas central and it's been under constant bombardment now for a week. and now that israel has decided to resume it's military operation in gaza, that part of the gaza strip is once again in the firing line. carl penhall reporting there live from gaza. we'll of course be speaking with the idf in a few hours from now to get an update on this military operation, to find out where it's going, where it might actually end, what the goals are, what the end result that the israelis are hoping to achieve and just how long that will take. meantime, the unrest, it seems, has spread to the west bank. at least four palestinians were killed during mass protests against the offensive in gaza. one victim was shot in the chest. ben wedeman spoke to his

grieving family. >> reporter: friends and family come to mourn the death of human rights activist hashim abu maria. israeli security force rs shot him in the chest during the entrance to his village friday afternoon. >> translator: wherever they are, their orders are to kill. >> reporter: he was one of at least eight palestinians killed by israel, as unrest spreads through the occupied west bank sparked by israel's onslaught in gaza. >> he was doing nothing. he was just standing with his friends, trying to -- trying to give a message for the whole world, that there is something going on in gaza. but they shoot him with cold blood, as i said, for no reason. >> the israeli army claims its troops were responding to gunfire from the palestinians. although eyewitnesses and the

israeli human rights group who had an observer there that day, deny there was any live fire from the palestinians. >> hashim was on this march, the solidarity march with what's happening in gaza, but he did not throw stones. hashim was in the midst of a group of people, and he was selected by a sniper to be shot. >> in the nearby refugee camp, hundreds attend the funeral of a 28-year-old killed in clashes on friday. the funeral was followed by more clashes. israeli police and soldiers find tear gas amongst the houses as stones were hurled back. >> on a regular basis, israeli troops come in here and there are clashes, equally on a regular basis. what is changing is that the clashes are taking on a new intensity. many of them focused upon the situation in gaza. but beyond recent events, this

is the reality of life on the occupied west bank. the war in gaza, adding fuel to the fire, but the fire has been smouldering, sometimes flaring for decades. for 47 years, israel has tried to subdue the rest of palestinians under its control and is no closer to achieving its goal than it was in 1967, the year hashim abu maria was born, the year israel conquered gaza, the west bank and east jerusalem. that, if nothing else, is certain. still to come here on cnn, the harrowing story of this man who was held captive by pro-russian rebels in ukraine.

back now live to the situation in gaza where israel says it's military offensive has now resumed after a lull of about ten and a half hours. israel had agreed to extend a humanitarian ceasefire. hamas did not. and then the rockets kept coming from gaza into israel. and just a short time ago, israel said that they were continuing with this operation, the air strikes have begun. that's an image of the smoke coming from the neighborhood which has been flattened over the past week. carl penhall also reporting artillery is being fired into the region there as well.

a freelance journalist who had been working for cnn has been freed by pro-russia rebels in eastern ukraine. he was detained last week, but more than 200 people are still being held. >> reporter: beaten, shot and threatened with death, this is the face of survival. held by pro-russian rebels in eastern ukraine, niko lie was shown on russian television alongside his abductors, a group calling itself the russian ortho docks army. >> caller: they shot me in the leg. i was hit with rubber bullets. then my head was severely beaten. i was beaten. i was taken out to be shot and killed. >> reporter: he said the physical and psychological torture he experienced is nothing compared to other hostages and there are many others.

the numbers are staggering. the united nations human rights monitor says there have been more than 400 kidnappings since the conflicts started in the east. about half are still being held. the u.s. ambassador to ukraine says the kidnappings are a tactic to terrorize. orchestrated by russia. >> i am convinced that part of the reason for this is the separatists campaign to sew fear. their whole strategy, the kremlin strategy, is premised on creating a false narrative. weaponizing information. >> the ukrainian government says it does not have an official negotiator to deal with kidnappings. the government line, we do not negotiate with terrorists. but we found a man who is negotiating with them. he's a retired general who has an official letter green lighting his unofficial efforts. >> translator: as a rule, people who are taken hostage face very cruel humiliation. they are beaten to get information. the next step, he says, is torture.

unfortunately the survival statistics are very sad. he's never without at least two phones. even as we did our interview, he took a call. another hostage negotiation in full swing. he says the most difficult case right now involves a female ukrainian pilot who he says was taken over the border to russia. he's talking to us because he's frustrated with kiev's and russia's government. >> how difficult is this job? >> translator: it's quite complicated. both sides are angry and the new president does not understand this process, which creates obstacles for prisoner exchanges since there's no war officially declared, there can be no legal exchanges of prisoners. >> so far he's helped free 65 people, including nicolai. in an ironic twist, he was captured on his way to free another hostage. he was abducted by the group he

was negotiating with. he says there's a reason he's been successfully getting prisoners released. >> translator: i knew him as a decent officer. he's a very sensible officer with a gift to talk to people and find common ground. that gift allowed him to laugh and again walk freely on the streets of kiev. and we have this programming note. former u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton sits down with fareed zakaria. she says, mr. putin, the russian president is indirectly responsible for the shooting down of malaysia flight 17. they also look at the crisis in the middle east. that's on fareed zakaria gps, airing at 10:00 a.m. for our viewers in the united states and at 11:00 a.m. for our international audience. france has declared three days of mourning this week for those on board air algerie

flight 5017. investigators have recovered both of the flight data and cockpit voice recorders. it's hoped they will shed light on why the plane crashed overnight in mali thursday on his way from burkina faso to alger algeria. we'll take a short break. when we come back, we'll continue to update the situation in israel, as israel resumed its assault. a ceasefire which had lasted just over ten hours, is now over.

john vause reporting live from jerusalem. let's go back to the situation in gaza. smoke rising once again over gaza city. in particular, the neighborhood hit by israeli strikes. the idf announced a short time ago it was ending a unilateral ceasefire agreed to by the israeli cabinet. that ceasefire went into effect midnight local time, and it lasted just over ten hours. it ended because the israelis say hamas continued to fire rockets from gaza into israel. as many as 25, they say, fired since that unilateral ceasefire on the israelis' side went into

effect. what we're now seeing is there has been a renewal of the ground activity out by the israelis in response to what they say is continual rocket fire by hamas. israel did say when they agreed to the ceasefire at the request of the united nations, that if there was attacks carried out by hamas, it reserved the right to retaliate. they also said they'll continue with their ground operation, keeping their troops inside gaza, in place, holding their defensive positions, but also at the same time, continuing to search for a network of tunnels which hamas has dug under gaza and under the border of gaza and into israel. those tunnels have been used to send militants into israel to carry out attacks on israelis. israel has said they have found 31 of those tunnels, destroying 15 of them. it's taken ten days for that. and this military operation is now into its 20th day, so far

all diplomatic efforts to find a resolution, a compromise between hamas and israel, have failed. once again, as israel resumes it's military operation and hamas continues to fire those rockets, as the palestinian people inside gaz a 1.7 people of them, who are enduring this. so far more than 1,000 have died. more than 40 have died on the israeli side. i'm john vause and our coverage continues after a short break. huh, fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know words really can hurt you? what...? jesse don't go! jesse...no! i'm sorry daisy, but i'm a loner. and a loner gotta be alone. heee yawww!

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live pictures in gaza, just hours after hamas rejected a cease-fire extension. israel resumes military operations. >> more than 1,000 palestinians have died in the week-long conflict. what our correspondents saw during the cease-fire. and they are known at lone soldiers. we introduce you to the americans who volunteered to fight for israel. and hello and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm natalie