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one of the most intense bombardments yet. more children are amongst the latest casualties. just look at the hole the shrapnel has blasted in this car door. imagine the damage that that would do to a child's body. >> more pressure. u.s./european leaders slap more sanctions on russia for its actions in ukraine. the efforts to reach the crash site of mh-17 are blocked again. >> we are sick and tired of being interrupted by gun fight. chaos in libya. country's engulfed by the worst violence of moammar gadhafi. welcome back to cnn special coverage. i'm max foster in london. it's 9:00 a.m. in brussels.

e.u. leaders supposed to meet at this hour could impose the toughest sanctions in russia. they hope to pressure russian president vladimir putin to end the fighting in the ukraine. russia is downplaying the sanctions. lavrov says they will not achieve their goal and it could back fire on europe and the u.s. in london they're looking at the cockpit data flight recorder. they're saying they're being told the plane was destroyed by shrapnel from rocket blasts. a convoy of international investigators will try again to reach the crash site of malaysian airlines 17. they were forced to turn back monday because of heavy fighting. >> we are sick and tired of being interrupted by gun fights despite the fact that we have agreed there should be a cease-fire. on that site there are still body parts missing, there are

still bodies there, there's a job to be done. it can only be done if the guns are down that we have no risk on our way there. >> the 45 person team of dutch and australian experts has yet to lay eyes on the crash site. cnn correspondent anything peyton walsh is traveling with the convoy. >> reporter: days of planning and waiting. it's time to move. trucks cleared by separatists from a convey half journalists towards where flight mh-17 still lay in part. we stopped on the edge of a town but the separatists digging in on the roadside. blocked the media's path while the inspectors continued. soon we heard distant shelling and later heard the inspectors had to turn back. they're taking up positions along the road but people are

fleeing. they say overnight two planes dropped bombs upon them. they're moving us back down the road. two planes dropped bombs and they are fleeing for their life. a steady flow of fear. planes flew from this direction he says. my little one, she's terrified. report back to see more smoke. they're saying there are ukrainian soldiers there but it's hard to distinguish them from separatists. on the back roads they fled and we soon heard too close. rockets landing nearby. quiet farm lives here torn apart by this violence before it brought down mh-17. now it keeps both these people and the relatives of the plane's dead in limbo.

more closure they need until inspectors can start work. those inspectors felt let down both by the ukrainian army and separatists. ukrainians were on the move as you were as well towards the place you were going. certainly that makes it difficult to try again if at the very moment they're supposed to be stopping fighting they're advancing. >> obviously the frustration is there with us. we haven't seen any troop movement ourselves. we will go back and we will hope they can come to a more substantial agreement. >> reporter: each day lost though another 24 hours of the relatives of those on flight mh-17. nick van walsh joins us on the phone from the ukraine. he's hoping to make it to the crash site today. what are the chances do you thin think, nick? >> reporter: i would say it's slim. while their vehicles appear to

have gone somewhere, we're not quite sure where. it's not in the direction of the crash site. i think within that delegation there must be some thought as to actually how safe it is given how volatile the situation in this area is. we know the ukrainian military are on their way trying to take all the towns around it and we know separatists certainly last night around the town of donetsk saw the strong hold and are hearing a lot of heavy weaponry. until about 3:00 in the morning there was either small arms fire or explosions in the distance. it's a complex situation. of course now polite sized access to this crash site. i think most observers think that the ukrainian government can be the one to offer that access. now the separatists. i think a tough position, it's fair to say. they are seeing the ukrainian military moving on many different sides. they still have to be the ones to offer that access themselves.

there's been a change in the military situation here. we're seeing increasing evidence that the ukrainian military is trying to or has managed to push through the separatist area. we don't know how conclusive that move is. it does appear that they are attempting to split the separatist area in two. that would cut off the main city of donestk. the main supply routes for subsistence in. we saw last night a press conference and by the militant leader very much a central figure in this rebellion. he gave a press conference, too. hurriedly arranged. he did say they were fighting back taking casual at this. he rarely appears before the press, not that often, was suddenly appearing last night. people are wondering. a lot moving here.

a lot that's fluid. a lot of people are asking what's next in the situation in the days ahead. max? >> what about the site as far as you know? is that secure and ready for the investigators to move in or is it still being tampered with? >> reporter: it's absolutely not secure, we can certainly say that. we do know the separatists say the ukrainian military has gotten there. there are statements that the ukrainian military is saying they are at the site. we can't verify that. we do know the ukrainian military is not denying being in many of the towns around the crash site. i think it's fair to say there is a lot of fluidity here. that does not spell secure access to the crash site at all for the inspectors. it is unclear if they will even attempt to try to get to the crash site. we haven't seen the same level of preparedness in the morning that we saw yesterday for that convoy to depart. the question really being, do

they make another attempt or wait. max? >> nick, thank you very much, indeed. we hope progress is made on that investigation. as u.s./russian relations continue to strain under the weight of the crisis, moscow is violating a 27-year agreement which bans missiles. it's called the 1987 intermediate range nuclear forces treaty. the cruise missile test. president barack obama has written to president putin about the issue. and now to israel's overnight barrage of airstrikes and artillery fire on hamas

militants in gaza. one of the targets, al axr radio and tv reports that the finance ministry was hit. the airstrikes subsided before daylight but the smoke is still streaming into the sky. palestinians report more than 1100 people killed and 6500 since the violence erupted. 63 of its israeli soldiers have been killed. despite calls for cease-fire, prime minister benjamin netanyahu says to be prepared for a protracted campaign. martin savidge is joining us. martin, one of the worst nights so far. >> reporter: yeah, max, it was. a tremendous spike in violence.

hamas is claiming that it was a hospital and also a refugee camp that was struck by israeli fire. they're denying that. they're saying in all cases it was hamas launching rockets or attempt to go and they fell short. soldiers were killed by mortar fire. there was another terror tunnel attack. five soldiers were killed in that event. israel is saying that the violence is coming directly from hamas. last night we had the prime minister who went on television and warned them that this could be a long campaign to get rid of tunnels. >> translator: even in this hour we continue our operation to neutralize the terror tunnels. we will not finish the mission, we will not finish the operation without neutralizing the tunnels which have the sole purpose of

destroying hour citizens, killing our children. >> it's interesting how tunnels have risen to the top of the list of things that have to be destroyed when it comes to fighting in gaza. many israelis are psychologically affected by the issue of tunnels. they've grown accustomed to rockets but this concept that they could tunnel into your living room threatens their sense of security hence the reason that they are so high on the priority list. fighting continues today, max. >> what do israelis make of these strikes in civilian areas? you're referring to the tunnels but the concern in the u.n. of course is the civilians being targeted. >> reporter: there is, of course, no one likes to see the high number of civilians that are killed in gaza. they also understand and they

will blame hamas for that. they say that hamas uses the public as a mass human shield. israel says it wants people in the neighborhoods before it strikes but it claims hamas forces those people to remain in their homes and forces them to be targets. the loss of life in gaza is something that deeply troubles israelis. they see the threat that they live under and they live under a threat that comes from above, rockets, and below, referencing tunnels. >> martin in jerusalem, thank you. still to come, relatives mourn the death of eight children at a refugee camp. plus the fight of ebola in africa. how they're working backwards to trace the roots of the first confirmed case.

libya world leaders say the bloodshed must stop now.

> . israel and hamas blame each other. eight children were amongst ten people killed. carl spoke sw some of the witnesses. guardians granted u.s. permission -- granted us permission, rather, to interview them. >> reporter: you'll never get to meet little muhammad, but his friend next door wants to tell you a bit about him. >> translator: top of the class at math. bars sell lone na football star lionel messi was his hero. he would always say messi was an amazing player. he loved football. he worshipped messi, she says. he's 12 years old.

glass sprayed on me. it was so loud. it was so terrifying. i can't even describe it, she says. muhammad was just yards from his front door. witnesses say he and the other kids were playing toy guns. they call it boom, boom. plastic pistol now broken. the children, all dead. they reel off their name. it's a sight he should never have seen. >> translator: i saw a boy cut up right there. over there a man was dead. over there a boy, dead. just 8 years old he mans up and describes the explosion. a bloody hand mark in a doorway. a lucky escape for them, but not

for their grandfather. they say he died buying holiday candy. >> translator: i saw grandpa, his head was cut, his arms and legs were cut. he was all cut up they say. witnesses young and oiled say they heard a drone and then the sound of a missile fired on to their street. >> reporter: while we were there we saw a militant rocket. the warring factions blame each other. we've heard their excuses before. but there's no excuse for this. or this. just look at the hole this shrapnel has blasted in this car door. imagine the damage that that would do to a child's body. as i sit on the pavement with anas, the ambulance arrived with young muhammad's body. i want to go see my cousin, he says.

sorry, you may never have even met muhammad, but it's already time to say good-bye. karl pendhal, cnn, gaza. >> for more information on how you can help civilians on both sides of this conflict, simply go to our website. we've posted details of organizations helping people caught in the fighting. cnn.com/impacts. leaders from some of the world's most powerful nations have been discussing the escalating violence in libya. their message, stop the fighting immediately. more on that when we return. let me get this straight... [ female voice ] yes? lactaid® is 100% real milk? right. real milk. but it won't cause me discomfort. exactly, because it's milk without the lactose. and it tastes? it's real milk! come on, would i lie about this? [ female announcer ] lactaid. 100% real milk. no discomfort.

officials are working to track down people who may have come in contact with the first known liberian man who died of ebola. he took three flights to get there switching planes in ghana and togo. the airline hasn't given them lists of passengers to those flights. finding links is essential to containing the virus. >> we understand that in this part of the world the borders are very, very porous so it's quite easy for people to cross from one country into another without detection without using regular border crossings.

we see the most effective response to outbreaks such as this is to undertake new clinical testing, laboratory testing. contract testing is essential. >> liberia has closed many of its borders to help prevent the spread of ebola. the who says more than 600 people have died in guinea, liberia, and sierra leone. two american aide workers have contracted ebola. dr. kent brantley was diagnosed after recognizing the symptoms last week. he sent a message via a colleague in texas. >> he said, david, i think what i would like to say is thank you for all of the prayers and messages of encouragement. i am praying fervently that god will help me survive this disease. please pray for me and pray for my friend nancy who is very sick and for the doctors who are

taking care of us. thank you all so much. peace. kent. >> nancy reibold is the second american worker to contract ebola. she's been living in liberia for the past year with her husband and two children. western leaders are calling for an immediate end to violence in libya. militia groups are battling for territory in the bloodiest fighting since the uprising of 2011. palula sweeney has the latest. >> reporter: thick black smoke from fuel tanks rises out of control rising over the tripoli skyline. heavy shelling can be heard not far away as rival militias battle for the control of the airport. earlier an air bus erupts in flames on the tarmac. all of those signs that libya has descended into its worst violence since the uprising that

ousted moammar gadhafi three years ago. in benghazi dozens of civilians are caught in the cross fire between libyan special forces and islamist militants. the health ministry says in two weeks of fighting more than 100 have been killed in libya and benghazi. libya's central government finds itself outgunned. over the week end fighting near the u.s. compound in tripoli forced the u.s. to evacuate its embassy under heavy military protection. brittain and london are pulling their diplomats out. germany is one of several nations urging their citizens to leave libya now. flights out of the country are limited. u.s., e.u., and arab league are calling for a cease fire from all sides. >> so many people died and gave so much effort to the birth of the new libya and we're very, very hopeful that together all those people will recognize that the current course of violence

will only bring chaos and possibly longer term difficulties. >> reporter: as one envoy says, the situation in libya is reaching a critical stage. now a powerful tornado has caused extensive damage after ripping through a city in massachusetts with winds of up to 190 kilometers per hour. houses had their roofs torn off, hundreds of trees uprooted. no reports of serious injuries. the twister was part of a major storm system that hit the eastern half of the u.s. more on this storm and the world weather. meteorologist pedram joins us with the details. hi, pedram. >> storm system across areas of boston. looking a the the stats, that was the first conformed tornado in suffolk county. the first tornado in 60 years.

north of the city of boston a you saw max explaining there. significant damage. the state of colorado, we had multiple twisters. some folks drove right past it. this particular one touching down here at one point getting close enough to denver's international airport where they had to temporarily suspend flights because of the danger of this storm coming close by. impressive scenes. no significant injuries or damage to report. if you've tuned in from the united states, we have some changes in the forecast, especially out of the eastern half of the u.s. temperatures 15 to 20 degrees fahrenheit below the eastern half of the united states as cool canadian air filters in while the southwest, los angeles, phoenix shooting up to record values in the coming days with warmer weather expected there. quickly want to bring something to your attention.

take you out to the middle of the atlantic ocean. we have the caribbean and the united states the top left of your screen out here. this storm system, medium chance of forming into a tropical storm at this point. over the next five days it becomes 60%. over the next seven days, 70% this storm system would develop and become the second tropical storm in the atlantic ocean. bertha would be the name given to that storm. at this point the most likely area will be espanola. it threatens the eastern united states when you push into the month of august and even the gulf of mexico. it's something worth noting across the u.s. with potentially another tropical storm in the works there. >> pedram, thank you very much, indeed. now after the break european leaders are debating tougher sanctions against moscow. will the new measures be enough to control rebels in eastern ukraine. plus, we'll head underground

in gaza where the i israeli military is working to dismantle a network of tunnels used to dismantle had a has. and now angie's list is revolutionizing local service again. you can easily buy and schedule services from top-rated providers. conveniently stay up to date on progress. and effortlessly turn your photos into finished projects with our snapfix app. visit angieslist.com today. ♪