they're waving big numbers around, saying crimea could rake in three-quarters of a billion dollars annually if this pays off. >> what are the odds at a casino in crimea? >> we need to learn how to say that in russian. what are the odds? >> that's it for "the lead." i'm jake tapper. i turn you over to wolf blitzer. he is live in jerusalem. happening now, a "situation room" special report. breaking news, shelter hit. a united nations school housing thousands of gaza refugees. riveting video on israeli soldiers by hamas militants using one of their sophisticated underground passages. the zone may be filled with land mines keeping investigators out for another day. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around

the world. i'm wolf blitzer in jerusalem. you're in "the situation room." this is cnn breaking news. let's get right to the breaking news. dramatic new developments in the fighting between israel and hamas including a strike on the united nations school in gaza where thousands of palestinians are seeking shelter. palestinian health officials say at least 20 people were killed in a pre-dawn strike that's drawing sharp criticism from both the united nations and the u.s. recovering all angles of the breaking news this hour of our guests, and our correspondents in the middle east and around the world. cnn's john voss is in gaza city. john, what's the latest? what are you seeing now? >> reporter: well, wolf, it has been a pretty quiet night here especially compared to the last few nighs a s anights and that'y we haven't heard the continual pounding from the southern part of israel. most of those areas have, in

fact, been evacuated. we also have heard a number of targets being hit by israeli air strikes. hamas still continuing to fire rockets and mortars according to the israel defense forces. hamas has fired 86 rockets today and those sirens have been heard in south and central israel. some of those rockets fired just in the last couple of hours alone. and we have this report coming to us from hamas-controlled media saying there are clashes right now in the northern part of the gaza strip not far from the beta area, and that's very close to the border crossing with israel between hamas militants and according to this media report, israeli special forces and no confirmation on the israeli side and as you can see behind me with gaza's only power station not operating, it is yet another dark night here in gaza. almost 1.7 million palestinians still without electricity, wolf? >> what's the latest on that

u.n. school, that sheller that was bombed and attacked and a lot of people were injured. the united nations blaming israel. what's the latest there? >> the u.n. is very adamant here. they say they have evidence. they claim this was, in fact, an israeli artillery strike. they say in the early hours of this morning around 4:30 a.m. local time, that shelter that was housing 3,000 palestinians who had to leave their homes because of the military offensive was hit by three rounds in the early hours of the morning. it killed at least 20 people. more than 120 others were, in fact, wounded. many of those casualties were, in fact, men because they were up for early morning prayers. the u.n. says this is a disgraceful act. they have slammed the israelis for this. israel, though, saying they're currently investigating just what happened. an initial idf investigation says that their troops were in

the region at the time, and were in the vicinity and they say they took mortar fire from hamas militants who were fired from an area around the school and then they returned fire, buttis ralsz an investigation is still under way. no word when that investigation and that full investigation will be complete. wolf? >> all right, john, thanks very much, john vause in gaza city for us. be careful over there. >> the u.s. is condemning the strike on the school and it's supplying israeli forces with ammunition as we have learned. let's go to michelle kosinski. she is working this part of the story. what are you learning about the school, the shelter that was hit today? >> reporter: both the white house and state department were very careful to point out today that they're not assigning blame in this case. the shelling of a school where more than 3,000 palestinians were sheltering. what they did in a statement was essentially criticize both sides, but without naming any names. it was interesting. they condemned the shelling of the school, but they also

condemned those who would wide weapons inside a u.n. facility. the first thing is what israel is suspected of in this case and what hamas has been accused of throughout this conflict. however, now since the u.n. has come out and said there's abundant evidence that israel is at fault in this most recent case, the state department was questioned repeatedly today, aren't you essentially criticizing israel now? the response is there still needs to be a full investigation although the administration did say they have been very clear that israel does need to do more to live up to its own standards of protecting civilians. wolf, i think one of the best examples of this walking the line was today when cnn, in fact, asked over and over against state department why don't you just condemn all targeting of u.n. facilities, but they didn't want to go that far. they said well, it's complicated because of these allegations of hiding weapons inside these facilities. wolf? >> as you know, michelle, our

correspondent barbara starr is saying they are resupplying israeli forces with ammunition and the obama administration said yes and they're resupplying israel with ammunition. tell us more about this. >> reporter: we're not hearing from the white house yet on this, but what the u.s. defense officials told barbara starr was that this was not an emergency resupply. that israel isn't almost out of ammunition although they have used quite a bit over the weeks now of this conflict, but they said some of the ammunition in this u.s.-owned stockpile kept in israel for israel's use during an emergency was nearing its expiration date so the decision was made to make that sale now. they also said that israel requested more ammunition that wasn't within that stockpile, but they didn't want to give away details before the deal was finished, wolf. >> the u.s. has for years been stockpiling weapons and ammunition in israel for emergency purposes so that -- excuse me, the u.s. doesn't have to do an airlift in an emergency

situation if israel is at war. thanks very much. let's talk about all of this with mark regev and he's the spokesman for benjamin netanyahu. thank you. >> my pleasure. >> the killing of the palestinians s at this jelter the united nations put out a very strong statement. our initial assess am is that it was israeli artillery that hit our school, the precise location of the jabalia elementary girls school and the fact that it was housing thousands of internally displaced people was communicated to the israeli army 17 times, condemned in the strongest possible terms the serious violation of international law by israeli forces. they say this is the sixth time israel has attacked a u.n. shelter. >> first of all, israel does not attack u.n. work. we respect the work that they do

in gaza. it was not clear to us that it was israeli fire or even israeli scare fire that hit, and they were shooting at our forces and they were shooting at us from the immediate vicinity of that u.n. school. now, if our forces are in the field and being shot at, right, it's only natural that they would return fire to save their own lives. we don't know yet that it was israeli fire that entered the school and killed those people. we'll investigate and get to the bottom of it, but we have seen here a consistent pattern of behavior by hamas of brutalizing u.n. facilities and turning them into war zones. we have three documented cases, that the u.n. itself says so that weapon, hamas rockets were stored in u.n. facilities and now we've had two cases at least where u.n. facilities have been turned into sort of a shield for hamas terrorists as they shoot at our forces.

we had -- we lost one of our soldiers on saturday who was taken out by a sniper, who was either inside or immediately outside a u.n. facility using it as a shield. >> you know, the u.n. says in their preliminary investigation, they looked at the rem nans of this mortar shell and they say there's no doubt this came from israel. >> first of all, we'll be interested to hear what they say and we'll be cooperate and be transparent and if it was our fall. in the past we have admitted where we made mistakes, but let's be clear and here the secretary of the united nations has been very clear when terrorives put weapons or use a u.n. facility for their military purposes they are responsible because they're endangering the lives of everyone at that facility and it was clear today that our forces were taking fire from terrorists in the immediate vicinity of that school, therefore it's hamas who has turned this area into a war zone

and they bear responsibility. >> as you know, the obama administration is not saying yet who is responsible for the killing of these people. both the state department and the state department said israel needs to do more to protection civilians. your reaction? >> first of all, we are doing a lot and we're always checking ourselves and making sure we are living to our own high standards. we don't target civilians. we don't target u.n. facilities. this is a difficult combat operation and we don't want to see a single palestinian caught in the cross fire. what is the challenge, what do you do when you're being shot at from a u.n. facility? what do you do when a u.n. facility is storing weapons? what do you do when a u.n. facility is storing rockets and what do you do when snipers are shooting out of u.n. facilities? obviously, it's a very challenging situation and the plame and the accountability is with those terrorists who are brutalizing u.n. institutions and turning them into war zones.

>> when the u.s. says you need it to do more, what else can you do in your opinion? >> we are always holding ourselves to a higher standard because we don't want to hit innocent civilians. we hold ourselves to the highest international standards. the chief of staff in the israeli military, speaking yesterday in hebrew, he wasn't speaking to cnn, and it wasn't public relations and he said, every time an innocent civilian is killed in gaza, it pains me. that's the highest man in uniform and i think he was giving israeli ethos and we don't want to see palestinian and civilians caught in the cross fire. the israeli southern command said today that israel is very close to completing its work in destroying those hamas tunnels. say it's very close. how closer you presumably to accepting a cease-fire arrangement? >> israel has accepted a whole cease-fire, we accepted the

egyptian proposal that was supported by the united and the arab league. theoretically had hamas agreed this fighting would have stopped two weeks ago and the people that have been killed in the last two weeks wouldn't have happened and we've also accepted and willing to accept more humanitarian cease-fires for a few hours, 12, four, eight hours and we've done it in the past and willing to do it in the future. what happened? israel ceases fire, but hamas does not. they continue to shoot rockes and they continue to come in through the tunnels and they continue to try to kill our people. hamas has to understand that a cease-fire is a two-way street. a cease-fire means hamas also ceases fire and up until now they've been unwilling to do so. >> they say you must also time thainiously ease the siege of gaza so people can breathe a little bit there. you say? >> the restrictions on the gaza strip are there because of of the violence because they're shooting rockets. no one from gaza can come to me and say you should have an open border with israel when they're trying to kill us and when

they're shooting rockets. if we have a sustained period of quiet, of course, we can discuss easing restrictions, easing the sanctions. of course, we'd like to see a situation where israel and gaza have a more normal relationship. >> mark regev, the spokeman for the prime minister of israel. thanks very much for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> up next, we'll get palestinian reaction to the breaking news. my interview with osama hamdan, that's coming up. the latest to stop the fighting and deputy spokeswoman is standing by live as well. we are here in jerusalem and this is "the situation room" spesh report, but take a look at this. live pictures coming in from gaza right now. you see the flares going up, presumably israeli flares and could be palestinian flares and probably israeli flares. these are live pictures coming from gaza right now. the latest on the fighting and much more when we come back. did you know, your eyes can lose vital nutrients as you age?

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check out the the live pekt fru pictures from gaza. no flares root now, but our people there on the scene, john vause, karl penhaul will update us shortly on what is going on. that's when we saw aing while ago. presumably israeli flares lighting up the skies over gaza city. i'm wolf blitzer reporting live from jerusalem. right now, the breaking news, the united nations school

killing 20 people, helped push the death toll in gaza to more than 300 people in the three weeks of fighting, that according to palestinian health officials in gaza. let's bring in the state department deputy spokeswoman marie harth, thanks very much for joining us. earlier today you declined to condemn either israel or hamas for that strike on that u.n. shelter which killed so many people. do you have a better sense now who is responsible especially since the united nations has directly said it was israel, israeli mortars that killed these people? >> well, wolf, we did condemn both the fact that there was a strike on this u.n. school, unfortunately, we've seen reports of a number of people killed and we've also condemned the fact that hamas has throughout the conflict kept rockets in these kinds of schools. we are still gathering more information. we do know the u.n. has put out a staple, but we need to get our

own facts before we go further. we do condemn this because the u.n. is neutral and the neutrality that the united nations has in the conflict zones is of the utmost importance and that's something we're very concerned about. >> you are specifically condemning hamas for potentially keeping weapons in some of these u.n. schools and the u.n. itself has said they do that from time to time, but at least for now you're refusing to condemn israel directly for killing these people in the u.n. shelter, is that right? >> we're condemning whoever took this strike on this u.n. school. we're still gathering the facts before we assign responsibility here. look, as you know, wolf, there are many conflicting reports about these situations. we've heard a few even just today of people you've talked to. so we'll get more facts and going forward we'll be very clear about what we know here. >> you do say that israel can and should do more to protect civilians in gaza. what do you mean by that some. >> well, we know this is a conflict zone.

we know gaza is very densely populated and we have said repeatedly that israel has the right to defend itself, but we have also said they need to take more steps to prevent civilian casualties. i've seen the picture in your network and elsewhere of the scenes here and it is tragic. if you just look at the photos. obviously, we know that more needs to be done and we've communicated that to the israelis throughout this conflict. >> because the israelis say they do everything they possibly can to avoid civilian casualties and they don't want to go after civilians, but you say they're not doing enough, is that right? >> yes, wolf, that is. we do believe on they could be doing more. the reason secretary kerry is so focused on getting a cease-fire in place so israeli citizens can stop being threatened from the rockets coming in from gaza and so civilians in gaza aren't in harm's way and everything the secretary is doing is underpinned by that notion. >> as you know, barbara starr,

our pentagon correspondent, is reporting now that the obama administration and the u.s. has accepted israel a request for resupply for ammunition, some weapons stockpiled for israeli use right now in this war. that's presumably going to cause diplomatic headaches from the united states if some of those munitions wind up killing civilians in gaza, are you concerned about that? >> well, wolf, we've said, not only in this conflict that we'll do a number of things to help it defend its security and to help it, whether it's iron dome, which is, of course, a defensive system or helping the israelis with security funding. we're going to stand by them as they fight this threat, but that doesn't mean when we think they could do more we won't say that and i think the secretary has been very focused on the diplomatic efforts and he's in india today, as you know and has made a dozen phone calls to partners to see if we can get a unilateral, an unconditional,

not unilateral, unconditional cease-fire put in place so we can stop the fighting and take the time to see if we can negotiate a longer term cease-fire. >> have there already been protests at the state department of the u.s. decision to resupply israel with munitions in the middle of this war right now? have some of the u.s. 14 14s friends and allies have been complaining to you? >> not that we know of. it is well known and it is a long standing one and we are going to make very clear when we believe israel can do more even despite that relationship and the reason we need to see a cease-fire in place as soon as possible so civilians on both sides aren't put in harm's way so we can get humanitarian medicine, food and supplies into gas and so we have aings time and space to negotiate a more lasting cease-fire which is in the lasting interest of both israelis and palestinians.

>> as you point out, the secretary is in india right now which is a very important country and in the midst of a crisis, is that the kind of message you want to send instead of being in the middle east and trying to get a cease-fire and stop the killing and he's done a major visit to india right now? >> we can do both and you saw him last week be in cairo, be in jerusalem, be in paris trying to work toward a cease-fire, but i would note that on the way to india on the plane and since he's been there the secretary has already made over a dozen calls with partners, with the qataris with the turks and israelis to see if we can get, again, an unconditional, temporary cease-fire in place so we can have time and space to get the parties to cairo to negotiate a longer term cease-fire to get supplies that are much needed into gaza. the secretary, as you know, doesn't sleep very much and will work as hard as he can even though he's in india which is an

incredibly important relationship, the first meeting with the new government there, but trying to get a new cease-fire at the same time. >> let's hope he and everyone else can get that cease-fire which has been so elusive so far three weeks now fourth week in this war. marie harf, thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. >> still ahead, dramatic video of hamas militants launching a deadly tunnel attack on israeli forces, plus ukraine warning that land mines may have been laid at the malaysia flight 17 crash site. cnn made it there even though investigators could not. we're live in jerusalem. this is a "situation room" special report. but it can also lead to tooth decay and bad breath. that's why there's biotene. available as an oral rinse, toothpaste, spray or gel, biotene can provide soothing relief, and it helps keep your mouth healthy, too.

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we're live here in jerusalem. we're following the breaking news. a deadly strike in a united nations shelter and school in gaza that killed people. israel says a hamas rocket may be to blame. they're investigating and the two sides continue to fire on each other. cnn's john vause in gaza city was close to one air strike in gaza. watch this. >> let's start with the unilateral -- it's over, as you can tell. >> what we have now is smoke which is coming from an earlier air strike in downtown gaza city. that's a gas station, a petrol station which was hit according to palestinian officials. what other target was hit at this point, we don't know.

they are now responding to that -- to those hamas rockets, which to be fair that have been continued to fire from gaza. just over here -- it's this building just over here which has just been hit. okay. people are scattering beneath the streets below. >> do you need to go, john? j no, we're okay. we're all good, but we are just trying to work out exactly what's happening here right now. okay. everyone's taking cover right now. okay. so that was pretty close. that's a building not far from our location here, obviously. >> that was john vause earlier a few hours ago. john is joining us live from gaza. tell us what it was like, john, to go through that awful experience because it was obviously very scary, very dramatic. >> reporter: yeah.

indeed. it was very close to the office here in gaza city that we've been operating out of. it turns out that the strike in the building just to my right, that actually was just what they call a knock on the roof, a warning for the people inside that there was, in pacfact, qui possibly an air strike that was yet to come and that never happened and there were a couple of those knocks on the roof, buildings where we are. we've also learned a lot more about the end result of at least one of those air strikes. what happened here today was israel had essentially announced what was a nun lateral cease-fire for four hours and a humanitarian window. they said they would respond if hamas continued to fire upon israeli soldiers and continued to fire the rockets into israel. hamas never agreed to the cease-fire. they fired 26 rockets and finally israel responded which were the air strikes that we saw and one of those air strikes did hit downtown. it hit a marketplace in the area of downtown gaza city.

very grim, graphic images that we saw from that marketplace. 17 people, at least, were killed. that's according to health officials here in gaza. more than 200 people, wolf, were hurt in that air strike and that brings the death toll for wednesday, just for wednesday to 129 people. the overall death toll stands at 1,340 palestinians according to the u.n. most of those are civilians. wolf? >> all right, john. john vause in gaza city with a dangerous assignment, clearly, doing an excellent job for us. thanks very much. despite the threat of of incoming rockets, the growing iltear death toll, the growing public is accept -- is against accepting a cease-fire with hamas. sarah is near the gas border and she's joining us live. give us a sense of what's going on, sarah? >> reporter: we've moved in a

bit here to ash callon where in a 20-minute period, for example, today as we were sitting here the sirens going off and at least four rockets coming over our head. we heard the iron dome go off and knocking those rockets out, but people having to run for cover and this is an example of why israeli jews who were polled are so adamant that now is the time, crush hamas. they are fully supporting the majority of people polled, fully supporting what israel is doing with operation defensive edge. from the tel aviv seashore to the israeli-gaza border and beyond, the show of support for israeli jews for netanyahu's war effort is clear, we're with you. hebrew signs say it with words. the people prove it with deeds. volunteers cook free meals. the sound of war booms behind them in easy striking distance from gaza. >> reporter: this is who they're doing it for, the soldiers on the battlefield. the message, we are with you.

two polls down to measure support if are protective edge revealed up to 95% of jews are against a cease-fire and what they want is hamas dealt with once and for all. >> hamas is terrorism and terrorism they hurt every -- that came out from gaza. >> he is happy living side by side with palestinians in jafa, but hamas is a different thing. netanyahu's plan to destroy the tunnel network in gaza got a pat on the back in tel aviv. >> we have to continue because we have a lot of work to do there otherwise they will find a way to come inside, you know, all of the tunnels and i don't know the the name, and we have to destroy everything.

>> reporter: for this young lady it's deeply personal. she is to be married soon and her fiance is on the front lines. he's in gaza somewhere and we're afraid. we shouldn't stop fighting. we shouldn't compromise. we sat down with mossad, israel's top intelligence agency about what it would take to fulfill the sentiment of those polled. >> it calls for conquering the entire gaza. >> reporter: reoccupation? >> no doubt. >> reporter: he says the price of that will be high, perhaps higher than the public realizes, costing lives and money. >> it means that we will have to stay in gaza with relatively loudly deployed forces for two, three, four years. the former spy chief initially did not support netanyahu's decision to put israeli boots on the ground in gaza, but he admis something to us, something they rarely do. >> now i understand i was wrong because only with this ground

operation we could discover those tunnels. >> reporter: political analyst marcus chef says the support for netanyahu and his defense and army chiefs is remarkable. >> i can't remember a military operation which has had so much support for the israeli people. >> reporter: but the polls did not include palestinians with israeli citizenship, sometimes referred to as israeli arabs. those we spoke with wanted to stop the offensive. but even israeli peace rallies demanding an end to the war have been met with protesters in support of pounding gaza until hamas is crushed. now political analysts warn, though, the longer this goes on the more israeli casualties and the better chance that the israeli jews who were polled may start to withdraw their support depending how long this goes on and you heard from the former head of mossad just there, mr. ya it tum and he said if they

really want to crush hamas this could take years. wolf? >> sarah sidener in ash colon for us, thanks very much for that report. >> up, in, riveting video on israeli soldiers by hamas militants using one of their sophisticated tunnels. cnn's nick payton walsh makes it to the flight 17 crash site even though the threat of land mines keeps investigators away. your 16-year-old daughter

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potentially on israeli territory. chief national correspondent jim sciuto has more. >> we've been speaking to the israeli military and they say since the start of the gaza offensive there have been six attacks inside israel using tunnels and there is new video that shows one of these attacks, a deadly one that killed five israeli soldiers as it happened on monday this week. it's a riveting insider's view of what both hamas and israelis say was a deadly attack in broad dale. in a video that aired on al aqsa tv the attackers emerged from a primitive tunnel dug from gaza into israel. they approached the israeli outpost filming every step and then fired on one soldier and another who appears to scream as he's taken down. hamas claims their fighters killed ten israelis. israeli defense forces say five were killed and plus one of the

attackers. they later returned to safety through the same tunnel. israeli leaders have identified this growing network of tunnels as the main target of the ongoing offensive in gaza which they say will not stop until the tunnels are finally dealt with. >> translator: we will not finish the operation without neutralizing the tunnels which have the sole purpose of destroying our citizens, killing our children. >> reporter: during israel's military operations in gaza israeli forces have discovered some 30 different tunnels. and have destroyed about half of them so far. the tunnels run as far as two miles from gaza into israel. they burrow deep as far as a hundred feet into the ground and are very narrow, about 6 feet high and 2 1/2 feet across. mark hurtling who worked regularly with israeli forcy say the tunnels are a growing threat

to israel a security. >> we like to use the word a symmetric and it isn't normal battlefield operations and it's a way to defeat a better prepared enemy. with the israelis having the kind of technological edge they have, this is hamas' way to attempt to counter that. >> more detailses on this attack from an i rail i official. i am told, wolf that these arc tackers fired an anti-tank missile. they attempted to take a dead israeli soldier with them, but prevented that when they took fire from israeli troops and as you know, wolf, these tunnels used for a lot of thingses, smuggling weapons and packing explosives under israeli positions and blowing them up is another way to attackis side israel from tunnels inside gaza. >> i know it's been tough for the israelis to find all of these tunnels. is there some specific technology that they can use to detect these tunnels? >> our military analyst told us

there is something and it's similar to what oil exploration companies can do, sending seismic pollses into the ground and you virtually have to be right over the tunnel or very close to it to detect it and no, gi give lent of an iron dome underground like israel has over the sky upon. it's a very effective tactic from hamas. >> yeah. as israelis will tell you and i was down in one of those tunnels the other day, they know where the tunnels are that they found, and they detected, but if there are others that they're know no aware of they're still in business. the commander thinks he's getting close to destroying those tunnels and finding those tunnels and even he is not 100% sure. jim, thanks very much for that. >> we're live here in jerusalem. we're also watching other breaking news including ukraine. ukraine now accusing pro-russian rebels of planting land mines on

a road leading to the malaysian airlines crash site. a cnn crew made it to the debris field and we'll show you what they found. also, i spoke to top officials from the palestinian community as well as the israeli military. much more of the breaking news coverage. we're live here in jerusalem.

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we're following the breaking news in ukraine. ukraine's government accusing prorussian rebels of planting land mines on the road leading to the malaysian airlines crash site. for the fourth straight day, investigators couldn't reach the debris field. but nick paton walsh and his

crew made it there safely. did you see any land mines while you were there, nick? >> reporter: no, wolf, no evidence of what they are saying to keep inspectors away. they did eventually wave us through. we got to a site that was eerily abandoned. the road isn't easy, check points, but where it leads is harder still. nothing surely could spoil lies a horror still unresolved. 12 days since mh-17 was blown out of the sky. it remains here, a monument to cruelly. 298 souls some shipped in parts away on a separatist train have yet to find complete rest. questions left, what or who else

did they loved, what did they feel in their last moments. >> the silence is that of a tomb like sorrow and loss of isolated from the war around it, but you really have to stand here and see the things that people want to take with them on holiday and horrifyingly even now smell the stench of decay to understand the urgency from relatives of those who died here must feel to get inspectors to the site and get some kind of closure. in the hour we were there, no separatists, inspectors or ukrainian soldiers at this site. just distant smoke that explains why the inspectors large convey has not for the fourth day running got here. god save and protect us the sign asks. not here. still reeking of jet fuel. you can see the heat of the infer no. they fell from the sky. strangers have tried to mourn.

the scene of this crime has been abandoned. evidence tampered with. visible in the cockpits remains. a wallet, emptied. a cell phone looted. traces of daydreams that fell into a war of deadly horrors that drown out that which took their lives. whose blind hatred has yet to find space for the dignities they deserve. it's a much easier task for us in one small car to go through the windi ining country roads. but it is for inspectors to take their large convoy and set up there for a matter of weeks potentially and do their lengthy and pain staking job. the dutch today said they are worried the security situation means they won't get there for a number of days. i think there are some perhaps cynically who think the war now

means that until the craukraini government gets to their area will they be able to start doing their jobs. >> thank you for your report. coming up, anger and outrage over the deaths of a united nations shelter in gaza. standby for a look at the damage. and is there any progress in getting a cease-fire that will hold. we'll get the latest from a defense official and a top palestinian negotiator. palestinian negotiator. fpz -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com uh, hi... i'm here to drop off my resume. password? i'm sorry, i'm just... what's the password? uh... synergy? uh, dedification... gamification? with alumni in every fortune 100 company university of phoenix can help open the door to your future. go to phoenix.edu to get started today.

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happening now, a "the situation room" breaking report. witnesses share the horror of a deadly strike on the united nations facility in gaza. the u.n. is directly blaming israel. the deputy secretary general of the united nations standing by to join us live this hour. plus new crash site danger. ukrainian officials accuse rebels of planting land mines near the wreckage of flight 17. we have new pictures from the scene. and e bow la e letter. americans may be frack itrackin virus. we're americaning of u.s. citizens after one died. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." tonight the united states is condemning a new strike on a

united nations school being used as a shelter in gaza. the obama administration is stopping short of blas placing blame. u.s. officials aren't holding back. their initial assessment suggest it was israel's fault. palestinians say 20 people were killed including sleeping children. we have correspondents and news makers standing by as we cover the breaking news here in the middle east and around the world. first, more on the fighting between israel and hamas and another failed attempt to stop it. bloody warfare, another school hit. new evidence of the danger from hamas and its network of tunnels. their cease-fire falls apart again. >> it's over, as you can tell. >> israel authorized a four-hour humanitarian window to let

civilians in gaza escaped from damaged buildings, move to safer places and get supplies, but militants continue to fire rockets and israel responded with airstrikes. this deadly strike before the ill faded cease-fire is sparking new outrage and controversy. another united nations school in gaza being used as a shelter for several thousand palestinians was hit. >> what we see here are massa e massacres. >> reporter: the u.n. is blaming israel. >> we have all the elements in place to conclude it was israeli artillery. >> israel says militants in the vicinity of the school opened fire. and soldiers returned fire directing it at the source of the attack. israeli officials say their forces do not target u.n. facilities. and they stress that the u.n. has repeatedly found militant rockets hidden inside its

schoo schools. >> if there is fighting going on, forces, it's because hamas has decided that it's open season on the u.n. >> new casualties for israel in its campaign to find and destroy hamas tunnels. the military says three soldiers were killed while uncovering a tunnel shaft in a home in southern gaza. hamas has bragged about using its tunnel network to attack israeli troops posting this new video. it shows fighters emerging from what it called a tunnel behind enemy lines and running toward an israeli military tower just east of gaza. israel has acknowledged that an infiltration like that took place killing five of its soldiers and one of the attackers. >> now firsthand account of the strike on the united nations school, they are in gaza. he went there just a little while ago.

tell whaus you saw, what you learned. >> wolf, we looked up into the first floor around and right through the roof into the top floor. a man told us that the men had been sleeping outside, that women had been sleeping in the classrooms with their children. this strike came just before dawn and one woman said that with the explosions, the school filled with smoke and shrapnel came down like rain. elderly men had been cut to shreds as they slept in the courtyard. debris was all around. what we were looking for as people showed us fragments of shrapnel they had picked up, we were keen to find out exactly what happened at the school gates as well. another pathetic footnote to this incident and donkeys that

had bought these families to a safe haven at the school, the donkeys had also been killed. they were lying scattered around at the school kbagates. >> you spoke to officials on the scene. tell us what they told you. >> we had the chance to speak with the commissioner general of the united nations relief agency in charge of these schools that are then turned into shelters. u.n. investigators went down to the school very shortly after those explosions and they did a an analysis apreponderance they did shrapnel analysis and gathered other evidence and u.n. investigators say they have enough evidence to conclude that israeli artillery, three explosions caused this tragedy, wolf. let's listen to what they have to say. >> the sixth time one of our school buildings sheltering

displaced people has been hit in this way. and i think the word is just simply enough is enough. now measures have to be taken. people will go there because they will be safe and here's the confirmation that there's nowhere you can be safe. >> the israeli military says that hamas and israeli military were looked in a fight in that area. that hamas opened up with more to fire. it is investigating the incident, but leaves open the possibility that hamas mortar fire may have caused this incident. but the united nations investigators say not so. this time they say that they have enough evidence to conclude that it was the israeli military, wolf. >> what about the people who were there? where are they spending tonight? >> wolf, the tragic answer to that is that those people are sleeping tonight in exactly the

same place. more than 3,000 people are crammed into that school. they have nowhere to go. they got there because they thought it would be a safe haven. they left their own homes because it had become a battlefield. now the shelter they were staying has become a combat zone. they have nowhere more to run. they are bedding down tonight in the debris of those attacks, wolf. >> carl on the scene for us in gaza, thanks very much. later this hour, we'll speak with the deputy secretary general of the united nations. let's bring in a spokesman for the idf with colonel peter lerner. you heard your name mentioned. since your initial statement on what happened, what else have you found out about this attack on the u.n. shelter? >> clearly, this morning we woke up with these tragic photographs. the footage is just heart wrecking. they are currently investigating the situation. we still don't have a clear cut

answer except the indeed the area there was combat in the immediate vicinity near the school. terrorists launching mortars at the idea of forces and in exchange of fire. this is the reality we are facing. we can't conclude at this time that it was idf, but indeed, we have to make sure and see what exactly what's happened. over the course of the last 48 hours, we have seen several attempts by hamas to pin to israel and to attribute to israel attacks they have carried out and struck the hospital and the incident in the beach camp with people injured and killed. they tried to pin that to israel when we have nothing to do with it. >> but if the united nations presents evidence to you, shrapnel from this specific attack and its israeli military hardware, that's going to be something you'll have to deal with. >> absolutely.

the israel defense force thinks it's necessary to say this. we do not target u.n. filgt facilities. if we did, hamas wouldn't be hiding rockets and weapons within their schools, would they? because they would be in jeopardy. we know about the school premise. we are operating and working together so they can continue their humanitarian mission. that's something they are doing. we have to get to the bottom of this incident. it is a tragedy. it's heartbreaking the pictures we have seen today. >> because they say they repeatedly gave you the coordinates of the specific u.n. school and kept telling the israeli military, please be careful. >> they are conveying on an open hot line that we have with them extensive information about all of their operations. of course, we are taking that into consideration. but we have a reality on the ground. we have a reality where hamas

are abusing all international symbols. they have no limits. and we have to get to the bottom of this incident. it is a problem on the ground, but in this close contact, reality, we have to realize that there is a severe problem with this -- with the other side are exploiting the situation. >> so when the state department and the white house back in washington whrks they say israel can and should be doing more to avoid civilian casualties, you say? >> israel opens and speaks candidly to its allies and friends across the globe. indeed we take into consideration what they are saying. we are operating in an extremely volatile, delicate situation where we have to keep our eyes on the focus on the point. these terrorists, hamas, which are behind the aggression, continue to attack us, continue to launch rockets. today we had three soldiers

killed going into a house, which is within the civilian arena, which has been booby trapped and they blew it up on our soldiers. this is how they operate within this it area. this is the challenge we are facing. we do not mean to kill civilians. >> our pentagon correspondent reported today that israel has asked the united states and the u.s. has agreed for stockpiled weapons, ammunition, stuff that's stockpiled here in israel because they need more of these. tell us what's going on. >> that type of relationship does not take place between the military so i can't comment on that, but on the defense ministry level and the pentagon. the packages here, which are israeli and that's the type of relationship. >> israel, are they running low

in supplies that you need the emergency assistance from the united states? >> when you're planning these type of operations, you need to look forward. we don't know where it's going. we have to prepared for every option and take everything into consideration. >> let's talk a little bit about the operate to try to destroy the tunnels. the commander of the southern command, he said that israel seems to be close to finishing that part of this military operation. finding and destroying the tunnels. what's going on in that front? >> we are progressing every day. we have spoken about it quite extensively over the last few days. every day we are seeking out these tunnels, engaging them, and taking out whole pack ajs of them so they no longer pose that threat of easy infiltration. we have more than half of those, over 32 tunnels now, and over half of them are now destroyed. but it is a long and extremely

challenging project because doing it under fire for once, doing it under the understanding that there could be terrorists inside these tunnels, when we talk about a group of terrorists, we're not talking about a handful. we're talking about 10, 13 people that can storm a position at any given time. you have seen the footage that the terrorists released yesterday and the type of operations they are carrying out with these tunnels. we can't let that happen. >> peter lerner, thank you for joining us. >> good evening. >> let's get the perspective of the united nations. joining us from new york is the deputy secretary general of the united nations. thanks secretary general for joining us. explain what you believe happened at that u.n. school. u.n. officials are directly blame i blaming the israelly military for killing palestinians who sought shelter at this united nations facility. >> we have received shock and

dismay u this morning and immediately with our people. he gave us enough information that the reason to conclude that it was israeli artillery. and i think this can be substantiated. of course, we have to continue the investigation, but i think the statements made by the israeli spokes people that there was fire in this area and that there was fire returned into this area is also an indication that it was indeed israeli artillery. it is a horrible situation because we had been in contact with israeli defense forces at least 15 times and given an

exact description of where the school was and we had 3,000 people in that school. so they had the coordinates and therefore, we really have to think about warfare in a city environment as this is. this area is like a big met metropolitan area. where do people go? the israeli defense forces have asked us to bring them into these shelters. they were under our protection. that's why it's so horrible for us to see the people that are there under our protection being killed, especially when you see innocent children and innocent civilians being killed to this extent. >> pictures are awful indeed. secretary general, what specific evidence, what specific piece of

evidence did you find, your experts on the scene find that it was an israeli shell? do you know what it was that convinced them? >> i can't go into detail, and i'm not an expert on this myself, but we have enough expertise in the area to analyze fragments of shrapnel, fragments of shells. evidently in this case, it was very convincing what we saw and what we have seen. >> was there any evidence that this specific shelter of this school that hamas militants were the there, that they were storing weapon there is? united nations has said in the past that there was evidence of hamas rockets and weapons being planted in some u.n. facilities in gaza. >> it would be extremely irresponsible for us to have

militants in that school. and under our people assure us there was no such presence whatsoever. there might be in the neighborhood, but definite ly nt there. when there was unfortunate cases have been disclosed that, in fact, that there were storage of weapons in our facilities, we have concluded that this was in the schools that we had left and deserted. and we look into that also. all this must be investigated. >> i want to clarify one thing. there was a report earlier that officials, united nations officials did find some rockets in the united nations facility, but then they supposedly handed those rockets back to hamas

militants. is that true? >> no, what we have concluded at this stage in the investigation is that they were found in a deserted school that we were not using and nobody was there. so we had no control over that facility. what then happened with the weap weapons and whatever it was there, we don't know. we're looking into that. but of course, there's no presence of any such material in any of the shelters that we have now. you may know that we now shelter, house over 200,000 people. the israeli defense forces have asked us to take them into these shelters from areas that were under pom bardment. we now have 200,000 people. if we are to spread them out if there's now an attack against even shelters, we have no --

they have no place to go. the situation is absolutely critical now from a humanitarian perspective. therefore, we have to stop the fighting immediately. we lose almost control of the situation, especially since the energy, the electricity is not there anymore. we have problems of pumping water, we have problems of supplying water to hospitals. we cannot have refrigeration of food. sewage is going right out in the street now because we can't pump it out. and remember, this is an area where you have a huge population in a very, very small area. and it's right in the middle of s summer so you have great health risks coming. i would say we need that cease-fire immediately, and perhaps then one can see this in

two stages. an immediate end of the fighting and then a more durable cease-fire where the main concerns can be addressed. we know and understand very well that israel must stop the rocket attacks into their own country. and of course, the tunnels where attacks are being carried out must be stopped also. but we also have to go to this absolutely critical situation that gaza is completely isolated and that e we need to lift this blockade. but the first step must be to stop the fighting. nothing can be gained from continued bombardment. i hope both hamas and israel come to this conclusion, continued escalation is a ticket to misery. we must now really use this horrible moment of seeing these children die in u.n. protected areas as a reminder of how

important it is to really stop the fighting now. i can't see any reason, anything to gain to continue in this manner. >> secretary general, the israelis say they will accept the cease-fire along the lines of what egypt initially proposed, an immediate cease-fire. they deal with a lot of these other issues down the road. you first stop the fighting right away. the israelis say they are ready for that. hamas is not ready for a cease-fire until israel eases some of the siege, takes other steps to ease what's going on. they wanted to come simultaneously. how do you reconcile that specific difference because that seems to be the main reason why there is no humanitarian cea cease-fire right now. >> we are in contact with egypt, we are in contact with turkey and qatar that have connections to hamas. we are in connection with the united states. secretary kerry is doing a good

job. we are in direct contact with the israelis. and it is absolutely crucial that they exercise the influence now. i think the square of the equation that you formulate, we have to see it in two stages. one is to stop right now. hamas and israel must understand the need for that urgency of just stopping the fighting. and then during that humanitarian cease-fire, which i hope will come about, one can then bring out the issues that you mentioned. the israeli side will bring up the tunnels of the rocket attacks and hamas will bring up the issue of the blockade. and open up to leave and to come into gaza. these issues can be discussed. by that create a durable

cease-fire. so we have to think of doing it in two stages. then you have the deeper issues of the whole relationship with israel and palestine, which is a much larger issue. but i think the gaza situation should be -- can be solved if both sides come to the conclusion that they need to stop the fighting and let us deal with these e enormous challenges. >> deputy secretary, thanks so much for joining us. let's hope there can be a real cease-fire. then they can start dealing with some of the long-term issues, as so many people would like to see happen because it is a tragedy what's going on right now. thank you very much for joining us. still ahead, we'll get the palestinian point of view. we heard from the united

nations. a top negotiator is standing by live. we'll get his thoughts on what's going on. we're also learning of more americans who may have been exposed to the deadly e bow la virus. it's causing fear in the united states and around the world. did you know, your eyes can lose vital nutrients as you age? [ male announcer ] that's why there's ocuvite to help replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. ocuvite. help protect your eye health. ocuvite. thank ythank you for defendiyour sacrifice. and thank you for your bravery. thank you colonel. thank you daddy. military families are uniquely thankful for many things, the legacy of usaa auto insurance can be one of them. if you're a current or former military member or their family, get an auto insurance quote and see why 92% of our members plan to stay for life.

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>> what's going on, wolf, is we're trying to put an end to this vicious attack against gaza. he was at the school today. people who were asked to take refuge in this school, these people took refuge with the orders from israelis and the number of palestinians that have reached 1,300. i met with the foreign minister. we are trying very, very hard with the egyptians, with the americans. i spoke to secretary kerry. in order to get a cease-fire. that's what's needed.

now gaza would know the power of the hit. what we need to do is have a cease-fire. we need the u.n. to get its act together in order to have the power station operating. because if you keep one point half million people without electricity, that means more disease in terms of the situation. you need a cease-fire and at the same time you need to have a major, major humanitarian relief, medical supplies, food supplies to these people, to shelter them. that's what you need. so we can say that we have a cease-fire and we talk about what we need. that's what we are doing. we can do it if the israeli army starts its escalation. today and yesterday the number

of pal still yans killed has been averages 140. >> even if the political wing of a mass is on board, some have pointed out the military wing of hamas is not on board. how much of a split is there between the political leadership and the military wing of hamas? >> i think, wolf, what we're doing now, the israelis have an offer now. they have an offer for a cease-fire. i'm not going to mention ours or theirs, but a cease-fire, a suggestion made by the president who says once they accept, you can mark my word on this, what we need is to hear from the israelis this same offer. what was made by secretary kerry five days ago in cairo. seven-day cease-fire, israel

rejected. then two hours, one day, and up until today, a few hours ago, the president a humanitarian cease-fire for a period of time. and he told everyone, he told secretary kerry and the egyptians and all the people involved in qatar and turkey that if we can get israel to approve, this cease-fire, everybody would be on board. so why can't they accept this immediate cease-fire with the escalating situation in gaza? gaza is a disaster. everyone knows it. it's really very difficult to be a palestinian now. it's difficult to be a palestinian watching all the massacres and you can't do anything. these attacks in 2014, the casualty list is growing and

growing every hour. and mostly names of children, names of women, names of girls and the whole gaza strip is going down the drain. >> let's see if there can be a cease-fire. that would be excellent news for everybody involved. the israelis, the rockets and the missiles stop coming into israel. and then a state like qatar with a lot of money could get involve ed and start pooring some of the money to help the palestinians who need it desperately right now. we'll check back with you tomorrow. you'll tell us what happened in your meeting with the leader of hamas. just ahead, intense new fighting in eastern ukraine as there are new accusations that russia is sending more arms to the separatists. is it part of a new cold war? that's coming up.

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growing fighting between ukrainian forces and pro-russian separatists leaving scars across eastern ukraine. this is the damage caused on tuesday when a building holding militants was targeted apparently by government forces, but an apartment block was hit by mistake. even as the russian-backed fighters get attacked by ukraine's government force, moscow is not giving up. >> we continue to see russian military forces gather at the border of ukraine, the southeast border with ukraine. >> reporter: russian tanks and heavy weapons continue to cross into ukraine and there is more. >> some of the air defense systems that continued to flow up to the border and then across the border are of sufficient

range, equivalent capability of what we saw shoot down the flight 17. >> reporter: nick paton walsh traveled to the crash site documenting what is left. flowers and teddy bears laid in local memory, fighting all around. that crash site still cut off from international observers desperately trying to get there, but forced to turn back. >> they didn't have to tell us because the explosions further up the road in the direction of that site were very, very loud to the point where we almost had had to crouch down for safety. >> reporter: the u.s. believes ukrainian forces are making progress and pushing the rebels back, but nobody knows what vladimir putin's next move may be. behind the scenes, the u.s. still trying to figure out if there's anything it can do to help those international observers get to the crash site. wolf? >> barbara starr reporting for

us, thanks. joining us now representative michael mccall, the chairman of the house homeland security committee. thank you for joining us. is this a new cold war that's under way right now with russia? >> i believe it is. i think putin has taken us back to the cold war. his long-term strategy is to take back the baltic states and ukraine. he wants to go in and really reconstitute the old soviet union. i think in this case, weakness invites aggression. mr. putin does not have respect for our president, unfortunately, and now he's playing a war of aggression that he thinks he can win. >> so what will it take, in your opinion, for the russian president to stop? >> well, look, i think the sanctions the president laid out are a good first start, but they are not going to be effective.

even the brookings institution says russia can absorb that shock. what needs to be done is tougher sanctions on the energy exports out of russia, which would cripple russia's economy. at the same time, the europeans in ukraine rely on that and they are dependent on russia. one fix i have is lifting the crude oil ban that we have in the united states. we could export that to help ukraine, to help europe and cripple russia's economy. at the same time, wolf, create jobs here in the united states. >> do you think the european allies and others will go along? >> the europeans, the eu specifically begged us to lift the ban on crude oil exports in a secret memo that was later released. they want us to do that. it would take one action, a stroke of the pen by the president to lift that ban so we could make them energy

independent from russia and that would have a devastating impact on the russian economy. that's the best chance for success here. no one wants to see a war between the united states and russia. thises a good, workable solution to get there. >> it's been nearly two weeks since the tragic downing of the malaysian flight 17. the investigators, the monitors, they are still not really able to fully access the crash site due to the volatility in the region. russia continues to support and arm those separatists. does the latest round of sanctions, does it go far enough to deal with the current crisis? you want a lot more, right? >> i do, and brookings institution, which is not exactly a conservative think tank, agree with me. they are not going to be effective. they are not going to stop putin from his overaggression on the baltic states and ukraine. you talk about the crash site, it's been nothing short of a

disaster to get in there. the last briefing i had is they laid land mines around the crash site to prevent international investigators in there. so this is really overt, not to mention the fact it was just disclosed recently that they are also in violation of the nuclear arms treaty that president reagan struck with gosh trov. we talk about al qaeda and the border and other issues, but i see this becoming a real threat no the united states. >> who is responsible, in your opinion, for this deterioration in u.s./russian relations? >> i personally think it's the president's lack of leadership globally. i don't think he's well respected. you look back to what churchill warned about in world war ii, what president kennedy talked about in terms of building up a military and a democracy to defend a democracy and reagan, i

don't see this president really going down that road. and again, the principle of weakness invites aggression is precisely what we're seeing with respect to russia and mr. putin. i've been to russia. it's a pride that he's reinvigorated his country with. his strategy is to take back the former soviet union. >> strong words from mike mccaul, thank you for joining us. >> thank, wolf. tha thanks for having me. just ahead, new fears that e ebola may be spreading. it's only a plane ride away. you're driving along,

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lawsuit against the president obama. the final vote was 225-201. five republicans voted against it. no democrats voted for it. that just coming in. house republicans want to go ahead other news we are following, we're learning more about the man who has been the face of hamas, and his connection to israel's prime minister. he once ordered his assassination. brian todd has been investigating. >> reporter: september 1997, liquid mashau was perhaps minutes away from dying. he had been walking on the streets of, when two men reported to be mossad injected or sprayed him with poison. >> it felt like an electric shock. >> reporter: the israeli agents were captured. jordan's king reportedly threatened to put them on trial if the israeli government didn't provide an antidote. the white house even intervened,

president bill clinton trying to keep peace between jordan and israel pressured netanyahu to provide the antidote. netanyahu, widely reported to have ordered the hit, relented. >> once he survived this attack, this leader previously relatively unknown became very popular. his stature goes straight to the tom. >> mashal is now the leader of the movement. he recently spoke to. >> we are not fanatics, not. >> reporter: but analysts say he's inspirational commander for attacks and deal maker, secures status and money from qatar itches that's the atm of the hamas.

meshael is. >> >> reporter: not clear how much control he has over the military wing which launches the attacks, and street cred is an issue. he's reportedly been to gaza only once, and the israeli themselves might be trying to undermine meshael. >> he's roaming around five-star hotel suites in the gulf states, having a time of his life, while his people, while he's deliberately putting his people as fodder for this horrible terrorist war that they're conducting against us. >> reporter: analysts say he wants to eventually become leader of all the palestinians, but will he the u.s. has designated him a terrorist, and his survivability is in question. there are a lot of rivalries

within hamas. when i asked if the israelis might target him again, an israeli official said, no comment. wolf? >> brian todd, thanks very much. we're getting new word that more americans may have been exposed to ebola. stand by for the latest details on the deadly outbreak. is it keeps the food out. fe before those little pieces would get in between my dentures and my gum and it was uncomfortable. [ male announcer ] just a few dabs is clinically proven to seal out more food particles. [ corrine ] super poligrip is part of my life now.

two americans are in isolation tonight after they came into contact with an ebola patient, this comes as the cdc issued a new warning, the-day-oldly virus may only be, quote, a plane ride away.

cnn's pamela brown has the latest. >> reporter: as the deadly virus moves across west africa, concern mounts. two peace corps volunteers exposed to the virus are in isolation and until observation before they can return to the u.s. the peace corps announced today it's pulling out hundreds of its volunteers from the three west african countries where ebola has spread. cnn has learned that the centers for disease control is considering raising the advisory to the highest level, advising americans against any nonessential travel. >> there's a possibility of somebody flying in from africa on smp did place. >> reporter: as two workers are stricken in liberia are showing signs of improvement, the christian organization are evacuating all nonessential personnel out of the country form is the son of one of those affected aid workers spoke on the "today" show. >> she's fighting, but she's

able to move around on her own and they're getting lots of fluids into her. >> reporter: the disease has already claimed the life of patrick sawyer. he flew from liberia to ghana. after a layover he flew toing too, then switched to another plane and became violently ill as he flew to nigeria. he spoke with her husband days before she died. >> he was visiting his sister. she was ill. he helped care for her and so he contracted it that way. they didn't know it was ebola, because ebola displayed other symptoms like malaria symptoms. so they shot she may have malaria, so he was helping. had he known, you know, he would have definitely taken better precautions. >> reporter: liberia has closed all of its schools and closed in

boarders. they're screening inbound and outbound passengers. the cdc is working with them to show people how to protect themselves from ebola. the cdc on a u.s. flight, flight crews considerable patched through to the cdc emergency center to put health officials on alert. wolf? >> pamela brown, thanks very much. that's it for me. the news continuing next on cnn. next, breaks news, thousands attacked in a shelter in gaza. plus why most israelis don't want the fighting to end. the largest ebola outbreak in history. two more americans are ill. good evening,