ceasefire is going into effect right now in parts of the area. there's very little optimism it will hold. also ahead, hundreds are dead after a strong earthquake strikes inside china. we'll tell you why emergency workers are struggling to get help where it's needed most. thank you for joining us. it all has gone well. a temporary israeli ceasefire has just taken effect in parts of gaza. >> but there's so much pessimism that this will last. it's 10:00 in gaza. this is the scene people are waking up to. israeli forces say they plan to observe a humanitarian truce for seven hours to allow displaced palestinians to go home and to allow aid to get through. hamas, though, has not agreed to today's ceasefire.

a spokesman for the militant group called such a truce a no-go. israel says the seven-hour ceasefire will not apply to areas where israeli soldiers are currently operating, like rafa in the south of gaza. >> the announcement of the ceasefire came just hours after this happened, the shelling of a u.n.-run school that the palestinians say was being used as a shelter. the u.s. is strongly condemning what it calls a disgraceful attack. the u.n. described it as another gross violation of international humanitarian law. palestinian officials say at least nine people were killed. israel says it was targeting three palestinian militants seen in the area on a motorcycle. >> let's take you live to the region now. saima is standing by in jerusalem and john vause is in gaza city. john, it's hard for any of us to

truly understand what the past month has been like there for the two million residents and now the half million, it's believed, displaced. how would you describe daily life right now where you are? >> well, errol, it's worse, and it's bad, and it's getting worse by the day. they do need some kind of pause from the fighting. they need an opportunity to get that aid into gaza. there were a number of red cross trucks, red crescent trucks loaded up with supplies that did try to cross from israel into gaza on sunday, but because of the ongoing fighting, they could not make it in. maybe with this seven-hour humanitarian window they may be able to get in. with temporary shelters and medical supplies. because as you say, about 500,000 people have been displaced. about a quarter or more of the entire population of gaza. hospitals here are running very low on pretty much everything

right now. there's a problem with no electricity ever since gaza's plant was struck last week. they've been without electricity almost a week now. yeah, it's a grim situation. there's fears there will be an outbreak of disease. hamas doesn't trust the ceasefire, they think it's an attempt by the israelis to divert attention away from what happened at that school on sunday in rafa where nine people were killed after a strike was carried out by the israelis. and that has really brought widespread condemnation. once again, the u.n. says they did provide the accord nats of that school to the israelis. they say they gave it to them 33 times. this is now the third time that a u.n. school which is being used to shelter refugees has been hit, resulting in multiple fatalities. >> why then would hamas fire

rockets, previous ceasefires have ended because of it. surely they would know the idf would respond. does hamas think it's winning the battle? what does it gain from that? >> yeah, they absolutely do. they think they're winning. you see it all the time here on hamas television. they're glorifying their wins. they think as long as the fires keep firing into israel, the ability to fire those rockets, as far as the militants in gaza are concerned, that means they're still standing and they are winning this conflict with israel. you can make your own assessment on that. in the past, israel has declared humanitarian windows. there was a four-hour window last week. hamas didn't agree to it. they're not prepared to stop firing to give the israelis a chance to redeploy their forces under a guise of a humanitarian window. and says they will fight this war as they intend to fight this war. they will not be dictated to by

israel. they keep maintaining their demands. if there's going to be any kind of ceasefire, they want the israeli troops out of gaza, borders re-opened, and humanitarian aid in. a long list of demands. and it's not just rockets hamas will keep firing during the humanitarian window, but they're still engaging israeli soldiers to the ground. reports of clashes between hamas militants in rafa. they continue to fire mortars and shoot at israeli troops who engage hamas fighters as well. so it's not just the rockets that keep coming, it's the close, one-on-one fighting in parts of the gaza strip. hamas says that will not stop even though israeli has declared this humanitarian window. >> very good point there. john vause live for us in gaza city, five minutes into this limited ceasefire. >> let's turn now to saima in

jerusalem. now we're just five minutes in, saima, and like we just heard from john vause, it remains to be seen what happens in the next few hours. >> yes, natalie, let's take a look at how the ceasefire was announced, and the terms and conditions of the ceasefire, as to how long it may last, this might give us some kind of indication. first of all, it was announced unilaterally by israel. they declared a ceasefire, they say it's a humanitarian ceasefire, between 10:00 a.m. local, which it is now until 5:00 p.m. so a seven-hour window. basically what they're saying is that this is a selective ceasefire, if you like. they're saying that it doesn't apply to the area of rafa, and it doesn't apply to areas in which israeli soldiers are already operating. hence, hamas has come back saying, well, look, we don't agree to these terms and conditions. no one asked us about this.

it was declared without our knowledge and if soldiers are still operating on the ground, then that for us is not a ceasefire, as far as we're concerned. so if hamas will continue to fire rockets or mortar rounds, we're really not sure. they didn't say that in the statement. what they said was, we don't agree to these terms and conditions. we don't acknowledge the ceasefire. and of course we need to point out that perhaps the people that are most affected are those people where the operation is being carried out. and if it doesn't apply to those areas where israeli soldiers are already operating, what respite will they get in reality? we'll have to wait until my colleagues will be able to report to us what respite that has been for people there, but clearly this war of words as far as israel and hamas are concerned, surrounding this ceasefire, it's anyone's guess how long this will even last. natalie? >> and hamas has accused israel of doing this just because it

was a third time that a school has been hit, and certainly there's been a lot of pressure, perhaps, on israel, due to the international condemnation it's getting for so many civilians being killed. >> hamas, unequivocal in its stance, that this was simply a cover-up, if you like, to try and forget the fact that what's happened over the weekend. starting with friday's breakdown in the ceasefire. both sides blaming the other. ending sunday. but still in that period of what should have been a 72-hour ceasefire, where a u.n. school was hit -- a u.n. shelter rather. a building that was housing 3,000 displaced people. we've seen a lot of condemnat n condemnation, not least from the united nations who said we give our coordinates to the israeli defense forces, they shouldn't be striking these areas.

and the united states is a close ally and supporter of israel, recognizes their right to defend themselves as a nation. yet says, it was appalled by the disgraceful actions of striking the u.n. rwa shelter. and of course the number of civilians killed in that and dozens more in that and what the israeli defense forces said last night in a text message it sent out, saying that it was trying to target three militants on a motorbi motorbike. it says there were three militants on a motorbike. they were identified and they tried to fire at them. and it was not targeting the u.n. building. of course the united states in its statement as well said that the fact that you might have suspicion of militants or terrorist activity does not justify so many civilian casualties. natalie? >> yes, and we know that so many

hundreds of civilians have been killed, far more than the militants that they have been targeting. saima mohsin, thank you. we'll have more now from gaza. >> john vause rejoins us again. we're waiting to look for any sign that this temporary ceasefire is falling apart before it begins. how have previous ceasefires fell apart? >> well, what's happened in the past, israel has announced these humanitarian windows, there was one last week, and again, hamas doesn't agree to that ceasefire, they kept firing. the israelis warned, as they have warned this time. that if israeli forces are attacked, they will respond. and that's the problem. we're about two and a half hours into one of those windows last week, when israel decided it had come to an end. there were a lot of people out and about at a crowded market place and they were hit by an air strike repeatedly. and that's where more than a dozen people were killed. because there was no warning

coming from the israelis that that humanitarian window had come to an end. what hamas has been saying here is, to the palestinians, there's this lull in the fighting, but they don't trust it. and they're warning people in gaza to be careful. >> all right, john vause live for us to gaza city. saima mohsin in jerusalem and we'll have more on this crisis coming up this hour, including an exclusive interview with the hamas leader. >> here's a little clip of that. >> president obama said it's irresponsible of hamas to fire their rockets from civilian neighborhoods. that's what you're doing. why do you do it when you know civilians are going to die? >> we'll have much more on the crisis coming up later. that interview will be in about 20 minutes. and we're scheduled to speak with the spokesperson for the israeli government as well. first, when our special coverage continues here, hundreds are already dead and

now relief efforts following a strong earthquake inside china. that story coming up after the break.

in china's yunnan province, heavy traffic has been holding up the aid. >> we'll show you some of the aerials. you can see just how widespread and immense the damage that the earthquake caused is. it's my first time seeing this.

>> same here. >> the disaster zone is in a remote and partly mountainous area. according to state media, about 6,000 troops have been dispatched to help with relief efforts, but some of the roads are completely cut off. >> they're also reporting 381 people are confirmed dead and more than 1,800 injured. let's bring in jaime, that aerial video says it all, on how devastating this was. >> indeed. the devastated area is a remote, mountainous area in southwestern china. it is prone to earthquakes because it sits on this huge swath of an earthquake fault in southwest china. in fact, we will recall that its neighboring province was hit by a massive earthquake in 2008,

which killed 87,000 people. this one is not as strong, but still the devastation is huge. there are deaths, there are injuries. there are also devastation. their biggest challenge, really is logistics. many of these places have been cut off, because roads and bridges have been destroyed, impassable. also communication links have been cut off. so reaching those isolated places have become very, very challenging. now, the army is being mobilized. they have been sent in trucks and some on foot. they have reached some of the worst-hit places. but coordinating the earthquake relief and rescue effort is a challenge as well. the chinese prime minister flew to yunnan this morning, and he has asked eight ministries,

including civil affairs, education, and housing to send teams there, but coordinating them is a challenge. apparently he had to walk for three miles to reach close to the disaster area. natalie? >> we've been reading the reports about what people said that they witnessed and experienced and that the shaking just kept going on and on and on. and it was terribly frightening. now the area, is it not -- it's going to be dark for some while because there is no power. >> that's correct. they also have had to, the place is still jittery, because they have reported some 400 aftershocks. and so they have to brace up for at least long nights of jitters, of aftershocks, and more rain is predicted to hit the area.

natalie? >> all right. j jaime, we'll sustain to stay in touch with you about how the relief effort is progressing. now to a tropical depression, moving across south korea, already dumped half a meter of rain over the weekend and now the country is bracing for more downpours in the days ahead. another typhoon, halong, is expected to speed up and slam into southwestern japan later this week. for more on the storm, along with the typhoon moving towards japan, let's bring in pedra. >> japan, they're just getting nailed. >> the timing couldn't be any worse. talking about the typhoon that errol referenced, the wave heights associated with that typhoon over the open waters, some 45 feet high. that's the open waves across the ocean. that's how significant the storm

is. this tropical depression is the one that's caused all the mess across this region in recent days. a very weak system, winds only 45 to 5 five miles per hour, but look at the footage, out of kochi, with the significance of the flooding. this region from saturday to sunday, saw about 700 millimeters, or 26 inches of rainfall. so if you're tuned in from san francisco, that's how much rain you get in an entire year. or paris, london, these are annual rainfall totals for those cities, that this area saw in just a matter of a few hours. and the storm system itself, the line kind of indicates where it went. the moisture, some 400-plus millimeters, again, about a foot and a half or so in places. some greater than that, that being in kochi, doubling their monthly average. some major power outages across south korea. we know 70 flights had to be

canceled and 1,600 homes losing power because of the storm system. and it's still not done with a lot of rainfall still left, about three to six inches in the forecast. to the south, this storm system, 45-foot wave heights in the open water. a category 4 equivalent, about 600 miles east of manila, about 800 kilometers east of tack lobe an. for our friends in japan, not good news. you look at the latest track, thursday into friday. weakened a little bit, but still with the amount of water on the ground, this storm system has the potential for major devastation in this region. guys? >> that's very disappointing for them. thanks so much. more storms to come, because it's that time of the year. coming up next here on cnn, the latest on what has been unchartered territory for the united states. bringing obowla patients on to

u.s. soil. >> and this iraqi dam is now controlled by an islamic militant group. coming up, the growing fears of what the group might do with it.

welcome back. isis militants have made sweeping gains in northern iraq, including the capture of the country's largest dam. they seized the mosul dam sunday after a day-long battle with kurdish forces. the sunni-backed fighters also

took control of several towns and oil fields near kurdistan. the mosul dam is about 50 kilometers north of the city of mosul, on the tigris river and experts fearing isis may use the dam to flood nearby cities as a tactic to gain new territory. we turn now to the deadly ebola outbreak in west africa, still very serious. take a look at this specially outfitted plane heading to liberia, they will bring nancy writebol back to the united states. she's expected to arrive on tuesday and will be taken to a special unit in an atlanta hospital, very close to the headquarters for disease control

and prevention. dr. brantly has already a arrived. making history as the first ebola patient to be treated in the u.s. medical officials say his condition has improved. the christian charity that employs him, says he received a dose of an experimental serum before being evacuated from liberia. those patients just two of the more than 1,300 ebola cases confirmed by the world health organization. you see them posted on this map next to me. 729 people have died in west africa from this virus. we talked to the man who help discover ebola and here he explains just how difficult it is to shut down an epidemic. >> doctors in west africa are fighting a losing battle. more than half of these patients could be dead in days. >> tragedy that people are dying from it, it really destabilizes

whole societies. >> the professor says hospitals are struggling, trade and commerce is grinding to a halt. >> an unprecedented outbreak. >> he discovered ebola in 1976. 40 years later, doctors still don't know how to prevent it or where it lurks between epidemics. >> it came out of the blue in west africa. we had no clue that it was circulating there. >> one leading theory is bats are carrying ebola, possibly spreading the virus to other animals and then to people. but testing that theory is difficult because outbreaks are rare and there's little demand for a vaccine. countries like the u.s. worry ebola could be used in a bioterror attack. u.s. studies have been promising. he said right now real world testing is what patients need. >> see where we can offer that to people suffering from an infection with up to 90%

mortality. >> the stakes have never been higher. for the first time, the virus spreading across borders. >> it's far more difficult to control ebola when you go into the big cities, far more difficult to trace all the contacts, to isolate people. >> until scientists find a cure, doctors will keep struggling as ebola keeps killing. will ripley, cnn, london. >> and of course it is very serious, but we should let people know there are a lot of people working hard to contain it and to stop it from spreading, so not to fear too much. >> the cdc sending 50 more experts over there. >> when we return, we'll update you on the crisis in gaza. after a break, our exclusive interview with the hamas leader. >> what are you prepared to do to get a ceasefire? are you prepared to destroy your tunnels? are you prepared to stop firing

rockets at israel? are you prepared to accept the right of israel as a state to exist? >> we'll bring you mr. meshal's answer, along with reaction from the israeli government right after this.