. hello and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm max foster in london. breaking news this hour. two hours into the latest middle east cease-fire and so far it does appear to be holding. israel announces it is withdrawing its ground troops from gaza. we'll bring you several live reports. plus, it had never been tested on a human being before.

now a highly experimental drug is helping an american doctor bounce back from ebola. a new cease-fire is yunundey in the middle east. this humanitarian truce is 2 hours old. it's just after 10:00 a.m. in israel and gaza. the cease-fire went into effect at 8:00 a.m. local time. israel defense forces announced last hour the truce was holding. israel said in the minutes before the cease-fire began militants did launch a barrage of missiles from gaza. also occurring just minutes before the truce took effect. the israeli military announced it was withdrawing its troops. the idf said it will implement the three-day cease-fire from outside of gaza. they said that one of israel's

main military objectives has been completed in the demolition of tunnels in gaza that the israelis say were being used in terror attacks. we'll be joined from jerusalem in a minute. carl pennedle is in gaza. do you feel more hopeful this time, carl? >> reporter: well, i must say, max, things have been quiet. over there is the gaza/israeli border. yesterday we could only be on the ground for a few minutes. as you can see, people are coming back out. what we're seeing here, this is hill street. this is a neighborhood where people live here. that was a two -- >> okay. we'll have to leave carl. we'll try to get back in touch with him once he can sort that

signal out. we have matthew chance in jerusalem. does it feel different this time around, this truce, matthew? >> reporter: i think so. i think it's a really good sign that it's been implemented for two hours and there isn't any sign from either side, no rockets fired from the gaza strip as far as we're aware and no measures by the israelis who you have mentioned have pulled out to defensive measures outside the gaza strip. that's a key point. in the past one of the points that's broken down in the cease-fire in the four-week long conflict is that israeli troops have remained on the ground in the gaza strip carrying out operations to destroy tunnels, for instance. that potential confrontation point has been removed. another factor is that it was the palestinian groups themselves, the delegations that have gone to cairo that were

instrumental in agreeing the terms of this and brokering this cease-fire. the palestinians have something invested in this process. it makes them more -- rather, less likely to move away from it. so i do think there's a different feeling this time, not the least because at the same time the israeli military are saying they have essentially achieved the military objectives they've september out to achieve by destroying 32 tunnels. not just on whether the cease-fire holds but on what happens next. after 72 hours the various parties should go to cairo and try and hammer out a more permanent deal. i've just spoken to mark regev who is the israeli spokesperson. he's saying just that, that if the cease-fire holds, israel will send a delegation to cairo although no delegation at this point is our understanding has

been sent but if the cease-fire holds for 72 hours, then an israeli delegation, we're told, will be sent to cairo and perhaps that could be the start of a more permanent agreement to stop the fighting that's been taking so many lives in the gaza strip. >> matthew, we're going to try to get back to carl in gaza. signal should be stronger now. carl, you were describing the environment you're in, which really illustrates what people there have been going through. >> reporter: absolutely, and that's what i want to tell you about here, max. this is hill street. it's a neighborhood in eastern gaza. today because of the cease-fire, because right now it is holding, people are coming back to see what is left. this is the answer that they have. this is what is left. some of them thought they were going to come home today even for a few hours. they have no home to come home to. this building here we're told by

residents was a two-story building. the one behind, a five-story building. over there behind me, some young men still sifting through the rubble of what was their three-story home. i've been watching them now for the last 20 minutes. the only thing that they've been able to pull out of that is a few strips of rag. the only entire piece of clothing that i saw them bring out was a baby's top. they're putting those into plastic bags and now they're taking them away to where they've been sleeping out either with extended family or in u.n. shelters for the displaced, but this really is the story. it is, yes, the cease-fire, the end of war. that is something that the palestinians have been saying. they don't want war. of course they want peace, but not only is it a question of far into the future what will those talks in cairo produce in terms of better living conditions for the palestinian people? that is one of hamas's and other militant groups' key demands,

but also in the much shorter term, what will become of their lives? who will help them rebuild their homes? where are they going to live meanwhile? it is as the united nations already pointed out the start of a humanitarian crisis, not the end, max. >> how do we know that hamas will stick to this truce or we don't? >> reporter: well, we don't know that hamas, islamic jihad or any of the other militant factions involved in this will stick to this truce. when truces have broken down in the past, both sides have traded accusations as to who violated the cease-fire terms first. there is a difference. there's a different feel to this as matthew was rightly pointing out. one of the key differences is that israeli forces say that they're drawing back, pulling out of the gaza strip. that had been one of hamas's demands. they felt with israeli troops still in the gaza strip and still with a permit to destroy

hamas military infrastructure like the tunnels, they thought that was a lopsided truce. this time with israeli troops pulling back to the borderline, that may satisfy some of hamas's demands and limit the chance that they could clash with militant commandos on the ground. certainly the good news so far is we haven't heard any outgoing rocket fire, we haven't heard any incoming airstrikes or artillery fire. the israeli military was less than a kilometer away in that direction yesterday. we can't see any sign of them today. so, you know, this is what these people are hoping for, that those 72-hour cease-fire can be leveraged into something longer, can turn into genuine talks and something could come out for both sides, max. >> karl in gaza, thank you. go back to matthew in jerusalem. was it a big moment for israel to say that they had completed

their mission? because they have always talked about tunnels. >> reporter: i think so. i think in order for israel politically to bring this very destructive, very costly from -- even from an israeli point of view. remember, there have been 64 soldiers from israel killed in this conflict, which is a large number for a country like israel, they had to have come up with some kind of progress, some kind of reason for this military operation to have taken place and some kind of victory at the end of it. from a political point of view announcing that the tunnels, 32 of them at least have been destroyed, they set out to destroy in the first place gives the israeli public a greater sense of security that something has been achieved at this enormous cost in this conflict that's been going on for, you know, four weeks. not just the palestinian lives but as i say the heavy loss of israeli life as well.

>> matthew and karl, thank you both, indeed, for joining us from both sides of the border. we're going to continue to monitor the situation in gaza and bring you the latest updates on a cease-fire attempt at least throughout the day on cnn. also ahead this hour, newak cue sayings that hamas is using human shields to gain international sympathy. coming up the training manual the idf wants the world to see. plus, growing divisions between israel and the most powerful enemy. why benjamin netanyahu is said to be furious with the united states. first, when cnn's special coverage continues, the experimental drug that's credited with helping dramatically improve the condition of american -- of an american ebola patient. q.

right now a second american relief worker affected with ebola is headed back to the united states. she's on this airplane flying from liberia to atlanta. that's where she'll join fellow aide worker kent brantley at an isolated treatment facility. he was the first ebola patient to be treated in the united states. the world health organization says ebola has a fatality rate of 90%. so far there is no cure but there may be some help. both american patients are being treated with an experimental treatment and it may be working. sanjay gupta has more on that. >> reporter: last thursday dr. kent brantley thought he was going to die. it was the ninth day since he came down sick with ebola, his condition worsening by the minute. he called his wife to say good-bye, but he also knew just hours earlier a secret highly

experimental drug had been delivered to the clinic. it was delivered with subzero temperatures and with clear instructions, allow the viles to clear naturally and it would be an agonizing eight hour wait. when it arrived brantley told his colleague who was also sick that she should have the first dose. but as brantley's health deteriorated and he became more desperate, he asked for ripol's now thawed medication. it was a risk. the treatment had been tried in monkeys and it seemed to work but never before had it been tested in a human, not even to test safety. dr. kent brantley would be the first. while doctors don't often use this term, they described what happened next asmir rack cue louse. within an hour of receiving the medication dr. brantley's condition seemed to make a dramatic turn around. his breathing improved. the rash over his trunk nearly faded away. >> i do hope that it was as

impressive as being described because if it is, that bodes well for that particular product. >> reporter: the next morning brantley was able to shower on his own before making the six hour transport to atlanta. saturday afternoon, another first. watch as brantley walks off the back of the ambulance. he became the first patient infected with the ebola virus to ever set foot in the united states or even this part of the world. tuesday his colleague, nancy ripol, who also received the z map serum, will join brantley at emory university hospital. the team is now charged with saving their lives. >> this is a mask with an air purifying system over here. it makes it much more comfortable to breathe in. it purifies the air. >> reporter: he gave me an exclusive look at the protective suit he and his team will have to wear every time they enter the room to treat their patients. covered from head to toe his own

vital signs will have to be checked twice a day. >> we know the risk is small but even smaller if these patients did not come here. if you don't have anything magical to provide, why take the risk at all? >> i think you've been in that part of the world and you know the level of care that can be delivered, and our feeling is that they deserve the best medical care they can get. >> reporter: the best medical care may not be just supportive therapy, it may lie in the experimental serum that likely saved both brantley and ripol's lives. dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, atlanta. and we will bring you much more on the ebola outbreak later this hour on cnn. ahead an exclusive look inside of what's described as the epicenter of the current epidemic. how fear is spreading just as fast as the disease itself. >> quite extraordinary. there's hardly any cars on the road. all the shops are closed.

just one or two people walking on the street. this is a ghost town. >> that story is coming up in about 30 minutes only here on cnn. in china's hunan province, supplies are limited in quake hit areas. chinese premier league surveyed the damage on monday. he reportedly walked some 5 kilometers to some of the hardest hit areas. state media reports the death toll is almost 400. more than 1800 people are injured. parts of japan have been getting hammered by heavy rain over the past several days. some areas have received twice their monthly total of rainfall since sunday. another huge storm is on its way. pedram has details on that. hi, pedram. >> hi, max. this region of japan, the

wettest single location on earth over the past three days. it's seen nearly a meter of rainfall over the past week. take a look at the video out of this region. we know a fatality has occurred with all the rainfall that has come down in this area. a serious injury. the rain began sometime saturday morning. it literally has not stopped across this region for the last several days. accumulating to 800 millimeters. it is already one of the wettest months in august for this region in southern japan. five days into the month of august and we know an area, a very remote part of kochi, 78 children have been stranded because of the landslide that has occurred in the region. the pattern over the last couple of days showing you doubling the number of rainfall. it's also seen 600 millimeters of rainfall. that's 32 inches. this is 24 inches. that is about what the city of seattle gets in an entire year.

this is what the city of london gets in an entire year. look to the south. this is a typhoon sitting out there. it is equivalent to a category 2 storm. winds to 160 kilometers per hour and it's on a collision course with the exact same area we just showed video with you for later friday afternoon with winds, again, equivalent to category 2. it should be quite extensive as well. this is something very serious for our friends across southern japan. you see okinawa dodging the brunt of this storm system. it's for later this week. let's take you out to the pacific ocean. the hawaiian islands sitting out to the west of hurricane iselle. we have tropical storm julio. the hawaiian islands 6400 square miles as far as the land area. pacific ocean, 64,000 miles. last time they interacted with a

hurricane was 1992. looks like 22 years removed from that we're going to have another one later this week around friday. category 4, winds 215 kilometers per hour. the wave heights in front of the storm system sitting at 40 feet or 12 meters high. that's how impressive of a storm this is. hilo looks to be the first impact. the storm is expected to weaken to a category 1, maybe even a strong tropical storm. you look behind that, here goes julio. julio sitting back here. only twice in recorded history have the islands of hawaii been impacted directly by a hurricane. number three could be later friday. number four could be sometime this weekend as julio strengthens potentially back up to a category 2 as well. pretty impressive sight in place with this. max, if you think we've talked about a lot of tropical activity, look at our planet.

we have rumney. we have iselle, julio, genevieve and right behind me back there bertha sitting off the eastern coast of the united states. this is quite an unusual circumstance of having a lot of active tropical storms on our planet right now. >> just one after the other. pedram, thank you very much indeed. we'll return to our top stories when cnn returns. israeli troops seen withdrawing from gaza after a new 72-hour cease-fire is in effect. has the conflict over gaz da changed the relationship between israel and the united states? we'll take a look.

the cease-fire is underway right now, and it's supposed to last for 72 hours. it went into effect at 8:00 a.m.

gaza time and israel defense forces announced last hour that the truce was holding. israel also said militants launched a barrage of missiles just before the cease fire took effect. meanwhile, the israeli military said it is withdrawing its troops. with a pause in the violence the death toll in gaza stands at more than 1800. israel accuses hamas of trying to gain support. hamas denies the claim but as randi kaye reports, israel says it has proof. >> reporter: a u.n. school in gaza hit by an israeli airstrike. this u.n. employee rushes inside to get a look at the body count. at least 20 people are killed according to the palestinian health ministry. as many as six other u.n.-run shelters in gaza schools have taken a hit from israel. this is exactly what hamas

militants want you to see, says the israeli military, accusing hamas of purposely hiding rockets in facilities like these using human shields and high civilian casualties to garner international sympathy. hamas's political leader denied that charge to cnn's nic robertson. >> translator: hamas sacrifices itself for its people and does not use its people as a human shield to protect its soldiers. these are lies and hamas does not seek international sympathy through its own victims. >> reporter: if that's true, then how does hamas explain this? just today the idf posted on its blog that it found this hamas training manual in gaza. while we can't confirm its authenticity, the idf says it explains how civilians can be used in urban warfare. the idf claims the manual includes the benefits for hamas when civilian homes are destroyed. and there's more to suggest hamas may support human shields, another of the group's political

leaders said this about their tactics during a 2008 battle between israel and gaza. >> translator: they have formed human shields of the women, the children, the elderly and the mujahadine in order to challenge the debombing machine. >> reporter: they talked about it during an interview on cnn. >> we developed anti-missile systems to protect -- we use anti-missile systems to protect our civilians. they do the opposite. that's the difference. >> reporter: hamas has been accused of deliberately firing rockets, charges they've denied even encouraging their own people to ignore israel's leaflets which ignore them of impending strikes. listen to what a spokesman said on tv in july. >> translator: stay in your homes as we promised you and do not comply with the war of rumors and psychological warfare that the zionist enemy is

wagging on you. >> reporter: the idf released this video of israeli military firing a warning shot, then moments later civilians emerge on the rooftop acting according to the idf as human shields. in gaz zarks believing hamas's word could mean the difference between life and death. randi kaye, cnn, new york. u.s. has been telling israel to do more to prevent civilian casualties in gaza. washington gave a harsh rebuke after nine people were killed in sunday's shelling at a shelter. richard roth reports how u.s. patience with israel appears to be wearing thin. >> reporter: as israel presses the offensive against hamas in gaza, historic ties with the united states are fraying. some say to a new low. >> the relationship is one between two very close allies and there are tensions between them at this moment. >> reporter: in one of the toughest u.s. attacks on israel during the obama administration,

the state department called the latest shelling on a school in gaza appalling and as casualties mount said there should be a change in israeli behavior. >> when you have a situation where innocence civilians are killed in gaza, there's more that israel can do to hold themselves to their own standards. >> reporter: sharp criticism rarely heard when israel is engaged in battle. >> we do hold ourselves to a high standard and when innocent civilians are caught up it's a failure from our point of view. >> reporter: they're said to be furious with the long time supporter. they quoted benjamin netanyahu as saying to the obama administration not to ever second guess me again when it comes to hamas. netanyahu did not give a specific denial when asked about second guessing and criticized news reports. >> translator: full of distortions and a long tone in

substance. the right talks, the right substances are the support we are getting as we speak from the united states of america and i appreciate it. >> reporter: at the white house monday, a spokesman said america is one of israel's strongest allies. >> the nature of our relationship is strong and unchanged. >> reporter: there is more to talk about though. the german magazine has reported israeli intelligence eavesdropped on secretary of state john kerry's phone calls during his intense efforts to broker a middle east peace deal. they blasted kerry's recent diplomatic tactics as unfair. still, israel will not completely go it alone. the u.s. provides $3 billion in military assistance to israel annually with an additional $225 million funding for israel's iron dome missile interceptor program. >> they can overcome it once the conflict has ended, but during the period at hand it usually leads to a great deal of strain. >> reporter: israel knows it has the u.s. congress and american

public support solidly in its camp. when the rockets stop flying is when government leaders can start trying to repair any damage in the relationship. richard roth, cnn, new york. much more on our breaking news when cnn's special coverage continues. live pictures from gaza city here. a new cease-fire is in effect between hamas and israel and both sides appear to be holding fire.

special coverage, i'm max foster in london. breaking news this hour.

israel says a new middle east cease-fire is holding. human any truce got underway two hours ago. israel says in the minutes before the cease-fire took effect militants did launch a barrage of missiles in gaza. all of the forces have withdrawn. the idf said it would implement the three-day cease-fire from defensive positions outside of gaza. israeli officials tell cnn one of the military objectives have been completed. the demolition of 32 tunnels in gaza that israel says have been used in terror attacks. rescue and relief operations are underway in china's hunan province. state media say sunday's quake killed almost 400 people. more than 1800 are injured. a second american aide worker infected with ebola is on her way back. she caught it in liberia.

she will be treated in a hospital in atlanta along with another affected aide worker. a doctor who arrived back in the u.s. on saturday. israel's military says their new 72-hour cease-fire is holding. let's get more from lieutenant colonel peter learner, the spokesperson joins us on the phone from tel aviv. thank you very much for joining us. >> good morning. indeed, the idf implemented the government's instructions this morning and after completing the destruction of approximately 32 tunnels, we have completed our re-deployment outside the gaza strip adjacent to where 17 rockets were fired from gaza and all the way out to jerusalem.

probably some sort of final call from hamas but, indeed, over the last few hours it's been quiet which is, indeed, a positive sign. the idf is picking up defensive positions indeed watching what's going on. we have troops on the ground that can respond in case of negative developments and they need our air force as well as far as carrying out defensive missions. >> in terms of response, are you prepared to go back in to gaza or is your mission complete there on the ground? >> we didn't want to go into gaza to begin with. it was something we were drawn into so we would prefer not to have to go in, but it depends, of course, on what hamas is doing and what type of decisions they make. clearly a month ago they made a bad decision when they decided to attack us and we had to follow through with that and relieve ourselves from these

threats. this is the situation this morning. we don't want to go back into gaza but if we don't have a choice, we will operate in order to defend israel. >> the ground mission was to destroy the tunnels though, wasn't it, as opposed to anything else? it was a very clear mission? >> yes. that was a clear mission, indeed. the tunnels, it was a huge strategic project that hamas had channeled millions and millions of dollars, $100 million channelled into the tunnels. it was all to carry out attacks against israeli communities and a simultaneously orchestrated attack and that, i'm happy to report, is a threat which is no longer -- at least not in the context that they wanted to carry out, that's a good thing. that's a good thing for the

people of israel, something that i am extremely happy that i can say this morning. >> and all your ground forces have now left gaza? >> yes. we have no forces in gaza. we are in the surrounding areas on the border prepared for a potential development, but defensive lines are what we are maintaining. >> you've talked about the potential going back in there. what would prompt that if there were more rockets, for example, one or two rockets that came over, how would you respond to that? >> i don't think it would be wise on my behalf to say that this is a price tag. we don't want rockets. we don't want aggression from gaza. we don't want to go back into gaza. they can decide that. they can make sure it doesn't happen by refraining from attacking us. we will be prepared to respond if required and that is what we are charged with by our government. >> there have been some cease fires in the past over the last couple of weeks or so.

does this feel different to you? do you feel more hopeful? >> israel went into all of the cease fires optimistic, but on the other hand, we were also realistic and we understand that there can be a deterioration. today so far it's been good. last time there was a cease-fire within 90 minutes they carried out an attack, so we have to i'd say be cautious, aware of what's going on and prepared. does it have a different feeling? i don't -- i don't really know. i don't -- from my feeling this morning getting up and speaking to the people, speaking to people in the street, people want to get back to normal lives. perhaps there is a potential there, but nevertheless, the idf, we will be prepared for any developments. >> peter lerner from the idf, thank you very much, indeed, for

joining us today. let's bring in dinah who is a legal rights attorney. thank you very much for joining us. it feels like the idf are slightly more hopeful than other occasions. are you more hopeful as well? >> absolutely not, and the reason that i'm not hopeful is because they have not addressed the root causes of this. this isn't just a question of violence for the sake of violence but it's a question of israel, who's been allowed to attack the gaza strip now for many, many years, and hold a brutal siege over the gaza strip. this is an issue that still remains unaddressed. my fear is, of course, that the israelis are going to continue this again, and it's important to keep in mind that the attack actually began with israel bombing gaza, not the other way around. and given that there is a complete lack of international leadership at the current moment, i'm afraid that we're just going to see a period of calm but we're never going to

see an actual situation where this is going to be something that sticks and addresses the root causes. >> in the short term, you suggest a period of calm so that does suggest that you think that this cease-fire will at least hold for the 72 hours? >> it's not -- it remains to be seen. look, each and every one of the cease fires that israel has been claim that go they've adhered to has been met with violence. you can't continue to maintain troops inside the gaza strip, you can't continue to maintain drones 234r50ig in a brutal siege and claim this is a cease-fire or claim that it is calm. while i hope this is a period that palestinians get to at least bury their dead and not keep them in freezers, i'm not entirely optimistic that this is going to be long lasting. >> is it positive news for you that the idf have pulled their ground forces out at least and don't plan to go in unless they feel that they have a reason to

go in? they feel a need to respond as the idf described it? >> well, you precisely hit the point, which is it is whatever they feel. it's not really a question of what is legitimate or under international law and nobody has held israel to task over the fact that they have invaded a foreign area, that they keep bombing a foreign area, and at the same time they're occupying that foreign area. unless and until we get some international leadership on this issue to say and put some clear red lines to israel, my fear is that this is going to continue once again. >> a government spokesperson has told cnn's matthew chance that if the cease-fire holds, they will then go ahead with talks in cairo. do you expect the various factions within gaza also to do the same? >> the factions have already met in cairo and they are ready to have a united positions when it comes to what steps should be taken in the future. the factions have come out

uniformly and said we need to start addressing the root causes, we need to lift the blockade that has been over the gaza strip for more than eight years, we need to have a semblance of a normal life in the gaza strip and palestinians need to be free. these are issues that all of the factions are with. the big problem is is that nobody is pushing israel to actually abide by international law. the blockade that they've imposed on the gaza strip is illegal. it's illegal under international law and this is why i don't think we should be so surprised that palestinians are resorting to going through tunnels. any people caged up and using tunnels to protect themselves and get in food. it was done during the warsaw ghetto, done during vietnam, done in other conflicts as well. to get to a bigger issue of a comprehensive cease-fire, we need to address this issue as a whole. it's a political problem that requires a political solution. simply putting into place

security measures isn't going to get us any step closer to resolving the political issue which is the denial of freedom to the palestinians which has been going on for 47 years. >> an international broker can actually help you negotiate that? >> i certainly hope so, but given the state of the international system at this point in time, i'm very pessimistic. the united states has stood closely in line with israel and despite its recent pronouncements and has refused to condemn the killing of more than 1800 palestinians including more than 315 children. 80% of the people who have been killed are civilians. i'm also not optimistic that the europeans will take a positive role either. this is where we have shown that the -- the international community has shown that the system is failing. unless and until they begin to recognize that by continuing this support for israel, we will continue to see more of a mess. >> dina buttu in gaza.

thank you. the cease-fire is 2 1/2 hours old. we'll continue to monitor the situation there and bring you updates on cnn. at the moment it feels like a tentative truce is holding and there is some hope. next on cnn, an exclusive report from the heart of the ebola outbreak in sierra leone. that's next.

. the world health organization says there have now been at least 887 deaths from ebola. more than 1600 cases of the virus since the outbreak began in march. most are in guinea where the outbreak has killed 358 people. the death toll in sierra leone is 273. and in his exclusive report cnn's david mckenzie tried to drive to sierra leone's most infected area. he found a virtual ghost town. >> reporter: we're on the road driving into the worst ebola epidemic in history. it's quite extraordinary. there's hardly any cars on the road. all the shops are closed. just one or two people walking on the street. but i've been here before at this time, it would be absolutely jam packed. you could barely move. this is a ghost town. the government shut down the entire country for a day for

reflection, they say. hammering three countries, the outbreak is worst here, in sierra leone, and the world health organization says ebola is now spreading faster than they can contain it. the fear is spreading with it. for months the public's response has been dominated by denial and rumors while ebola silently kills. as the death toll mounts, they are tightening access to the roads that help spread the disease. and they're getting the word out to calm the panic. like the rest of the nation, amadu stayed at home today. the elders put out the word to stay at home, and we need to respect that, he says. we need to stop ebola. but ebola keeps spreading, affecting more people and wider areas than ever before. health officials say that at best it could take months to

stop it but there are no guarantees even of that. >> reporter: the whole country is shut down? >> yeah, the whole country. >> reporter: why do people need to pray? >> well, because of this problem we are encountering. >> reporter: we've been through a series of check points. each one is stricter than the last. one red cross official told us that along this road ebola is everywhere. it's through this point into calhoun district where it is the epicenter of this unprecedented epidemic and it's there that the biggest battles are being fought. david mckenzie, cnn on the road in sierra leone. researchers desperately trying figure out how to fight the ebola virus. we're discussing why ebola is so difficult to control. >> reporter: a vaccine won't help these victims of the ebola virus and is unlikely to prevent

the next outbreak. why? well, the man who helped discover the virus nearly 40 years ago says there are still many unanswered questions. >> we don't know enough how to treat someone with this viral infection, ebola. we don't know exactly how to prevent it through a vaccine, and we don't know also how exactly the virus causes death. >> reporter: some pharmaceutical firms are working on potential drug treatments for those who are infected, but these studies are only in the animal testing stage and as of yet no human trials have been officially allowed. >> overall the numbers are quite low in terms of mortality worldwide. the other issue, of course, is because you don't know when the next outbreak will occur, the vaccine would have to be stockpiled and held in some sort of secure situation where it didn't go off. most vaccines have a shelf life.

>> reporter: trials have been happening with a blessing. n.i.h. says it's closer to getting the vaccine into the early phases of trial, perhaps as earl wily as next month allo it to be available in limited form by the end be of 2015. some of the money for trials from vaccines and treatments are coming from defense departments of western nations. >> the military and the defense regimes certainly are aware of this agent as a possible agent of bioterrorism and are working on methods to control it. >> reporter: still, the challenges on the ground go way beyond prevention and cure. >> and we have the major issue of, you know, the distrust in liberia, in sierra leone, particularly also the government in health services. some people have even accused

western doctors to come there to experiment on people, so we have to deal with that as well. >> reporter: the most effective way to stop the spread of ebola at the moment is early diagnosis and quick isolation of those infected. not an easy task in countries where the health care system is already broken or nonexistent. jim bolden, cnn, london. still to come, as ukraine's military closes in, residents going underground. the stories of fear and suffering after the break. every day, people fall.

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they have defended mosul's dam from an attempted takeover by isis militants. on sunday there were reports that they had captured the biggest hydroelectric dam and gained control of several towns and oil fields in the kurdistan region. by taking it down it wouldn't only control the electrical output they could use it to flood cities including not just mosul but even baghdad. some 450 kilometers downstream. fighting in eastern ukraine may be approaching a pivotal moment. state-run media say government forces are preparing for a massive assault on rebel held donetsk. nick peyton walsh looks at the misery and fear of living in this flash point city.

>> reporter: the ukrainian army is fast moving in donetsk. inside the city, great disquiet rings. shelling has pushed some underground into cellars, half-built basements in this government building where dozens of women and children encounter life sleeping on mattresses they carried down here. twins who find the nightly explosions scary, loud. in this dim labyrinth they believe the separatists when they tell them the ukrainian army are american backed fascists set on attacking the russians here. they crush us, the damn americans, she says. what are they doing? where there is war in the world they have a part. look, these little ones here. they say they can't afford to leave, have nowhere to go. all the women of the world, she says, raise your voice against

these murderers. above ground the grief and anger are more vivid near where a school was hit. in the small community this can change childhood's daily life for years. they're unworthy because they're fascists, she says. the government, why do they have to shoot innocent people? streets torn up. they've used a lot of artillery. as she returns to her home the first time, it's unclear who fired the shells that shattered her windows. if i had been asleep, i would have died, she said. she was staying at her daughter's when the shells hit. here you can see the civilian cost of the heavy weaponry used by the ukrainian army to make that swift advance happen, and here also in the shattered

windows, damaged homes you get a sense of quite how complex it will be for kiev to win some locals back. here where shells landed two people were killed. quiet, intimate lives flattened into blank faces of loss. they buried their loved ones. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: the war is changing. separatist militants thinning on the streets. the leaders canceling public appearances. ukraine's army moving fast and the sense of the violence entering the final phase buys no comfort when tragedy has already come and is permanent. nick peyton walsh, cnn. on monday brittain marked 100 years since the start of world war i. prince william, the duchess marked the occasion in belgium when the occasion first started. it was germany's invasion that

prompted brittain's declaration of war. >> reporter: in the hot summer of 1914 austrian arch duke fran france ferd nant's death started the conflict. this monday representatives of many of the former enemies come member more rated the determine man invasion into belgium. they remembered the victims. 16 million dead and many more wounded. a senseless statistic in a century of war. it was here in belgium in eap that chemical weapons were used. french president hollande said. in all those years, those four long years, hundreds of thoughts of soldiers perished here. africans, canadians, new zealanders, and australians.

the duke and duchess of cambridge represented the british queen on a day of commemorations. 100 years ago to the day brittain had declared war on germany. >> we were enemies more than once in the last century and today we are friends and allies. we salute those who died to give us our freedom. we will remember them. >> reporter: at home in the u.k. prince harry commemorated those who fought in a ceremony to mark their journey where they were put on ships and ferried to the battle fields of europe. near those former combat zones the belgium king and a young girl released a balloon, a sign of reconciliation and peace. the first world war was a war that was supposed to end all wars. it didn't. 100 years on conflicts in eastern europe and the middle east remind us that human suffering, no matter where you are, is universal.

the commemoration continues today with the major art installation around the town of london. it's called blood swept land and seas of red. each poppy symbolizes british and colonial soldiers that died. more than 800,000 of these poppies have been planted throughout the installation. the official unveiling will happen today where the duke and duchess and prince harry will take part in that and plant the poppy themselves. you've been watching cnn's special coverage. i'm max foster in london. before you go, we want to give you one final look at gaza. it's just before 11:00 in the morning. almost three hours since the latest cease-fire went into effect. do stay with cnn. do stay with cnn. "early start" is next. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

and the breaking news this morning, silence over gaza. a three-day cease-fire between hamas and israel beginning hours ago. israel withdrawaling its troops from gaza. can the truce last? we have live team coverage from the ground in jerusalem and cairo where peace negotiations will be under way. ebola outbreak, two infected americans recovering with an experimental drug. one home in the united states, the other, the woman will be