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welcome back, everyone. thanks for staying with us here on cnn. i'm errol barnett. >> i'm rosemary church. the headlines this hour, the skies are clear over gaza city as the 72-hour truce between israel and hamas is now in its third day. negotiations aimed at extending that cease-fire are set to resume in cairo today. an unnamed israeli official says israel is on board. but palestinian leaders say such talk is premature. the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention has issued a level 1 alert. that's the highest possible because of the growing ebola outbreak. the world health organization now says there are 932 confirmed probable and suspected deaths from ebola in west africa. almost one-third of those are in liberia which is now declared a state of emergency. a court in cambodia has handed down guilty verdicts for

two former senior khmer rouge leaders now in their 80s. chea and samphan are to serve life in prison for crimes against humanity. at least 1.7 million people were killed during the khmer rouge regime between 1975 and 1979. all right. we do want to turn to the continuing crisis in iraq which has largely been overshadowed by the violence in gaza. police say five car bombings in baghdad killed at least 16 people wednesday. and just south and west of the capital, four days of fighting with islamist militants has taken a heavy toll on iraqi security forces. more than 20 wounded soldiers are being treated at a hospital in basra. many of them volunteers who signed up to fight since isis began its assault back in january. >> there is a bit of confusion in the country. in mosul, an airstrike on

suspected isis insurgents killed at least 76 people. however, local officials say the strike killed dozens of civilians who opposed isis. kurdish officials are pleading now for help from the west. >> this is something way beyond the capacity of the iraqi air forces. we need the united states and nato to interfere because we are fighting on behalf of all those who are against terrorism. and i believe the united states has a moral responsibility to support us because this is a fight against terrorism, and we have proven to be pro-democracy, pro-west and pro-secularism. >> now, it's worth pointing out isis has little tolerance for religious beliefs outside its own extreme interpretation of islam. and that has forced many to plea. >> in fact, one community is particularly threatened by the militants who condemn them as devil worshippers. michael holmes reports.

>> reporter: islamic state militants have wreaked havoc across iraq, leaving many iraqis dead, others displaced and religious minorities like the yazidi egg abobegging for help. the yazidi are descendant of kurds but consider themselves distinct. they follow an ancient religion, making them an especially vulnerable target of islamic state militants, forcing islam or death throughout the areas it overtakes.

>> translator: we heard sounds of mortars and in the morning the islamic militants entered sinjar. we fled to the mountains and those who stayed there are now suffering from thirst. they have no water. they also took the girls and raped them. she said the yazidis have to be converted to islam. >> reporter: their plight doesn't stop there. the thousands who fled to the neighboring mountains are now stranded without food or water in the summer heat. >> translator: they have blocked the road to the mountains and the road down the mountains. there is no water, and people are now dying from thirst. children are dying and are being buried under the rocks. >> reporter: with no relief in sight, the yazidi hope their plea for help does not fall on deaf ears. michael holmes, cnn, atlanta. well, indeed, many are listening to those pleas. palestinian negotiators meeting in cairo, though, say it's too soon to talk about extending the 72-hour cease-fire with israel.

but they will meet again today with egyptian mediators as will the israeli delegates also. reza ceja brings us up to speed. >> reporter: critical, indirect talks under way in cairo between the israelis and the egyptians, although it has been extremely challenging to confirm if these two sides are making any progress. and that has a lot to do with the arrangement of these talks. this is not your usual sit-down face-to-face dialogue. this is an arrangement where in one location in cairo, you have the israelis talking to the egyptians in a separate location. you have the palestinians talking to the egyptians, and egypt is acting as a go-between. even though these two sides are talking, negotiating, even though they've stopped fighting, you still see signs of the mistrust that's fueled this conflict. and there are also growing signs that these two sides are not on the same page with respect how to move forward. one palestinian delegate who's part of the negotiating team

here in cairo telling cnn that he's not convinced that the israeli delegation in cairo is authorized to address hamas's core demands. of course, those core demands include the lifting of the blockade, the opening of the border crossings and the release of some of the prisoners. remember, hamas says it agreed to come to cairo if those core demands would be addressed, at this point it's not clear if it's going to happen. then you have a statement by a senior egyptian government official that adds more questions to the mix. the official saying that these discussions at this point are an experimental discussion in order to consolidate the cease-fire. this is a statement that suggests that at this point, these two sides are still discussing the framework of the cease-fire and perhaps extending it. absolutely no indication that they're tackling the core demands on both sides. the cease-fire scheduled to end

8:00 a.m. local time to friday. technically all parties involved have until then to make something happen. cnn, cairo. >> now, we've watched as israel has come under heavy criticism for the high civilian death toll in gaza, but israel holds hamas responsible, accusing it of purposefully launching rockets from densely populated areas. john vause shows us new video that goes to the heart of that controversy. take a look. >> reporter: for almost a month, israel focused much of its firepower here on the northern gazan town of bait ha beit hanoun, devastating entire neighborhoods. the family now living in the ruins of what's still standing of their home. >> and this is my home with my sisters. >> reporter: israel is just a few miles away. and israel's military says hamas used homes here as cover to fire off hundreds of rockets. but when i asked -- so why? why would they hit this area? were they hamas rockets? >> no, no, no. >> reporter: no hamas rockets?

>> no, no. never, never, never, never. >> reporter: no hamas fighters? >> no, never. >> reporter: never, ever seen. >> never, never. >> reporter: but in gaza city, reporters from france 24 and india's ndtv have shown at least one rocket launcher located in a residential area. it's a small vacant block of land surrounded by homes and hotels where many foreign reporters are staying. a u.n. building is close by. children are seen playing on the launchers. the site not far from where the reporter from france 24 ducked for cover last week when a missile was fired overhead. other reporters who tried to get close including from cnn have been warned off until this is now a closed military area. and the militant group islamic jihad has posted this video on its website showing how rocket launchers can appear from almost nowhere. fire and then disappear. the israeli military says the most effective way to destroy the rockets and their launchers

often means destroying the homes where they're hidden. which is why residents are given a warning, usually minutes, before a strike. this area was repeatedly hit by israeli tank fire as well as artillery rounds. they also called in airstrikes. and this is the end result of a missile fired from an f-16. a crater in the ground. it's about six meters, 20 feet or so deep. it totally destroyed this home. israel says with much of hamas's military capability destroyed, it's mission accomplished. hamas claims victory because it's still standing after a 28-day pounding. while it may not be clear who won this round, it is obvious who lost. john vause, cnn, beit hanoun, gaza. closing arguments in the murder trial of south african

athlete oscar pistorius are set to start in a couple of hours from now. the prosecution is to begin followed by the defense. now, each side is expected to take a day to sum up its case. the story is he's accused of premeditated murder in the death of his girlfriend. robin occkucurnow recaps some o trial's top moments. >> reporter: 39 days of testimony spread out over four months. >> well, he does look exhausted. >> reporter: but saw an emotional oscar pistorius take the stand. along with along with nearly 40 other witnesses, neighbors who say they saw a woman screen. >> just after 3:00, i woke up

from a woman's terrible screams. >> it was clear that this person's life was in danger. >> reporter: but the defense called other neighbors who say they never heard a woman's voice the night pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend. the defense says it was pistorius screaming that night. >> sheer, loud crying and not a woman screaming. >> reporter: it's not surprising that we've heard from so many witnesses apparently contradicting each other. we heard on day one that this was a circumstantial case. in other words, no direct evidence conclusively proving either version. >> reporter: pistorius says the four shots into the bathroom door were a tragic mistake, that he thought an intruder was in his home. but the state trying to prove it was nothing less than murder. >> you killed a person. that's what you did, isn't it? >> i made a mistake. >> you killed reeva steenkamp. that's what you did. >> reporter: 18 months after the valentine's day shooting, this trial is now coming to an end. the state will present their closing arguments for the judge

on thursday followed by the defense on friday. then the judge will set a date for when she'll deliver her verdict. robyn occ robyn curnow, cnn, johannesburg. >> people on both sides, the victim and the pistorius family, they want to see this come to an end. it's been more than a year now. >> absolutely. people are polarized on this. >> it's really dividing. >> very dividing. we'll see what happens. ahead, we'll take to you eastern ukraine where there have been more explosions and small arms fire as the country's military moves in on pro-russian separatists in donetsk. and the kremlin strikes back. vladimir putin bans products coming into russia from certain western nations. we'll take a look. stay with us. ♪

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australia observes a national day of mourning for the victims of malaysia airlines flight 17. there were 38 australians among the 298 people killed when their passenger jet was shot down in

eastern ukraine last month. australia's top leaders gathered with grieving relatives at today's service. ♪ >> those who were lost arrive home to the people and the country they loved. may the god of mercy comfort those left behind and may the god of justice answer all our prayers. >> meantime, that very important work back in eastern ukraine, that continued search for crash victims and their remains, well, that's been suspended now. >> yeah, the netherlands prime minister says heavy fighting has made that recovery mission far too dangerous. the head of the recovery mission reports small arms fire came very close to those investigators. so far 228 coffins with human remains have been sent to the netherlands, but it's unclear when searchers might return to

the scene. >> and although the relatives of the victims, they certainly want to get some answers, it's understandable that this search stops. our reporters saying that the sound of shelling is said to be constant north of donetsk. >> right now ukrainian forces are trying to take back control of that city from pro-russian separatists, and there are mounting fears that the battle could soon involve russia as well. >> our nick paton walsh is there and brings us more. >> reporter: the day after the violent night before and what may be ahead dawned on donetsk. this is what a bomb did when it didn't detonate. this when it did. we think here they were from a jet we heard. while nobody was killed near these garages, the hope the heaviest weapons wouldn't be used in this fight died. closer to the city center, one man was killed here waiting for a tram.

someone posting a parody of the ukrainian anthem. ukraine isn't dead yet, but it already smells, and we can see its end. just around the corner, another man died from shelling. places like here, the shells land. and while both sides blame the other for the loss of civilian lives, it's almost impossible in places like this, markets, homes all around that the fight for donetsk will happen without a lot of innocent ukrainians losing their lives. who fired these shells, separatists or ukrainians, was the question nobody could answer as they queued to get out late pensions. that's the interesting question, one woman says. they don't advertise who does it. it's hard to tell. in the city's center, too the remains of a night gun battle we heard. unclear who was fighting so hard to control this local government finance building. the rare appearance from a separatist leader tried to bolster morale but did not explicitly appeal for russian military help.

we're hearing now ukrainian army advancing every hour. we hear explosions in the town as we speak. how can you win without russian help? "we think we're holding out okay," he says. "for over 100 days, the entire war machine of a state has been crashing down on our young republic. if they lose part of the territory, they are defeated, and this is a huge victory. and we think we have this victory as ukrainian society doesn't want to fight." but outside in the blue, another ukrainian jet flew overhead. the sky is starting to fall in on this uprising. as the moment for russia to bail out the rebellion it started seems about to pass. nick paton walsh, cnn, donetsk. well, meantime, u.s. president barack obama says western sanctions are putting enormous pressure on russia's economy. >> yeah, those comments coming after russian president -- the russian president delivered his strongest response yet to those economic penalties

over ukraine. vladimir putin is now banning many food and agricultural imports from countries that have imposed sanctions on russia. phil black has the details from moscow. >> reporter: this move is classic russia. it is a standard play here. when moscow is in a dispute with another country to ban certain products from that country usually citing health concerns. but this is potentially much bigger. the decree bans or restricts imports of agricultural goods and farming materials from all countries that have signed up to sanctions against russia. so at the very least, you're talking about all the members of the european union, the united states, australia, canada, japan. but the language in this decree is important because it talks about certain products and materials, not all. and it talks about restrictions as well as bans. so what we don't know just yet is how big, how wide russia is retaliating here. and we won't know until the government announces its final list of products and materials that are affected. the russian government

agricultural watchdog tells us that it is the organization responsible for coming up with that list. and it's going to take a few days. but it believes certainly that fruit, vegetable, meat and dairy products will all be included. and that russia will now have to seek new imports from countries in south america or asia. and russia's ability to fill that gap left by the bans and restrictions is significant because if it doesn't do that, it means that russian customers could face shortages and even price rises. phil black, cnn, moscow. well, the governor of hawaii has signed an emergency proclamation as a hurricane barrels towards the islands. and we will take a look at when it's expected to make landfall.

we've been telling you about this, hawaii bracing for a couple of unwelcome visitors from mother nature. >> alexandra steele has the latest on the weather warnings in effect for the warnings. >> hi, guys. it is really a one, two punch for hawaii. here's the first one in line. we've got hurricane iselle and then julio behind it. you can see one and then comes julio hot on its heels. it is tracking west-northwest at 29. you can see that. 150-kilometer-per-hour winds. gusts now to 185. so it's continuing to move. i want to show you the path of julio right behind it. it is very similar, although julio looks as though it's going to look a little bit farther north. so of the two, the first one certainly looks as though it will have the biggest punch. so we do have, believe it or not, hurricane warnings for hilo and the big islands.

hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are possible within the next 36 hours. here's the track of eye ziselle. late wednesday you'll begin to notice the swells on the east-facing beaches. then thursday night late night you'll feel the biggest impacts. flooding rain, big surge, the potential for nine-meter waves perhaps. that's what we're seeing right now in the open ocean and of course some flooding rain and some winds. so here is julio. you can see as it tracks, it tracks a little bit farther north. but any small shift in this, a drop south certainly will impact what we're already going to see. you know, what's so interesting about both of these storms coming in from the east. but the water temperature right here is about 26 degrees celsius. that's just marginal to maintain a hurricane. so since 1959, only two storms have made landfall that came in

from the east. not only the cooler water but there's a lot of dry air. it's the storms that come in from the south that really are the biggest threat. this, though, not so, you guys. so it's very rare to have not one but two potentially making landfall. you can see only two since '59. we're going to have two in three days. certainly the first one will be the biggest impacts. thursday will be the heart of it. >> all right. keep an eye out for that. >> we'll be watching closely. >> thanks, alexandra. now to something that actually keeps us in the water. it's one part water skiing, one part hovercraft and all in all barrels of fun. >> yeah, flyboarding as it's called. it's taking beaches by storm in the united states. let's take you now to long island, new york, for a little introduction. >> flyboarding was the funnest thing i have done in a very long time. ♪

>> it's a jet board. it's a new extreme water sport that was just invented a few years ago. so this is the flyboard right here. you've got two regular wakeboard boots. put your feet in here. the hose gets connected here to the end. it's a little swivel, click in, pin lock. so all that water is getting projected through here and then out the two sides right here. and that's what pushes the flyborder in the air is the water propulsion. the two sides of it, there's a competition side and then there's the fun, recreational side. the rental part side of it that we're doing today is really growing. you know, you really get the people that want to come out and try it. >> my favorite part was just flying above the water. i mean, when you're swimming, you're always at water level, and your eyes never leave the plane of the water. this gives you a whole different point of view. >> it is somewhere between a waterboard, some sort of air, and it was just really fun.

>> people are coming up with their own trick lists. you've got the regular, you know, back flip, the double back flip. some people's favorite is the dolphin. people love it. they come down here, they have a great time. you know, they get a chance to literally fly above the water, which is awesome. their own superhero. >> that does look really cool. >> love it. sign me up. i'd absolutely do that. would you? >> yeah, i'd give it a go. i might not be as graceful as that. >> plunk. >> and that does it for this hour of cnn's special coverage. i'm rosemary church. >> i'm errol barnett. we're not going anywhere. stay with us. we're back with the day's biggest stories next.

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now, that's progressive. the oscar pistorius murder trial heads into its final phase. we'll bring you a live report this hour. and welcome back. i'm rosemary church. >> and i'm errol barnett. we're happy you're still with us. >> we sure are. and it is 9:00 a.m. in cairo where israeli and palestinian negotiators will be back at the bargaining table again today, although not meeting face to face, of course.