the united states unleashes its fire power against isis militants in northern iraq. jets targets fighters and convoys in an effort to stop the isis advance. meantime, humanitarian relief reaches the mountains where thousands of iraqi, trapped after going to militants. and we're following more violence in the mideast after the cease-fire between hamas crumbles. several rockets were fired overnight between gaza and

israel. we're live in the very latest in jerusalem and gaza with the very latest. welcome back, everyone, to our special coverage. i'm amara walker. >> and i'm george howell. we begin in iraq where the u.s. has unleashed another round of targeted air strikes in iraq hoping to stop the momentum of u.s. militants. >> u.s.-guided bombers said to have targeted the positions along with the mortar system of erbil. isis reportedly has fought its way within 30 kilometers of that city. local leaders say 150 peshmerga troops will be killed after fighting in the last week. isis has seized many militaries that the peshmerga was protecting. this week, militants took over the mosul dam which is iraq largest hydroelectric dam. >> we also you want you to look at this video showing one of the

humanitarian aid drops in iraq. aid drops have reached at least some civilians in the mountains there trying to escape the islamic militants who have vowed to kill them. meanwhile, militants have also threatened to eventually strike the united states, listen. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> the isis advantage in iraq has driven many people from their homes. kurdish officials say hundreds of thousands of iraqis have fled to erbil. >> ivan watson now on the refugees' fears for their families and the concern that they can't turn home. >> reporter: hundreds of iraqi

christians taking shelter in a place of worship. sleeping under the pews of st. joseph's church. these frightened people have come here because there's simply no place else to go. they're part of a wave of hundreds of thousands of iraqis who fled their homes to escape islamic militants. people are running for their lives. and according to the patriarch of the caldion christian community of iraq among the exodus are among the thousands of christians who tell us that they've been given a choice by the militants from the islamic states of iraq and syria, either convert to their brand of violence harsh islam or face the sword. the kurdish leadership is struggling to deal with this wave of humanity.

the governor of erbil, ace muslim, working with christian priests to provided aid to the homeless families. they say the community is basically being cleansed from its homeland. >> it's making any kind of connection with the land now. they've killed their history. they've killed the future. >> reporter: are the exodiscuss includes the other minorities from the relives and ethnic mosaic of north issue rack includes gentleman zeidis, curds and yabach. kurdish feel that militants may try to attack erbil the city whos that become a safe haven. is erbil in danger? >> of course. erbil protects the potential. so it's important for them to attack them. >> reporter: the kurdish leadership said it's grateful that u.s. air strikes are now

helping to protect erbil but these desperate iraqi citizens just don't know what to do. >> what we do? what we do now? >> we want to be like other people and have our countries. the u.s. government said in 2003 we want the iraqi people to be free. that's the free. that's the freedom. impossible that's the freedom. >> reporter: all these people suddenly homeless looking to a higher power for some kind of help. ivan watson, cnn, an kawa, iraqi, kurdistan. >> and another important voice is speaking out, pope francis has issued an urgent appeal for

iraqi christian. he's calling on the world powers to offer humanitarian aid for those who have pled from their homes. it is the vatican's second appeal in as many weeks. pope francis has also appointed a cardinal as his personal enjoy to iraq. >> one of iraq's top player is calling on iraqis to unite against isis. grand ayatollah al sistani warns that politicians that cling to their posts at this time are making, quote, a grave mistake. now, some believe it is a message to pressure prime minister nuri al maliki who has defied demands to stand aside. now, isis has made a major impact in the region in just a short, startling period of time. and this map shows significant number of areas that the group now controls in iraq's north and in syria. >> as cnn brian todd now reports, these terrorist armies are more disciplined on the battlefield than ever before.

and we warn you some of the images you're about to say may be disturbing. >> reporter: they're ferocious and relentless, capturing huge swaths of territory at a time. isis is unlike any other terror group on the battle group. >> this is not your father's al qaeda. >> reporter: the targetic, hit-and-runs, ambush, roadside bombs. were other terrorist groups went to battle against well-trained armies they were often wiped out. iraq veteran douglas ola ban says isis is much more disciplined than the past with good commanders, better tactics. >> but for the black fogs this could be a platoon of army soldiers or marines circa 2004 or 2005. get moving throughout the population, soldiers, you can see the columns, machine guns within the vehicles they can use to establish a base of fire. >> reporter: training is a big difference analysts say.

they're getting help from outside. >> they also now have been bowlestered by a number of chechan fighters who have joined their ranks also foreign figh r fighters across the world, some with significant experience in warfare. >> reporter: what also may goes isis dangerous from the battlefield, the way they get the most from their arsenal. some are more primitive. the more likely they are to be able to use it to maintain it, simple is better in this case. mobile artillery pieces, other pieces capture the armored vehicles. >> reporter: experts say while the new tactics, training and weapons have been inagainstable to isis on the battlefield and a crucial reason why they've captured so much more territory since june. there's another weapon they use, a psychological one that's also been very effective. a warning, you're about to see some disturbing video. isis units often win before they get to the battlefield because of this.

horrific propaganda videos show isis militants capturing opponents shooting them in ditches. displays the severed heads of enemies in poles. >> when it comes to ice its, it's not what they're capable of but what people tear they're capable of which gives them this advantage. they've had a deliberate stand of terrorizing military. >> reporter: experts say those who see the videos often quit and run before the battle starts. brian todd, cnn, washington. and much more to come here on cnn. hostilities are renewed between israel and hamas. >> both sides blame each other. cnn is live in jerusalem and gaza with your up tot minute reporting. plus, an international health emergency. what the world health organization is doing to help kill the ebola outbreak in west africa.

gaza is say war zone once again as a new round of israeli air strikes killed at least five people friday according to palestinian officials. now israel does confirm it has targeted at least 90 locations since the end of the three-day cease-fire fighting. >> the military also says at least 67 rockets have fired into

israel since that truce has ended. an israeli soldier and a civilian were wounded, according to authorities. >> all right. let's get the very latest from correspondents in the region. sara sidner is live in jerusalem and john vause in gaza. let's start now with sara to get the very latest on the israeli perspective. so, sara, the 72-hour cease-fire and the fighting resumed immediately. what's the latest right now? the number of rockets that have come over have grown, the air strikes to 70. the air strike, the israeli military says, are 33 there in gaza from overnight and into this morning. there have been, as you mentioned at least five dead and we know there's some rubble there that the palestinians are going through, pulling bodies out from a mosque. so that's sort of the latest on some of the things that have been coming over between both sides with the fighting. but as far as the negotiations go, israel has been very clear in its statement saying time and

again that as long as israel is being fired upon it will not sit down and negotiate to try to extend the cease-fire. the palestinians, for their part, both in the delegation and hamas themselves, hamas saying israel is not talking to us. of course, they're talking through a mediator, but not addressing our major concerns. the palestinian delegation also said that the major concerns were trying to get israel to allow gaza to have an open seaport and an open airport in gaza. that is a huge contention. the contention that they say israel is not budging upon. what israel has said, according to egyptian officials is that they will allow a larger area for the fishermen to go out from -- from the actual coast and be able to go out a bit farther than they, doubling the amount of miles that they can go from three nautical miles to six. the fisheries, the fishermen there are important to the gaza economy, so that was one of the concession, but ultimately, the

palestinian delegation feel that they have not been dealt with properly. that they have been not getting any real signs and signals from israel that it will concede anything. and israel saying as long as rockets are being fired to us there's no reason to sit down and negotiate with need quiet for quiet before we can set down and go forward in the negotiations. u.n. saying there has to be a cease-fire. the humanitarian crisis there is overwhelming. >> so, if israel is willing to move somewhat on lifting parts of this blockade, i mean, how far apart are both sides? and where does the palestinian delegation stand at this point? >> well, the egyptian officials that spoke to us from the foreign ministry office at first had said that things were quite close on friday that they were getting very close to a deal, but fell apart. but when you talk to the folks from the palestinian del gashgs they say indeed they weren't

close. because the very issues that they're asking about which is ending the blockade are not happening, and they're not budging. and that blockade again, really, the gaza port had a lot to do with this, the seaport being of utmost importance there, especially for the economy. so at this point, while one side, the egyptian tour remediating all of this they're saying that things were close at a time, it seems that this time the talking has ceased. so right now, the fighting has begun and no one knows where it's going to go from here. amara. >> thank you, sara. let's go to gaza, as you said, once again in the cross hairs and that's where john vause is monitoring the elements. john, what's the view from where you are? >> well just i'll take some of that information that sara had about the death toll. we're told by palestinian

officials that so far today five people have been killed. including three on what appears to be an israeli air strike on a mosque south of here. palestinian officials are digging through the rubble trying to find out anybody who may have been alive. so far pulling out three bodies. two others killed by air strikes while riding motor bikes and may be an indication farce the israelis are concerned these were palestinian militants, though that has not been confirmed. we know overnight, as sara said that the israelis have been hitting a number of targets here in gaza. but the rocket fire coming out of gaza seems to be relatively small. we've had five rockets fired from gaza today into israel and mostly that seems to be cominging from the palestinian militant group islamic jihad. another group here represent ted peace negotiations in cairo. so far, hamas is not claiming responsibility for any rocket

fire that happened since the cease-fire ended on friday. so maybe they're looking towards trying to de-escalate this. at this point, we don't know, but all the rockets are coming from gaza is being claimed by islamic jihad. and that rocket fire began pretty much the moment that cease-fire ended. even though the israelis say they were willing to extend it. and the israelis say because israel is not ready to give grounds on any real sense, the israelis violated the cease-fire. and that's why the rocket fire resumed. then came the israeli military offensive. and one of the first to die on friday was a 10-year-old boy. he'd been playing with his friend, the construction site of a mosque. according to palestinian officials he was killed by shrapnel which came from an israeli drone strike. >> that 10-year-old boy that you mentioned, john, case in point

thash that the civilians are covering, at least 70% of those killed in gaza were civilians. can you give me a sense of what life is there. it seems like it's getting more and more dire. >> yeah, on the one hand it is. and there are shortages of many things here, though there does seem to be a lot of food in the marketplace. a lot of produce which is available for sale. and adequate supplies for drinking water. there are shortages of medical supplies. there are shortages of blood at the hospital. one of the biggest issue with electricity, the israelis have begun with the transmission lines that supply most of the electricity here that's crucial. the only power plant in gaza is no longer operational. it took a hit about a week ago. that has a knock with the water

pumps not working the sanitation and sewage system being knocked out so there is a concern of humanitarian disaster here. we keep getting a lot of numbers and a lot are not reliable. tens of thousands of homes have either been damaged or destroyed. the precise number is hard to get ahold of. thousands of people are no longer living in their homes. some of them are crammed into u.n. shelters others are living with friends, others living on the streets. one thing sara raised as far as the palestinians are concerned with the negotiations. they did talk that the israelis are not addressing their key concerns about lifting the economic siege. some of the offers on the table by the israelis the palestinians say were just north worthwhile considering. for example saying the israelis were willing to allow more goods to throw through eros and the

shalom crossing saying that has not been a problem. what has been a problem, the red tip, israelis holding up the supplies coming over. they want that addressed. not opening up the borders. and palestinians saying basically the israelis are simply stalling. amara. >> unfortunately, hopes that the negotiating begins again seems to be bleak. john vause, thank you so much-live from gaza. still ahead on cnn, stricken with disease but now growing stronger. an update on the american ebola patients treated with an experimental serum. plus in west africa there's no rest from the deadly virus. what the world health organization is doing from stopping ebola from getting worse. q.

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a canadian hospital near toronto has moved a patient into isolation after the man returned from the ebola-stricken nigeria with flu-like symptoms. >> doctors there have not yet given a diagnosis. the hospital is under heightened measures as a precaution. >> now, in the u.s. one of the two american missionaries who contracted the virus in west africa gave an update on his condition. dr. kent brantly said he's growing stronger every day. yeah, he received an

experimental serum in liberia before being flown to an atlanta hospital. wow. since march, 960 people have died from the ebola virus. on friday, the world health organization issued a new call to help slow the spread of the disease. >> as david mckenzie reports workers on the ground say they need more than just words. >> reporter: the world health organization is sounding the alarm saying a coordinated international response is needed to stop the spread. but when we visited a doctors without borders treatment center in ebola-ravaged eastern sierra leone, the coordinators say they are work alone. you need to stay one step ahead of the out break, are you two steps ahead? >> i think we're two behinds step. how do we get that, nothing is done and then we get new cases. >> reporter: eight professionals we spoke to describe a chaotic and delayed response in sierra

leone that lasted for months. they say u.n. and government workers lack funding to do even the most basic tasks like filling the tanks of their cars to distribute flyers. but the w.h.o. representative says they did what they could. >> to my knowledge, there's no area agency that could have taken this work differently. i try to think we did the best we can. >> reporter: but doctors without borders say that statements don't save lives and they urgently need help on the ground because they are completely overwhelmed. and they've been warning the world for months. the outbreak began in new guinea in march in an area known as the kisscy triangle where guinea, liberia and sierra leone mitt where they share a culture across borders. in april experts warned that the virus would spread.

despite saying its doing what it can the sierra leonen government did what it could to downplay the serious outbreak by then, it was too late. were you then prepared for the level of this outbreak? >> i think one could say we were unprepared for the level of the outbreak. >> reporter: now, ebola is in four countries with nearly 1,000 victims. one aide official told me many died for nothing. david mckenzie, cnn, sierra leone. the news continues on cnn. iraq under siege by the brutality of isis. . >> as the humanitarian crisis unfolds we speak to an aide worker in the region. plus the very latest on the conflict between israel and hamas. that's coming up next.