bill: two major stories we're watching and they're not over yet. not by a long shot. >> "happening now" starts right now. very latest. bill: 30 minutes away from the white house. see you then. jenna: fox news alert. we're awaiting the president to address a deadly attack on a passenger jet over ukraine. hello, everybody, hope you're off to a great friday so far. big news day as it is. >> i'm eric shawn in for jon scott. the president is expected to issue a stronger statement than that 40 seconds of comment he made yesterday when he was in delaware. already united nations ambassador samantha powell issued harsh words about president putin and rush after the shoot-down of this plain of the united nations security council calling for quote a thorough investigation of this crash where ukraine and pro-russian separate tiffs blame each other for the missile attack that has 298 people dead.

u.s. intelligence authorities say a surface-to-air missile brought down malaysia flight 11 right near ukraine's border with russia but they so far can not say exactly who fired that missile. national security correspondent jennifer griffin is live in the washington with the very latest details on this hi, jennifer. >> reporter: hi, eric. as you mentioned u.s. ambassador samantha power just spoke at the u.n. and said u.s. intelligence concluded it was a sa-11 missile that brought down the malaysian flight. she added it came from separatist-held ukraine territory but that separatists likely could not have operated the missile by themselves. >> because of technical complexity of the sa-11 it is unlikely that the separatists could effectively operate the system without assistance from knowledgeable personnel. thus we can not rule out technical assistance from russian personnel in operating the system. >> reporter: earlier today we learned that preliminary classified u.s. intelligence analysis so far had concluded that the missile that brought

down the malaysian airlines flight 17 was fired from ukraine territory, not from the russian side of the border. u.s. satellite and signals intelligence has determined the point of origin of the missile launch. further u.s. defense officials tell me that they have no reason to doubt the authenticity of the intercepted phone calls released last night by the ukrainian government which rebel commanders claim to have shot down a plane. in fact, just 20 minutes after the plane went down, this man, igor bezler, the self-proclaimed minister of defense tore russian separatist its is talking to a russian military intelligence officer. the rebel commander is essentially reporting back to a colonel in the russian military main intelligence department inside of russia. >> translator: we just shot down a plane. that was miner's group. it fell down outside of. pilots. where are the pilots? set off to search for a

shot-down plain to take pictures of it. plume of sneak is visible. how many minutes ago? about 30 minutes ago. >> reporter: important to remember the separatists are current or former members of russian military units and as samantha power just pointed out, when a ukrainian fighter pilot was shot down recently by a russian aircraft, by russian separate tiffs excuse me, she was captured by a separatists but taken to prison in russia. one last thing, eric. u.s. officials tell us there may not have been any americans on board the malaysian night. they're still looking at the documentation as we speak. jon: jennifer, thank you so much. as you reported at that meeting samantha power pointing the finger directly at the russians. we expect the russian ambassador to the united nation, member of the security council to address that meeting. meanwhile thedowned malaysian airline planes clearly as you see escalating international tensions. power is calling for investigation of the attack that

will be credible. she wants a swift end to the conflict in the ukraine. >> we insist that russia immediately take concrete steps to de-escalate the situation in ukraine, support a sustainable cease-fire and follow the path toward peace that the ukrainian government has consistently offered. this war can be ended. russia can end this war. russia must end this war. jon: >> is that what will happen? chief correspondent jonathan hunt with details from new york. hi, jonathan. >> eric, a lot of strong words spoken in the u.n. security council chamber this morning. the meeting began with a moment of silence as members paid their respects to all those who lost their lives aboard flight mh17. now the security council also issued a collective statement, calling for what it called, a full, thorough and independent investigation, and some important language, quote,

appropriate accountability but no names, named in that statement although u.s. ambassador to the u.n. samantha power made it very clear that u.s. officials believe that russia is ultimately accountable for the downing of mh17 even if it wasn't russian personnel who actually pulled the trigger on that missile system. here is ambassador power. >> while it may take us some time to firmly establish who shot down a plane filled with innocents, most council members and most members of the international community have been warning for months about the devastation that would come in russia did not stop what it starred. if it did not rein in what it unleashed. >> reporter: now those were strong words but action is a very different thing in the u.n. security council. purely because russia itself is one of five members that has the power of veto over any resolution. now we are still waiting at this moment.

eric, we can perhaps take a live look at the u.n. security council chamber. we're still waiting for t ukrainian ambassador to speak. ukraine, remember, has said that it at this meeting will present what it calls evidence of russian involvement. we are also waiting as you mentioned at the top, the russian ambassador. so there are a lot of strong and fascinating words to come yet from that u.n. security council chamber this morning, eric. jon: very. >> very serious morning over there. jonathan, thank you very much. jenna: the downed passenger plane is only big headline. we're moving to the other major story in the middle east. israeli forces moving deeper into gaza and a ground operation raising questions how this crisis will end. david lee miller live from the border with more. david lee? >> reporter: jenna, let me start with the breaking news. moments ago, a significant volley of rockets making their way north in the direction of tel aviv. at least six rockets. there was a second volley headed in the direction of southern

israel. in the tel aviv area we're told one of those rockets landed in an unpopulated area. the other five rockets were intercepted successfully, but, despite the ground incursion, hamas and other militants continue to fire rockets. meanwhile there are now israeli troops on the ground in gaza from one end of the strip to the other. they are mainly in very close proximity to the border but we're now getting reports that they are also on the outskirts of populated areas. this is not a major ground incursion. by that i mean they do not want to take over the gaza strip. they have a very significant focus and that is to locate and destroy infiltration tunnels. this from the prime minister today. he says that these tunnels pose a significant threat to israel. he says that it is difficult to dethem from the air. that's why there are now troops on the ground in gaza. so far today, at least eight of

these infiltration tunnels have been discovered. they are now in the process of being destroyed. and in addition to the troops on the ground, israel continues its air and artillery strikes on gaza. one the buildings hit today was a tv production studio. most businesses in gaza are closed. people are afraid to leave their homes. latest reports from palestinian authorities, at least 40 palestinians have been killed including several children, since the ground invasion got underway. also, one israeli soldier has been killed in the fighting. as for hamas, and other militant groups, they show no indication whatsoever of backing down. hamas spokesman threatening what he described as dreadful consequences because of the ground incursion. as of this hour, jenna, by my count, there have now been over 80 rockets that have been fired at israel. this despite the fact israeli forces as i said are on the ground in gaza.

they are firing artillery. they're also continuing their airstrikes. as for hamas, it is becoming increasingly diplomatically isolated. the egyptian foreign minister said today, if hamas had accepted the egyptian-brokered truce, it is very likely dozens of lives could have been spared. jenna? jenna: david lee with some great reporting from the reporting. david lee, thank you very much. just to underscore some of that reporting, reminder this is israel's first major ground offensive in gaza in five years. prime minister netanyahu vowing to expand that battle after 2,000 airstrikes from hamas over past several days. >> translator: not possible to deal with tunnels, from the rare air. our soldiers are dealing with it on the ground there is no guaranty of 100% success but we're doing our best to achieve the maximum. my directive as well as defense minister as well as approval of the cabinet and military to prepare for possible significant expansion of the ground

operation. the chief of staff and the idf army are prepared accordingly. jenna: jonathan schanzer, vice president of research for foundation for defense of democracies, joins us now, just recently returned from israel. jonathan, david lee told us the goal from israel is not to take over the gaza strip but what is the goal? what is a win for israel here? >> i think there are a couple of goals here for the israelis. one to try to get at some of the long-range rockets that have been schmuck gelled into the gaza strip from iran and elsewhere. these rockets can reach deep into israeli territory and threaten civilian population like tel aviv, capital of jerusalem, and haifa. israelis will look for those. more importantly, i think this sparked the ground invasion. israelis intercepted 13 hamas commandos, who dug a tunnel and intent to siege a kibbutz, small community in southern israel. that was sort after red line for

prime minister benjamin netanyahu. that is when he launch ad ground invasion. i think as david lee miller noted what they're trying to do right now is to find those tunnels, to prevent incursions into israel. and, as has been reported so far, eight of those tunnels have been found. the challenge will be to destroy them to make sure they can not be used again. jenna: we esee the pattern repeat themselves. tensions between israel and hamas. they light up over the years and some sort of a resolution and everything calms down again. the pattern repeats. is this different than what we've seen over the past several years? do you think it will have a different result? >> i'm not sure that it will. i think at the end of the day the israelis don't want to take over the gaza strip. they don't want to control that territory. they don't want to be on the ground. short of overthrowing hamas i which think would be exceedingly difficult you will see return to the status quo and hamas is

effective pow broker in gaza, that maintains arsenal that will threaten israel and israel will respond to rockets as attacks take place. there is a tactical approach that the israelis are taking right now. again going after those tunnels, trying to neutralize the most immediate threats. this long-term conflict is not likely resolved. jenna: israel is a long-term ally of the united states. there are many different actors though involved from the surrounding region, jonathan, in this conflict. talk to us a little bit that and how that impacts us here in the united states. >> sure. well one of the things we heard about was that egyptian attempt to broker a cease-fire. of course the egyptians failed at that. look, egyptians have been brokering cease fires along these lines for many years. the difference right now there is a new regime in egypt led by abdul azizsy that came to power by coup or revolution, depending on your point of view. hamas and egypt don't get along at all right now.

the egyptians were snubbed by hamas. they didn't accept the cease-fire. we're hearing there may be new players that may try to broker the cease-fire. i'm talking specifically turkey and qatar. these two countries widely regarded as u.s. allies. what needs to be noted here both of these countries have been sponsors of hamas for the last five years. they are the countries responsible for continued rise of this terrorist organization. the united states now appears to be poised to basically give them the honor of brokering this cease-fire and receiving praise from the international community for brokering peace. jenna: interesting. being sponsors of terrorists that is indeed the case. prime minister of turkey accused israel of genocide and not a supporter of peace. a lot of questions for the region over all, where it goes from here. jonathan, great to see you as always. thank you so much. >> pleasure. jon: jenna, why was the plane there? could it have been avoided? will those who pushed the button

be held accountable? with hundreds of lives lost on the airliner. up next we look how the international investigation will now commence to try and prove who did it. and we want to know what you think. does this latest airline disaster affect the way you think about flying? our live chat is up and running. go to foxnews.com/happeningnow. click on "america's asking," to join the conversation about this shocking tragedy.

eric: branded an act of terrorism and to some even an act of war. the malaysian boeing 777 shot down by a russian-made missile. there is a bit of confusion over the plane's black boxes. pro-russian rebel leader saying no black boxes were found. this after a report that the black boxes were being sent to moscow. while u.s. investigators are trying to head to that region hopefully help with that investigation. we're also learning some new information who was on that

flight. jennifer griffin reporting that no passengers on that plane carried u.s. passports. just moments ago, at the united nations, the united states ambassador to the u.n., samantha power, condemning russia at emergency security council meeting. she also stretched the importance of a prompt and thorough international investigation. >> international investigators must be granted immediate, full, and unfettered access to the crash site. all those concerned, russia, pro-russian separatists and ukraine should agree to support a immediate cease-fire to facilitate access by international investigators. eric: will that happen and can the international investigators find out anything? joining us now to understand more about this accident, and horrible tragedy, aviation attorney doug lotto, his firm has represented many victims of air disasters. doug, this is just unbelievable. seems pretty apparent it was a russian missile. somebody pushed a button whether it was accidental, mistake or

intentional, how do think get in there with a war zone? in the past, russia, flight 307, for years they lied about shooting that plane down. >> it's a very difficult investigation. the party who is are in control of the region obviously have vested interests pointing a finger at someone else. the only way we get true answers, we know it was a missile, who shot it, how it was shot. did it impact near the aircraft? did it explode into the aircraft? that will be discovered through the wreckage, black boxes, digital voice recorder. the only way we get answers with an international investigation probably lead by the national transportation safety board is given access to the region. eric: are we the lead agency? if so, why would the fbi be there? we're told fbi personnel are on their way. look, it is an international area. what is the european international investigation and you got the u.n. at same time. who is in charge of that? >> if it is civil act, international civil aviation

authority has rules. eric: who are they? >> they are the international aviation body over europe. there is treaty with the united states who should lead the investigation. for example, since this was u.s. manufactured aircraft under interest treaty the ntsb has the absolute right to be one of the lead investigators. can the ntsb gain access to the region? that is the issue. eric: why was the plane there? it is an airway called l-980. that is down 50%. 15 major airlines still use it. see it on the right. everyone is avoiding the ukraine? that is a shot of aircraft traffic in europe. should that plane even been there. >> absolutely not. back in april the federal aviation administration issued a warning, prohibition to u.s. flag carriers saying you are not allowed to fly if this region. unfortunately the faa does not control foreign airlines, does not control malaysian airlines. undoubtedly malaysia was allowed their aircraft to fly over --

eric: was there a problem or why did they do that? >> did it to save money. eric: to save money. >> shortest rout from netherland to kuala lumpur. shortest route means less fuel and less cost to the airline. the airline should have known this was dangerous area. they did know given april warning by faa but they chose to fly over this route to save itself some dollars. unfortunately this incident occurred. eric: that would be horrible if indeed that is the case. doug, thank you so much. >> thanks for having me. eric: jenna? jenna: as facts continue to be gathered and a lot of fingerpointing on many sides, we're learning more about the sophisticated missile that shot down the passenger plane carrying hundreds of people. this as questions surface who is to blame and what to do next. >> i hope what this does, this tragedy serve as a wake-up call to those who have only dimly seen what putin and the russians are up to.

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comcast business. built for business. eric: right now we're learning more about that your fast to air missile suspected of having taken down malaysian airlines flight 17. ukrainian officials say it was a buk missile that shot that airliner out of the sky. buk missiles were developed in the 1970s bit soviet union to counter airborne threats like cruise missiles and smart bombs. the missiles are guided by a radar station on the ground and reportedly can reach altitudes of 72,000 feet. this plane was at about 33,000 feet. they are 15 to 17 feet long. they weigh 1500-pound and can go 3,000 miles an hour for each missile. they're in service in ukraine and russian state forces. they say it takes two years to train on these, to learn how they work. jenna: russian president vladmir putin calling for both sides to

lay down arms in ukraine as the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. says that the missile fired at malaysian airlines plane likely launched from an area held by pro-russian separatists. samantha power says the united states can't rule out the possibility that russians played a role launching the missile. some say this ask a wake-up call for all of us. >> the point is that the russian policy over the years has allowed this to develop, the support for the ukrainian separatists. and i think it is important for americans to learn the bigger lesson here. this is not just about separatists in eastern ukraine. this is about the view of russia and how it pursues its interests around the world which we have, let's be honest, facilitated over the last five 1/2 years in many respects. i hope what this does, this tragedy, is serve as a wake-up call to those who have only dimly seen what putin and russians are up to. jenna: joining me now, for more on this a director at the

kennedy institute at the woodrow wilson center. we're still really gathering the facts in this story but you say what we're watching is the acceleration of a deepening crisis between the west and russia to the likes we haven't seen since at least the 1990s, maybe going back to the 1980s. why is that? >> i think that is exactly right and because there is essentially no trust left now between russia and the west. for a very, fleeting, fading moment, europe, particularly germany has been kind after bulwark trying to hold the dialogue together between washington and moscow, russia and the west but even that is falling apart. the fact you had more than 100 western european nationals, including germans, dutch of course, brit, belgians, this will really bring the conflict home to roost. i agree with ambassador bolton when he says russia's conduct about post-soviet space, the way

they support separatists movements in other former soviet neighboring countries is extremely damaging to international security. that is very true whether they have direct responsibility for this particular incident or not. jenna: talk to us a little more about that because we're making a distinguishment between russia and pro-russia separatists, what some are calling rebels in that area of ukraine. should we be making that distinction? are they one in the same? is it all russia at the end of the day? >> they're not the same. and first of all, mr. putin, the kremlin and russians are far more comfortable with ambiguity in this region which is their backyard like they know like the back of our hand like we in the west are. we keep looking for black and white. we keep wanting to say putin shot down the plane. it is very far from true. he has let a genie out of the bottle. he created a situation on some level even he can't control. my hope would be he has a come to jesus moment, these guys clearly may have made a huge

mistake, may have been cossack volunteers literally on the machine, pressing button, thinking they were taking down a ukrainian military airplane but they murdered civilians. they create ad giant problem for themselves and separatist leadership in ukraine but for russia and the kremlin. russia has to pick up pieces f there is silver lining i want to be cautious saying this and it may be true, the russians might force a cease-fire on separatists allies and give us a chance to do international investigation and negotiate to end the conflict which we haven't been able to do so far. jenna: david, if the people are behind this are incompetent, that. doesn't alleviate accountability that. will be interesting to watch our president address what happens over the last 24 hours in a few minutes from the white house. what do you think the message from our president needs to be at this point in time and what message will be received in russia? >> this is extremely difficult because remember the united states imposed yet another round

of punitive sanctions on the russians, actually before this incident happened. so what the united states can do next, it doesn't look like more of the same, unlikely to be effective. just kind of bloviating fuming against putin the bad guy, which again is just playing into putin's hand because domestically he is popular on this issue of ukraine. over 80% of the russian people supported him annexing crimea. they support him in supporting the rebels in eastern ukraine. many russians want him to do more. if the united states comes on too strong and position is, this was your fault, putin, you're responsible for everything and we'll bludgeon you until you fix it, i think he will dig in his heels and say i'm winning on this domestically. i can't end the conflict. so why should i even try? jenna: interesting. we'll see what happens when the president steps to the microphone. we expect him in a few moments. matt, great to see you. nice having you on the program. look forward to having you back. thank you. >> thank you. eric: jenna, the malaysian airlines tragedy putting ukraine

back into the headlines with vladmir putin pointing fingers at ukraine while kiev says there is no doubt russia has the passengers blood on their hand, how is the media reacting to this story? we'll tell you next.

jenna: continue to await the president in washington, malaysia is yet mourning another airline disaster today. crews scouring the wreckage from the jet shot down over war-torn ukraine as devastated families here their loved ones are dead. david piper from bangkok with more. david? >> reporter: yes, jenna. the grim task of searching that crash site in the ukraine is continuing at this hour. there continues to be claims and counterclaims over who brought that plane down. it is now been confirmed that 289 passengers and crew were onboard the malaysian airlines jet which was flying from amsterdam to kuala lumpur.

ukrainian government claims rebels shot it down while they say government forces did it. investigators from across the world are now heading to the ukraine to examine the wreckage. and families across the world are mourning the loss of their loved ones. there have been floral tribute at the entrance to the airport in memory of the airport of victims of air malaysian airlines. one card read, the world is in shock this should have never happened. malaysian airlines didn't mention any americans amongst the passengers. four passengers nationalities still need to be verified though. there were 80 children on the flight. it is also been revealed an australian woman, irene barros, lost family members in both malaysian airline disasters this year. malaysian airlines said in a statement that mh17 was in airspace approved by the internatioal civil aviation

organization. the airline added, mh17 filed a flight plan requesting to fly at 35,000 feet through ukrainian airspace but was instructed by ukrainian air traffic control to fly at 33,000 feet. and of course, jenna, they have now told all the air crews to divert away from that area. back to you. jenna: important not to forget the families in all of this. david, thank you. eric: the malaysian tragedy capturing international headlines. world leaders bluntly blaming russia creating a environment in ukraine that allowed this to happen. look at front page of this morning's "new york daily news," which directly states, putin's war. 298 innocents killed in miss still strike on plane. joining us now, judith miller, pulitzer-prize-winning reporter, author and fox news contributor and tammy bruce, fox news contributor. judy, let me start with you, are

the media responding to this and appropriately holding putin's feet to the fire? >> i think they are, eric. this is issue where putin bears direct or indirect responsibility for what happened. everyone has been warning him for a long time that the situation on the ground in ukraine is unsustainable. he has been playing a double game that is speaking about cease-fire and actually taking every action that he can to indirectly support the pro-russian rebels, who probably shot down this plane. we will have an investigation. this investigation will continue. but you can see, from samantha powers this morning that the united states is shifting to a blame putin mode. eric: tammy, we're awaiting for president obama to make remarks that would certainly be stronger than what he made in delaware yesterday. do you expect the media is covering it? >> it is good the media is

covering it. not a lost international coverage with the american media because it is not really at the top of the agenda for the president. and if you're going to be covering the international scene, you will be covering some very bad news. the reason putin in context is the obvious issue here is because it is the russians or the rebels who have actually been shooting down planes, leading up to this. a russian jet shot down. a cargo plane for ukraine the other day. there has been a second plane attached to the ukrainians that has been shot down. so the fact that another plane was shot down, this has been happening. so in context it makes sense. the media clearly now has to get up to speed because there is not been a lot of coverage and again, i think in large part it is due to some partly, some partisan attitudes and in some media. but on the other hand, there has been so much going on domestically as well, you almost have to balance the nature how you cover things. but this shows you that the international scene matters. that it affects american lives.

and that the news media as a whole has got to really focus on this again. eric: judely did i, isn't that kind of a sad commentary -- judy? it takes something like this when other ukrainian planes have been shot down, it has not gone away, the news moves so quickly from iran and israel and gaza, suddenly this, and this and israel and gaza? >> right, eric. we have two major stories. one an investigation and an invasion to cover. this would stretch the resources of any broadcast network but the fact of the matter is it is stretching resources at a time when virtually every news operation has cut back on the number of correspondents, on number of bureaus, on amount of money it puts into foreign news. tammy is right, when you have a tragedy like this and something that requires on the ground investigation, that's when you see the limits of the american media.

eric: judy, tammy, that will have to be it. we're waiting for the president to come to the briefing room with his remarks. we'll bring that to you live when it happens. thank you so much. >> thank you. jenna: meantime the u.n. offering resources to investigate the shooting down of malaysian airlines flight 17. but in a combat zone with wreckage over miles how does the investigation move forward? our next guest says regardless of answers found we need to address issues today. retired army captain chuck nash weighs in next. óqoqúúñ@

eric: "outnumbered" is at the top of the hour. kimberly, sandra, what is coming up? >> president obama is about to speak about the downed jetliner and ongoing violence in ukraine. we'll debate what the administration's next move should be. >> hillary clinton reveals one big thing that could keep her from running for president in 2016. >> how hard is it to be conservative in hollywood. our #oneluckyguy will reveal it. >> former senator fred thompson will reveal that. at the top of the hour onout numbered. jenna: this is certainly an awful scene to take in. everyone on board killed. 298 men, women and children. u.s. intelligence authorities say the triple seven was struck by surface-to-air missile from inside ukrainian territory. wreckage is scattered across

several square polls in very volatile region. we're not sure exactly where the black boxes and flight recorders are. chuck nash joins us, retired navy air captain and fox news military analyst. you say there is a big threat to all of us. what is the biggest threat facing the public right now based on what happened yesterday? >> well, i think what we have to put into our consciousness is not just that this airliner was shot down probably as u.s. intelligence says, by the russian separatists in the ukraine. but the broader implications of the potential and that is, that terrorist organizations have since the fall of delivery, and the supplies coming out from again afghanistan and armies in syria, terrorists have their man pads. this was-altitude shoot-down. it took sophisticated system.

the man pads terrorists can carry, it is no hard than smuggling a set of golf clubs. it would be low altitude shoot-downs. i'm amazed it hasn't happened before already with al qaeda. given all the armories that had their doors kicked open with the fall of these governments from the arab spring onward, i think we need to start looking at that, from international aviation community and start to figure out how we're going to deal with it. because searching passengers and taking something larger than a one ounce bottle out of your shaving kit will not solve that problem. jenna: your point is underscored with the fact we feel more vulnerable after watching news over last 24 hours. what will make us safer then, if reality is some of these weapons are out there and a lot of different areas in the world where a lot of people are flying? >> well, one of the things we're going to have to start doing, is, putting active protection on commercial aircraft. and that is, that doesn't come for free. it is going to come at a cost.

but when you look at some of the things that are available today, you're not going to be defeating radar missiles, ones that took down malaysian 17. but you can defeat infrared guided man pads that have proliferated into the hands of terrorists. those systems cost less than the entertainment system on the aircraft. so -- jenna: what exactly would that do? if i was on a plane, what would that look like to me or what would that look like to the pilot that isn't there today? >> it would be totally transparent, to the passengers. what you have are laser-based systems that pick up the missile plume. then what they do, they focus the laser on the seeker head of the shoulder-fired sam, and it makes it go stupid and dive into the dirt. so, you wouldn't, it is not like you're throwing out flares or anything that would be visible to anyone on the ground. it is a system that operates

autonomously, sees a missile, declares it a threat, slews the laser over and blinds the missile. jenna: some are calling this missile a game-changer and we'll see if it a game-changer in the airline industry as you allude to, captain nash. something we'll, watching. let's ask you about this investigation. >> sure. jenna: what is crucial now? what needs to be done next 24, 4hours moving forward? >> one of the first things, being an accident investigator in the navy, one of the important things all this footage you see of soldiers walking around picking up debris and examining it, throwing back down, that has got to stop because one of things they're going to want to do in any accident investigation scene is, you have to work backwards. you know what the airplane looked like before it crashed. now i have to figure out from where the debris is and condition for everything. there will be a lot learned from that. that may sound really esoteric. at this point who cares? we know the airplane was shot

down. we know it was shot down. but for future accidents, it is really important to figure out how this looks and what happened, to be able to construct it from the evidence, really when it comes down to, a lot of times eyewitness accounts are terribly wrong. you have to reconstruct things, based on physical evidence. with this, with all the tensions and russians and separatist it is and ukrainians pointing fingers at each other, actual hard evidence and concrete analysis is going to be very important so that there is no doubt when this is over, exactly what happened and hopefully who did it. jenna: well, captain nash, we're showing some of the video you mentioned. we can put video people walking around picking up evidence and putting it back on ground. we're not there. obviously the pro-russian separatist its are there, russia is there. ukraine is there but this is a very tense area. and it is different to know who really has control. who has to take the lead here? you see the luggage from these

people that were killed for their families and wonder how do the families get any answers, how dot rest of us get any answers? who takes the lead? >> jenna, under the international aviation organization, the icio, the rules is it sate because it came down with the plane panned malaysians are involved with their aircraft. you start to bring in second and third tier people but ukrainians are in charge of it. because this came down in a contested area that is controlled by the separatist it is, that's where the russians have to weigh in, tell the separatist its to back off and ukrainians need to take control of the mishap site and start this and hopefully they will reach out to get some help from the united states and others. jenna: will be interesting to see. maybe we'll learn some of that from the president who we are expecting to take to the podium any moment to see what our involvement might be moving forward. captain nash, thank you so much.

>> my pleasure, jenna. eric: we're learning more information about those sitting on this doomed and unprotected flight. it turns out that there are some compelling and chilling twists of fate.

jenna: fox news alert. we left you, we heard word we should expect the president to step to the fold podium in two minutes. he will address the downed a malaysian airlines flight that happened yesterday. and believed to have been shot down by pro-russian separatists. still unconfirmed at this point. this is what president will provide us with facts as far as any today. bret baier is standing by with more. bret, certainly at love thinking about what the president, anticipation of what the president is going to say. what have you heard so far? >> jenna i think we heard a bit of a preview at united nations.

here is the president. let's listen in. >> yesterday malaysian airlines flight mh 17 took off from amter stamp and shot down over ukraine near the russian border. nearly 300 innocent lives were taken. men, women, children, infants, who had nothing to do with the crisis in ukraine. their deaths are a outrage of unspeakable proportions. we know at least one american citizen, quinn lucas shantzman, was killed. our thoughts and prayers are with his family for this terrible loss. yesterday i spoke with the leaders of ukraine, malaysia, and netherland. i told them that our thoughts and prayers are with all the families and that the american people stand with them during this difficult time. later today i will be speaking with prime minister abbott of

australia, which also suffered a terrible loss. by far the countries that lost the most people on the plane was the netherlands. from the days of our founding the dutch have been close friend and stalwart allies of the united states of america and day want the dutch people to know that we stand with you shoulder to shoulder in our grief and in our absolute determination to get to the bottom of what happened. hear's what we know so far. evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by surface-to-air missile that was launched from an area that is controlled by russian-backed separatists inside of ukraine. we also know that this is not the first time a plane has been shot down in eastern ukraine. over the last several weeks, russian-backed separatists shot down a ukrainian transport plane and a ukrainian helicopter and they claimed responsibility for shooting down a ukrainian fighter jet.

moreover we know that these separate rate of it is -- separatists received a steady flow of support from russia. this includes arms and straining. it includes heavy weapons and it includes anti-aircraft weapons. here's what must happen now. this was a global tragedy. an asian airliner was destroyed in european skies filled with citizens from many countries. so there has to be a credible international investigation into what happened. u.n. security council has endorsed this investigation and we will hold all its members including russia to their word. in order to facilitate that investigation. investigation. russia, pro-russian separatist, and ukraine must adhere to an immediate seize fire, evidence

can't be tampered with, and the task of returning those to their loved ones is needed. we standby to help. we offered the national transportation safety board and the fbi and personal from those groups are on the way. in the coming hours and days, i will continue to be in close contact with leaders from around the world as we respond to the issue. our immediate focus is on recovering whose who were lost, investigating what happened, and putting together the facts. there will be misinformation as well. i think it is important for folks to sift through what is factual based and what is speculation. no one can deny the truth that

is revealed in the often images we are seen. and the eyes of the world are on eastern crane and we will make sure the truth is out. more broadly, i can it is important for us to recognize that this outrageous event underscores that it is time for peace and security to be restored in ukraine. for months we are supported the pathway to peace and the ukrainian government has reached out, put out a peace plan and lived up to a peace fire despite the separatist. moreover time and time again russia refuses to they can the st steps to de-escalate the

situation. putin said he is not happy with the sanctions and i told him he want russia to take the path that results in peace in ukraine but they have failed to take that attack and continue to violate the ukrainian sovereignty and support separatist and failed to use its influence to abide by a seize fire for the separatist. now is a somber and appropriate time for all of us to step back and take a look at what happened. violence and conflict lead to unforeseen consequences. russia, the separatist and ukraine all have a capacity to put an end to the fighting. we will continue to lead efforts

to de-escalate the situation and support the people of ukraine as they work to stregthen their democracy and make their own decisions about moving forward. before i take a couple questions let me remark on another issue. i spoke with the prime minister of israel about the situation in gaza. we discussed israeli's military operation in gaza including the effort to stop the threat of terrorist infiltration through tunnels into israel. i rereaaffirmed my support for e israel and while i was having the conversation with the prime minister sirens went off. and i made it clear we are concerned about the further risk

of esculation. and we have said that our understanding is the current military ground operations are designed to deal with the tunnels and we are hopeful thal israel will continue to approach this process in a way that minimizes civilian deaths and all of us are working hard to return to the seize fire that was reached in november of 2012. secretary kerry is working to support egyptian's policy with that. let me close with one comment. on board