a deadly swoop on this it-- on the sit-ins. clear pro-oved to morsi encampments in cairo. the muslim brotherhood claims scores of people have lost their lives. -- 26 long-table term palestinian detainees have been released from israeli prisons as middle east peace talks resume today in jerusalem. and a submarine tragedy. i posta defense minister has confirmed there are fatalities defense- india's minister has confirmed there are

fatalities. turned story -- it has into a day of reckoning in cairo with the egyptian military moving decisively against the islamist muslim brotherhood supporters of mohamed morsi. the country's army mobilized early on wednesday to clear encampments, which have been growing in size since the former president was deposed one month ago. the country's health ministry says three members of the security forces were killed, along with nine protesters. the muslim brotherhood claims more than 500 protesters have died. the unrest has now spread outside of the capital. morsi supporters are reported to have torched three churches in central egypt, a coptic church burned down and two other churches were attacked. --e now from >> standing their ground against , supporters of

ousted president mohamed morsi were defined in the face of armored vehicles and bulldozers amid a violent crackdown in which protesters say hundreds of people have been killed. many others sustained serious bullet wounds. that figure is set to rise. dawn tooved in at clear the sit-ins that had been going on for more than a month now. authorities used tear gas to disperse the crowd at first, but soon after, state media reported gunfire heard at both sites. on wednesday, many of the tenants have been cleared. haveny of the tents been cleared. for testers are: the events of recent days a massacre -- protesters are calling the events of recent days a massacre. stopare trying to

protesters from regrouping elsewhere. >> let's speak to our correspondent in cairo. what is thesit-in, latest on the military operation there? >> eyewitnesses are reporting there is still a lot of tear gas being fired at them in the streets surrounding the sitting -- sit-in. there are barrages of gunfire. a lot of it is coming from rooftops. they believe it is snipers. whether that is the police is still unclear. we can see from the live footage that there are still thousands of morsi supporters inside that said in -- that sit-in. they have been telling me they are going to stay there. what they are doing to try and defend himself is pull up hating stones -- defend themselves is pull up paving stones.

they deny claims that they have -- that they have weapons and that this could be a gun battle. peoplehearing that 13 have died. five of those are police officers. -- injury.entered we have had a statement from the muslim brotherhood. they are claiming that 2200 people have been killed and two of the market invents. we are waiting for official figures -- and two of them are infants. we are waiting for official figures. have been shot in the chest or the head, even though the interior of the ministry is denying they used lime -- live ammunition. we are seeing clashes at the sixth of october bridge leading into the area. this as protesters tried to join the sit in -- sit-in.

there are ongoing clashes there as in the capital, as well an area that is more central. because a lot of morsi supporters have moved over to that site and they are trying to set up a new sit-in there. the security forces are trying to get them to leave. we are hearing from eyewitnesses that there is a lot of gunfire and tear gas being fired at that site. >> you have had some official word from the government, a statement, too, from the count ry's islam -- >> we had a statement from the government that was broadcast on television within the past half hour. the government have praised military -- the ministry of the interior's dispersal of the sit- ins.

they said they used professionalism and the utmost restraint. they have warned against any escalation in violence. they said any attack on state institutions would be met with force. islamist seat of also gave a statement. the first thing he said was that they were not told that the sit- ins or to be disbursed. he warned against lead shed -- that the sit-ins were noto be dispersed. he warned against bloodshed. they were thinking that they thet take part in this if constitutional legitimacy was restored. that was their caveat. that is looking increasingly unlikely that any kind of national reconciliation dialogue will take place at all.

stapley, our correspondent keeping us up-to- date with events as they unfold in cairo. >> let's go to our international events correspondent -- editor. also a pro-democracy and women's rights activist. you have been scanning for international reaction to the situation. littlee is surprisingly reaction for the moment. france has not reacted, but germany has. they have called this a very and calledituation for a return to a political process that includes all political forces. the european union earlier said that it was extremely worried about the reported death toll. i think that, at this point, given what we have seen throughout the morning and what we continue to see, the

situation is deteriorating very rapidly. with the attacks on the churches, for example. it just does not seem possible that any kind of political dialogue is possible at this point, at least not for a rather long period of time. egypt, this morning, most unfortunately seems to be descending into chaos. muslim brotherhood are claiming that the death toll has toped dramatically from 500 over 2000 people. where is the country going? where is egypt going? is there sympathy from the ordinary egyptian for the muslim brotherhood? >> i would like to speak about the number. weis very serious to say have this amount of dead people. one dead person is one dead person. one egyptian people is one egyptian people. this is not something i am going to speak about.

i regret all of it. fact thatt like the the muslim brotherhood uses this -- uses huge numbers, trying to picture themselves as victims when they have been very violent clearlylast few days, intimating violence, saying that their life was not a problem, that the life of their kids was not a problem. couldn't the government have gone about this in a separate way? >> the government has been saying that they are going to do something for more than 40 days now. who say beople calm are the egyptian youth, the activists. >> the government decides how

they are going to go about it. they indicated they would go about this softly, surrounding these areas and asking people to leave, not letting people come in. why attack this morning like this? >> i respect your point of view. >> it is not a point of view. it is a question. wewhat i find surprising is are speaking about the muslim brotherhood as if they were protesters. there are arms in their camps. there are torture cells and their camps today are not peaceful people. i would have preferred to use water. never use violence against an egyptian. sympathy.is no i'm sorry to say this here this is something i hate to say, but they are dealing with an --

dealing with the situation in a way that -- everybody is trying to hold humanitarian speech. anyo you think there is chance of any sort of dialogue or reconsideration at this point? chances of dialogue if they come back to reality. if they stop asking for a safe exit for their leaders, if they stopped asking for things which are not possible. morsi is not coming back. they have to admit that. they have to -- >> ok. this takes us back to a long deb ate. when you have been elected, you have been elected to conditions. he came tosi, when power, the first thing he did was to say this is my monday.

that is not enough for me. put this away. i will take all the power i want. >> where do you think that morsi 's government went wrong? what was the major mistake that they made in the constitution? >> the constitution. taking all of the power, the alle powers, and ignoring committee, which was first made with representation of every fringe of the egyptian population, who are saying we want this, we need that, and , and presentedem a constitution by, for the muslim brotherhood only. internationalthe community? what role do you see for the international community now? do you think the united states might cut off aid to the

egyptian army? >> i wish that the united states would cut aid. when the international community to judges and tries what is happening, when they have no idea how the egyptians -- what are our dreams and plans lessons,me to give us this is not something we can bear any more. i would like very much if they would cut their aid. they have gone through a period of growing up. we know this aid is just a way to submit our sovereignty in our country. this is not always want anymore. >> it is a contradiction. on the one hand, you are anti- morsi. that is very clear. on the other hand, you say that aid should be cut to the egyptian military. >> the egyptian military has a

lot of money. i'm not sure they need the american aid. i think it is america who needs to be there through the egyptian military. we are going to say it out loud starting from now. >> thank you very much for coming into the studio with your views. am for the revolution. >> thank you very much. we are going to move on. we will keep you updated on events in egypt. 26 long-term palestinian detainees have been released from prison in israel. there were a total of 104 who are set to be released. the prisoner releases are part of an agreement brokered by the u.s. secretary of state, john kerry, to get both sides back to the table. has the details.

>> fireworks and drums and flags filled the streets as they welcomed back prisoners released from israeli jails. crowds swarmed the men and embraced their loved ones. >> i cannot describe my feelings in words right now, but of course i'm happy. we waited for this day for so long. in 11 other prisoners were released to their west bank, where they were personally greeted by palestinian president mahmoud abbas. >> we tell the released thatners and we tell you the rest of the prisoners will come out. you are just the beginning and the rest will come. >> any of the palestinians had been jailed for close to two decades -- many of the palestinians had been jailed for

close to two decades. for some of the families in -- for victims' families in israel, the move is unconscionable. >> it is a victory for people achieving by violence. >> other families were willing to accept the prisoner release, however painful, for the sake of negotiations. who'm afraid the people will be hurt very much are people like me who lost their children, but we have to pay the price for peace. were released on tuesday. in total, 104 will be going home in nine months. defense minister has confirmed fatalities among the crew of a diesel powered submarine exploded at a dock in mumbai. 18 sailors were on board.

russian company that had refitted the submarine said that it was fit when it was returned earlier this year. partswitnesses said metal fired before sinking halfway into the water. >> we were just a good -- we were just about to go to work. suddenly, there was a rocket like sound, then there was a blast. >> we were on duty at the bombay municipal corporation when, suddenly, there was a loud noise. he panicked and came out. we looked up to the sky to see that it was red. >> some safeties were able to jump to safety. rescue teams said others were -- some sailors were able to jump to safety. rescue teams said others were trapped. powered by diesel and

--ctricity, or it was electricity, it was upgraded in russia just last year. announced that the reactor on its first home built nuclear submarine was now operational. >> before we go, a reminder of our top story on "france 24," it is a day of reckoning in egypt clashtesters and military . these are the latest pictures as the army moves to clear protest camps occupied by supporters of the deposed president mohamed morsi. official figures put the death toll at nine protesters died -- who have died. more on this in our next edition. stay with us on "france 24." , hello and welcome to the week in the middle east. here is what we have lined up for you. a series of prison break as and the global security alert.

discussions about a possible resurgence of al qaeda. we look at the evidence. we head to another frontline in syria where a hospital in the capital is struggling to treat the winded -- wounded soldiers of bashar al-assad. doubt over the country possible to the 2022 world cup, hosting-- the country's of the 2022 world cup, fearing hot temperatures. the obama administration temporarily closed nearly two dozen diplomatic missions and issued a travel alert earlier this month. american officials say they intercepted communications in which the current head of al qaeda ordered the group's leader in yemen to carry out an attack. the global security alert has renewed speculation that serious plots are a follow -- are afoot against western interests. >> in a sweeping response to

fears over possible al qaeda attack, 19 u.s. missions have closed as a possible -- as a precaution. metns of al qaeda leaders in an event that heightened fear and awareness of terrorist threats. >> the closures reflect the intelligence community's assessment of al qaeda's potential to strike a large swath of territory. >> it is really a window for al qaeda to demonstrate its relevance to the world. >> according to experts, correspondence between al qaeda -- ali'm in a theory qaeda chief ayman al-zawahiri and others is what prompted the latest alert. it was one of bin laden's closest associates, recently

promoted to the position of general manager. >> he was with the group in 1990's.stan in the late- he is well integrated in the group. he communications between and zoller here he -- he and z awahiri were discussing a large attack that was going to take place in yemen. there is a reminder of the ongoing al qaeda threat. it is one we should continue to sake -- take seriously. alover the last few years, qaeda in the arabian peninsula now poses a greater threat. their leades follow through three highly coordinated prison breaks in iraq, libya, and pakistan. he promised that more of the group's imprisoned members would soon be freed.

.> the war in syria rages on we bring you to a different type of frontline in the country, it hospital struggling to treat the wounded soldiers -- in the country, a hospital struggling to treat the wounded soldiers of bashar al-assad. at first glance, this hospital looks like any other. but here in central damascus, beneficiaries are mainly troops. the wounded are soldiers from the regular armed forces who have been fighting against the syrian rebels. this is the head nurse of the hospital. , there are tales of horror which show the true cost of war. >>, on. you will be all right -- >> come on. you will be all right. >> he is labeled a traitor by the rebels.

the hospital has become his hiding place. despite the risk, he agreed to talk to us. >> at me the prescription. -- get me the prescription. what are you doing? go back to your room. i cannot believe this. >> the situation can sometimes quickly become overwhelming. his mission is to help heal their physical and psychological wounds. >> hello. how are you? rebelsas abducted by the around damascus. he is doing much better now. kidnapped, this man took a bullet to the leg. he says the rebels trapped him at a security checkpoint. this is not a regular war. there is no confrontation. the rebels trapped us and take us by surprise. we are not facing each other.

>> he says he was held captive and tortured for two month by radical islamists. >> i was inflicted with cigarette burns. they scarred me with a knife. they hit my back and feet with an electric cable. the worst part was when they were showing as videos of other soldiers being executed. they used to measure us and have us dig our own graves. >> like many others, he was released in a prisoner swap. dozens of civilians are also being treated at this hospital. this 19-year-old student is one of the victims injured by the israeli airstrike last may. >> i was going to bed when i heard a big blast. didn't understand what was going on.

then i realized my arm was not attached to my shoulder anymore. i lost consciousness. more than a job, he considers this a calling. behind his smile, he hides another world of pain. he has not seen his family in more than two years. >> there was initially a euphoric mood after qatar was named host of the 2022 world cup , but since then, some teams have been taking the temperature . england's football association says the heat of the persian gulf, up to 50 degrees celsius in the summer, would be too much for its players and fans. the qataris insist they are going to deliver the biggest event, whether in summer or winter. >> construction for the world cup might be getting on apace but there are serious doubts as to whether qatar can really host the tournament in the summer of 2022. that is so hot in qatar at

time of year that it will be very difficult to play football. important, it is very difficult for fans. i think we have to fear for fans that are out in that heat at that time of year. >> with these concerns, alternatives are now on the table and up for discussion. >> it's going to take a lot of planning if you are going to change the location or the date. i think that will take a long time. but at least we should do it while there is still time to plan. theany warned that moving tournament to another location won't be straightforward from a legal point of view and that these suggestions are just wishful thinking on the part of the countries which were not picked for 2022's host nation. datests believe moving the

is a more likely outcome.

>> jock brandis, a movie gaffer and radio engineer in wilmington, north carolina, climbs a transmission tower for routine maintenance. this is just a day job, but his thoughts are an ocean away. he first went to africa with oxfam during the horrific nigerian civil war. >> we left under a hail of gunfire, basically, and by the time we were gone, a million people were dead and there was nothing to show for it. and it kind of scared me away from doing something with that big a possibility of major failure. >> haunted by those memories, jock did not return to africa until july 2000. this time, he went to fix a solar-powered