♪ ♪ anchor: you are watching al jazeera" in doha. the united nations mission calls for the release of detainees after a cabinet reshuffle. the prime minister resigned after being taken into an army. nicholas is following cases from daca. >> we are hearing the prime minister has resigned from his position. if that is the case, the government that was announced hours ago that was supposed to

appease the situation in mali, there will be a new government that will be announced. clearly, very volatile situation in mali. caught in this tussle of power between the military junta, and civilians part of this. anchor: the e.u. has agreed to sanction belarus, including airplanes. it is in response to actions by belarus which saw a passenger plane diverted to minsk and an opposition leader on board detained. president biden spoke to his egyptian counterpart to discuss strengthening the cease-fire efforts. they want to revive the peace process following criticism over its support for israel. the head of the u.n. has told a meeting of global health ministers the world is at war against covid-19. antonio guterres addressed

health ministers over the world as they took part in a virtual world health assembly. the eight-day event will discuss missteps in response to the pandemic and how to ensure greater access to health care. ousted myanmar leader aung san suu kyi appeared in court for the first time since february. her lawyers were able to meet for 30 minutes and said she appeared healthy. she is accused of violating state secrets and other offenses. the first man affected of war crimes in the darfur conflict has appeared before the international court. he is charged with 31 counts of crimes against humanity -- humanity including rape. you can follow those stories on aljazeera.com. next, it is people in power. do stay with us. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ anchor: back in 2014 people in power investigated how the israeli arms industry had become a world leader in military drone technology, developing surveillance and weapons systems used against palestinians in gaza. having demonstrated the operational success, israel racked up billions in exports to other countries. in the seven years since, israeli drone technology has become more sophisticated and deadly. now these systems are once more being used to target and kill palestinians. what has not changed are the

ethical questions around how these weapons are deployed, which is why we are showing this epode again. it contains distressing imagery. ♪ ♪ >> in the last five years, israel has become the world's biggest exporter of these vehicles with growing sales around the world. israeli drones are used by six nato armies in afghanistan. the u.k. alone spent more than $1.25 billion. these were made by an israeli company. france spent over half $1 billion on this from iae.

>> israel was the first country to start seriously experimenting with drones. in lebanon in 1982 we had several operational ones. the americans were still in the early stages. so we got a head start. >> israeli aeronautic industries was the first company to introduce drones, back in the 1970's. it is benefiting from an explosion in global demand. >> [speaking non-english language]

>> [speaking non-english language] >> three major israeli companies and several smaller ones are selling drones to other countries. their foreign customers train at israeli bases. >> we are training a lot of groups from europe and canada, australia, and from the east.

most of our customers are not sharing any operational information. we don't want to know what they are doing with it. >> currently, we are engaged in the isis operation in afghanistan, and the german air force is operating in the northern part of afghanistan. this is a really capable system and a proven system. right now, it gives us the basic capabilities we need. >> the biggest customers of israel's drones are european countries fighting in afghanistan, accounting for more than half the sales. brazil and india also brought these four $300 million and $500 million, respectively. it is battle hardened technology with a proven track record, used by israeli air forces in territories.

>> [speaking non-english language] >> [speaking non-english language] ♪ >> [speaking non-english language]

>> [speaking non-english language] >> israel's use of drones took off after the second intifada took off in 2000. it played a key role in the military assassination program. >> [speaking non-english language]

>> [speaking non-english language] >> if you confront the terrorist while he is executing his mission, it is too late. the idea is to prevent the terrorist operation from starting. these things cannot be covered by jet airplanes or helicopters. this is what pushed us to find a way to detect such a target in such a condensed area. the other thing is the small targets and moving targets.

we had to follow and catch not only mobile but very flexible and moving targets all the time. >> [speaking non-english language]

>> [speaking non-english language] >> [speaking non-english language] >> for the last decade, the hermes 450 logged thousands of hours in successful combat missions around the globe. >> as military operations have been used by the arms industry

to showcase product and attract customers. >> [speaking non-english language] ♪ >> over the last decade, there has been increasing evidence to show israel does not only use uav's first serve land -- for surveillance, but also as

offensive weapons, using drones to launch missiles at human targets. yet, israeli officials continue to deny this. they will not confirmed that the country's armed forces have any attack drones at all. [no audio] >> [speaking non-english language] >> [speaking non-english language] >> [speaking non-english language]

>> in a 2009 cable exposing wikileaks, an israeli army official was recorded admitting the use of attack drones in an operation. he told the u.s. ambassador in tel aviv that the uav had shot two hamas fighters. >> the israeli drones program is completely classified. the israeli government refuses to this day to even acknowledge the program. as far as i know, there is not a single image of an armed israeli drone in the public domain. i think that is remarkable that they have been able to keep that

out of the public eye for so many years. what we do know about it, there are two unmanned aircraft israel uses for weapons. one is the heron. the other is the hermes. my understanding is that both have been weaponized in drone strikes dating back to 2004, probably. how many drone strikes have taken place since then? dozens, hundreds? there is not any consistent data out the. we have many media monitoring organizations watching the cia's every move in pakistan, somalia. no one is doing the same for israel in gaza and elsewhere. ♪ >> israel has not only exported its drone technology, it has also shown the world how to use it, to deadly effect. in 2004, the cia began its own

assassination program in afghanistan using predator drone's. their operations mirrored those of israel and gaza. >> it was copied almost 100% from the israelis. they did it using the same technology, but the specification was a little different. >> israel had begun its own targeted killing program in november 2000, just a couple months after the second intifada . a sustained killing program. the united states, britain, and other allies of israel routinely condemned israel for those targeted killings. after 9/11 the u.s. changed its position and began its targeted killing program. once it began that policy change, the obvious people to talk to would have been the israelis. >> from 2004 to present day, the

united states launched more than 380 drone strikes in palestine in which more than 2400 people were killed, at least 400 of them, civilians. ever since the u.s. and its allies began using drones in this way, official criticism from europe about the israeli assassination program have been muted. around the world public protests against drone strikes have grown, as has the anger over the procurement of the technology, known to cause civilian casualties. in the u.k., which has spent more than $1 billion on buying the hermes, these voices have been growing louder. >> i think britain has, on many occasions, quite rightly condemned the settlement policy and quite rightly, the bombardment of gaza. at the same time, there is

business with israel, purchasing weaponry, even though britain theoretically is opposed to a lot of israeli policies of gaza. nevertheless, there is a great deal of technical cooperation between the u.s. and israel and britain and israel. there is a huge market for drones and drone technology. some drones are made in britain. gaza is being used as an appetizing opportunity for those that make a lot of money off of drones. >> there is no inconsistency between the british government rightly expressing concerns about some aspects of israeli internal and foreign policy, yet at the same time, deciding to procure military equipment for the u.k.'s own strategic and national security purpose. >> i do sense uneasiness about the fact it is the same drone.

some of these drones are criticized by the u.k. >> i do not sense uneasiness. we are procuring these. they are advanced pieces of kit. their technology is good. they keep armed forces safe on the ground. they give us a technological and military advantage. the fact they are made by israel is a matter for israel. >> there is strong evidence to suggest over the past five years israeli use of attack drones has continued to escalate, particularly doing the -- during the 2009 gaza war. and the 2012 pillar of defense. the ngo human rights watch

observed six drone strikes and found that they lead to the deaths of 29 civilians, eight of them children. after operation pillar of defense, six drone strikes killed six civilians. with israeli officials refusing to discuss the use of uav's in these attacks, evidence has been found on the ground. a former british artillery officer and weapons expert examined dozens of drone impact sites in gaza. >> i went into gaza with an ngo during both, one on pillars of defense. we were conducting our first investigations i what we thought were the most important reported incidents. i can usually go into an area and analyze a scene and determine reasonably accurately what has happened to their.

what weapon system has been deployed, what munition has been used on that target. the first thing, normally a small crater, but it was very big. there was a significant. connecticut force behind this missile the area affect did -- affected by the explosion. when it does have a fragmentation sleeve, this is in the form of hundreds, possibly thousands, of steel cubes. they are employed to enhance the destructive fect of th missile. it does produce a catastrophic effect on the human body. it is an incredibly accurate missile and can be used to

reduce any form of collateral damage, but my issue is, why is this missile used so frequently against noncombatants? >> israeli authorities refused to allow chris to enter gaza, but we managed to guess -- get access to this site. there was a drone missile from 2012. the weapon exploded in an olive grove, killing its owner and his granddaughter, a 14-year-old. to this day it is not clear why this site was targeted. >> [speaking non-english language]

>> [speaking non-english language]

>> [speaking non-english language] >> [speaking non-english language] >> it was definitely caused by the steel kits from one of the sleeves of this. i have seen it on scores of occasions. i would guess that his blood and body parts from the individuals who were victim of this strike. there are far too many incidents of use of this missile which are clearly on civilians and noncombatantss, women and

children, groups of women walking down the road, a child playing football, a boy riding a bicycle down the road. it struck the bicycle itself, incredible accuracy. this was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a legitimate target. it needs to be addressed why these civilians are being targeted. is it a mistake? is it a problem with intelligence gathering? is it a problem with the optics? or is there something more sinister behind this? there is great concern of the moral use of some of this technology. >> by 2005, 40 countries were using drones in some capacity. to date, that number has risen to 75. many will have attack capability in the near future. wars have been waged from afar and are being exported to other

parts of the world, changing the nature of armed conflict and raising moral and legal questions. it is something that deeply troubles one of israel's most outspoken military historians. >> war by definition is a situation in which the killing is mutual. where the killing is not mutual, you cannot have war. you have massacre, you have auschwitz. that is the definition of auschwitz, where people cannot resist, where only one side kills, whereas the other allows itself or is forced to let itself be killed. there are serious moral problems here. >> it is not enough to kill people in gaza with drones, you have to kill yourself to call yourself a warrior? >> yes, exactly. otherwise, you are a butcher.

that is exactly the difference between a soldier and a butcher, ok? a soldier puts his own life at risk. a butcher does not. >> at least 230 palestinians, including 65 children, have been killed in gaza since the latest violent fair -- flares. the majority were israeli air attacks. over 1500 palestinians have been wounded. homes and political infrastructure have been destroyed. 12 people in israel have died, including children, from rocket attacks launched within gaza. more than 300 israelis have been wounded. amid growing international concern, a cease-fire has now been agreed. ♪

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♪♪♪ andrew cuomo: the president said this is a war. i agree with that, this is a war. then let's act that way and let's act that way now. karishma vyas: as new york rose from the ashes of 9/11, first responders became america's heroes. now they're under attack again, this time from a hidden enemy. male: yo, mike, close the truck, close the truck. karishma: new york is a key battleground in the global war on covid-19. megan pfeiffer: there's been a lot of deceased people, a lotta people just waiting to die. karishma: over two weeks, we'll take you to the frontlines.