nicole johnson reporting from gaza port. >>> let's take a look at the toll the conflict has taken onhe palestinians and the israelis. 1110 palestinians, civilians, have been killed - mostly civilians, rather - since three weeks ago. 6,550 injured. 53 israeli soldiers, and a thai national have been killed. 180,000 palestinians have been displaced. the army will continue to fight hamas. >> translation: we must be prepared for a prolonged military operation in gaza. we will continue to act strongly and with responsibility until we complete our mission. we know there are hard days ahead of us. this is a hard and painful day. we have to have patience and be determined to continue the struggle against a murderous terrorist organization that conspires to join us. >> james, the prime minister on monday, speaking - it sounded like to a domestic audience. what message is he sending, not only to ham ash, but to president obama. when president obama and the u.n. are calling for a ceasefire. binyamin netanyahu says that will not happen. >> yes, he's ignoring that call. you are right, all his focu

nicole johnson in gaza there. well, the leader of hamas says his movement will not agree to a ceasefire unless israel agrees to end its siege on gaza. >> reporter: khaled meshaal gave a slightly different safety to the way ceasefire is going. we heard from john kerry saying there'd been progress in the ceasefire talks, suggestions that some sort of two stage deal was coming together. khaled meshaal made it clear when i asked him that there was no breakthrough. >> translation: many efforts are being exerted. i cannot claim there's a breakthrough. men insist we should ceasefire then negotiate. u.s. officials are surprised that they are willing to offer assurances that following the ceasefire, we have experiences in the past and this is not credible. >> a lot hinges are on the guarantees for the lifting of the siege. there are six conditions, the most important, which was emphasised again and again and again was the lifting of the siege. he didn't want to see the to lifting of the siege as some sort of stage of talks

nicole johnson is there. first day of eid, it does seem to be a little quieter in gaza at the moment. >> yes, that's right. for the last 10 hours we have not had reports of tank shelling from the eastern side of gaza. nor have we had reports of rockets being fired from gaza for about 10 hours. it's been a quiet night in gaza compared to what we had in the last couple of weeks. right now i'm outside a united nations school. and we'll show you the scene around us. you can see here that people have put up blankets to give themselves privacy. some 3,000 people living in the school. they should be at home and celebrating the religious holiday period of eid, but most of the people here are from the area of shajaiya in gaza. they say that their homes have been destroyed or they are so damaged that they can't go back, and they are too unsafe. it's difficult conditions for people living here. the tension is high. families are in close quarters. more than 30 people are staying in each classroom and they don't have enou

first to nicole johnson in gaza. tell us what has been happening since the ceasefire ended. >> reporter: surely the number of palestinians killed in gaza increased. it's three in the khan younis, and two in musa rat, killed in the last few hours since israel decided to no longer continue with the ceasefire. there's tang shelling on the -- tank shelling on the eastern side of the gaza strip , like in shajaiya. and east of khan younis. shelling on the west, off the live position here. israeli naval ships are positioned off the coast, pounding the beaches of gaza. air strikes happened in a number of locations. we heard of one in the middle of gaza city. this houses the alaxa television station, affiliated with hamas. most people had evacuated from the building. it's a popular one for his rail to hit during operation. it's been hit before, it was hit in 2012, and now hit again today. >> and that's a stark contrast to a few short hours ago when gazans were taking the opportunity. a valuable opportunity to go out to stock

. >> let's go to our correspondent in gaza, nicole johnson. she is standing by for us, and early morning in gaza, nicole already reports of attacks on more civilian targets. that's right, there has been shelling across different parts of gaza strip. it continued in the neighbourhood. it seems there's combat, ground operations going on there between the israeli army and fighters from groups like the al-kassam brigade. it could be the israeli army is trying to flatten the area, saying its mission is not over. it want to get to the tunnels. people from the neighbourhoods say their homes and districts have been destroyed and they are seeking shelter. we had reports from heavy tank shelling east of han unies, walls? the southern part of the the gaza strip. in han younis it's been confirmed by the gaza ministry of health that a family home was hit. 17 were killed, including women and children. and in rafa a 4-storey building was hit. the ambulance is on the scene, pulling people and bodies out. the death toll is nine, including four children and an 8

. >>> nicole johnson joins me from gaza. tell us more about what has happened in gaza today. we have, as you probably heard, talked to the doctor from the alaxa hospital. that's the major incident that the world is focussing on at the moment. what is happening? >> there has been heavy shelling along the eastern floonk of the gaza strip. there has been shelling that pretty much hasn't let up, from the north to the neighbourhood that we heard about. it's been heavily shelled all the way down to that whole area. it is being hit hard. from what we see in the position in the hospital, they are coming under heavy attack from the shelling. there are reports, ground combat operations going on between fighters, from groups like the al-kassam brigade and jihad. it appears as though the israeli tank shelling is going deeper inside gaza. where it was on the eastern flank of shajaiya neighbourhood, it's moving to the central part and in some cases further. because the shaja ear is a huge area. it's a huge neighbourhood. while the eastern part, home have fled, those closer to gaza city, th

nicole johnson joins us from there. what indications have you seen of gazans slowly returning to what they see as a normal life in gaza? >> that depends on where you happen to be. if you are in the main part of gaza city, in a couple of hour's time, you'll see it packed with people going to the banks, trying to get their salaries, going to the market to my food -- buy food, particularly in the lead up to the festival eid. in that sense there's normality, but there's never normal in gaza, it's a place understand siege, that has electricity for a few hours a day, that at the best of times has electricity for eight hours on, and eight hours off. there's not a lot of normal here. >> as far as the u.n. offer for the ceasefire to be extended, how hopeful are people there that the lull in the fighting will continue? >> they are not very hopeful. they don't believe in ceasefires or have faith in the united nations or the international community. and in many release, like hamas, they don't consider a ceasefire to be a proper cea

. >> well, nicole johnson joins us from gaza. first of all, just on the subject of that u.n. school that was shelled, we really haven't had a clear idea of who or what attacked it. do you have any more details? >> that's right. there has been mixed reports on that. initially there was some lines coming out from israel, from the israeli military saying that it could have been a rocket fired from gaza that fell short. the people that we spoke to from the school said they didn't believe that was the case. they believed it was hit by tank shelling. other lines came out from the israeli military saying that there was activity going on, there could have been fighting in the area. different attempts have been made to justify whatever happened at the school. we don't have a clear picture and until the fighting is over, the conflict is over, we won't know what took place. >> tell us about the fighting overnight. we have seen more air strikes from israel and rockets fired from gaza. >> yes, a lot has gone on in the past two hours. 10 houses have been hit by israeli air strikes from the

nicole johnson's updating us with the latest. as soon as she gets more she'll be here with us with the latest. >>> we'll hear from gaza itself, from the hamas interior ministry in gaza. one the last couple of hours a statement has been published asked egypt to do nor to help. >> translation: we demand egyptian authorities open the rafa crossing, without delay, to meet the basic necessities of our people under the israeli aggression, and refrain from using it as a playing card to pressure our people. we urge the people of egypt to support the palestinian people during the israeli war. our fellow brothers, sisters and daughters are being killed. >>> okay. we can look at what we think is an outline for hamas demands, which could constitute a truce with israel. let's have a look. it says there must be an immediate ceasefire on both sides, israel must commit to completely lifting the land and sea blockade of gaza. a rehabilitation plan must be put into place to rebuild gaza. an end to operation brothers keeper, originally launched to

. >> well, nicole johnson is in gaza for us. bring us up to date with what has been happening in the past couple of hours. >> we've had two people killed from an israeli air strike in a refugee camp, in the central part of gaza. another died east of khan youni [s] from an israeli attack. we are not sure whether it was artillery ortank fire. we hear the f-16s flying above. the activity has picked up. there's tent shelling going on in the eastern flank of the gaza strip , hit hard obvious the last week, back in shajaiya and other areas. there is israeli naval ships - they are shelling the coastline. we can occasionally hear the pounding boom of that as well. so certainly a change in the mood inside gaza. people had hoped that there would be an extension of the ceasefire, but from the hamas perspective there was never an extension. earlier this morning we were outside a bank. a lot of people were lining up, trying to get money from the atm machine, trying to take advantage of what they hoped would be a longer window of peace to get

. >>> our own nicole johnson experiencing the conflict first hand. we get her perspective. >>> the biggest ebola outbreak is growing, more than 700 dead. a travel warnings to the region. >>> information about an american carrying out a suicide attack in syria, and a surprise that he returned home before the attack. >>> israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu said today his country is determined to destroy all of hamas's tunnels. >> translation: as of now we have neutralized dozens of terrorist tunnels and are determined to complete the mission, with or without a ceasefire, therefore i do not agree with a proposal allowing the israeli defense force to complete the work. >> israel says it uncovered 32 tunnels. the israeli army said it destroyed about half of the tunnels, but suspect there could be 60 in felt. this map shows a location of a few of those tunnels, some of which are more than a mile long. the newspaper put together there diagram, the average tunnel between 33 and 66 feet below ground. it was 5.5 feet tall and 6 feet wide. there are repor

nicole johnson updating us on the situation in gaza, as that hamas-declared ceasefire comes nooelent five minutes ago. as nicole said, israel not responding in kind. before israel resumed its bombardment of gaza on sunday, we heard from the israeli foreign ministry. >> we have in the past agreed to the egyptian ceasefire plan. we have applied it, and immediately hamas has breached it by firing many rockets into israel. we - as agreed, two humanitarian ceasefires. every time hamas reached them. >> diplomatic editor james bays life in west jerusalem. we wondered how israel would respond to the hamas led declaration of a ceasefire, which went into effect a few minutes ago. the immediate answer, what we heard from nicole is they are not responding to it. >> no formal statement by israel coming out either from the foreign ministry, the prime minister's office or the israeli military. i think you are getting the formal statement in terms of the event on the ground, and nicole is seeing it there for herself. the bombardment continuing beyond the top of the hour, and i think that probably is

nicole johnson, al jazeera, gaza. >>> secretary of state john kerry is back in the u.s. after he and other world leaders failed to negotiate a longer truce. it's unclear when talks on a ceasefire will reassume. james bays is in jerusalem with the latest on the diplomatic front. >> reporter: over the last week we have seen unprecedented diplomatic activity. it's rare to see shuttle diplomacy by the u.s. secretary of state and the u.n. secretary general, working the region, going to the capital, meetings, phone calls, a meeting in cairo and paris, and all we have to show for all of that now that ban ki-moon and john kerry returned to the united states was a 12-hour ceasefire that took place on saturday. no one has been able to agree a proper extension of the ceasefire. now, from afar, i think, ban ki-moon and john kerry will continue efforts of the there'll be other communications. robert sary, the u.n. special coordinator is speaking to both sides. i think the view at the moment is for now israel will continue its military option. all along they said they'd destroy the ro

nicole johnson joining us from gaza city. as always, be safe. >>> as the violence continues there are protests planned across the u.s. in fort lauderdale, florida, protesters are rallying in support of the palestinians. >> reporter: one of the things protesters chant are shame on you obama, kids are dying because of you. they are holding up signs of names and ages of some that have died. we spoke to people breaking their ramadan fast to find out what they feel and think about what is going on in gaza. the final moments as the last light of sun disappears, and muslims pray before breaking the ramadan faster moments of gratitude. the muslims here in florida are mindful the the palestinians in gaza are scared, hungry and may be mourning the loss of loved ones. do you feel a sense of helple helplessne helplessness? >> yes, i do. they are basically facing a force with which they have - they can't do anything. >> reporter: people spoke about solidarity and injustice. >> this is really not war. >> why isn't it? >> because war - they

al jazeera's nicole johnson has the story from gaza. >> scenes of celebration from the occupied west bank. as the hamas military ring announced -- wing announced it captured an israeli soldier. >> translator: the israeli army has been hesitant to reveal the actual number of their houses yet the magnitude of the operations by el kasam forced them oadmi to admit to their own losses. how can they are conceal the loss of 609 two 0 five -- 205. >> they company didn't say he was dead o or alive, they say ty are checking. >>> for a brief moment, this. . >> this is an honor to the palestinian nation and victory of the palestinian people. we are proud of the men of the resistance as well as occupied palestinians. >> reporter: if it's concerned had a hamas has either the body of an israeli soldier or has taken one alive it would be a big achievement for group. >> 2000 it exchanged corporal for a large number of israeli soldiers. if it's confirmed, gaza may be hilt even harder by the israeli army. and right now, no one here wants another night like the one in this town. nicole johnson, al jazee

nicole johnson in gaza. >>> the u.n. human rights council voted to launch an independent war crimes inquiry into israel's offensive in gaza, warning that there's a strong possibility that israel has committed war crimes. navi pillay condemned hamas for indiscrimate attacks on israel. >> james bay, our diplomatic editor - does it put pressure on israel to try to agree a ceasefire plan? >> it puts pressure on israel, but israel has been in this position before. israel has been under international pressure before. that, in the end is not what sways an israeli leader. what tends to sway an israeli leader, is one country in the international community, and the israeli public and political opinion. now, you are not hearing a great deal of strong condemnation. certainly israeli public opinion seems to back the ongoing operations in gaza. >> so where are we with a ceasefire plan. john kerry says that progress is being made. the hamas leader says no, we are not going to agree to anything without conditions in place. well, it seem

nicole johnson filed this report. >> reporter: it's been the heaviest night during the ground invasion of gaza. all night there has been the sound of israeli shelling. 3km from our position, hitting, according to the poem in those areas -- people in those areas, hilting house, the -- hitting houses, the streets, cars. some people evacuated themselves from the area over the last couple of days. further out there were many families still there. earlier in the night emergency crews and ambulances were not going. >> the districts, they decided it was too dangerous, too unsafe to get in and pull people out. now they have started moving into the outer areas to start looking for the injured and people who have been killed during the very difficult night of operations in gaza. >> nicole johnson. as the violence continues in gaza into israel there are protests planned across the u.s. this weekend. tonight in fort lauderdale, protesters rallied in support of the palestinians. we have this report. >> reporter: one of the things protesters are chanting "shame on you obama, kids are dying because o

live to nicole johnson, who is at the main hospital in the kahn younis area, where there was heavy fighting and battles last night. set the scene for us. what is happening around you? >> that's right. there was a heavy battle going on in the area east of here. it was a few kilometres from here. this is the hospital where the injured are turning up, as well as the bod yes. the fighting is in the eastern part of gaza. when you look at what has happened over the last four or five days, it started in the north, moved to the eastern flank and seems to be moving south. we are in the central part of gaza. we are hearing about an area called perform -- pozar. ambulances have not been able to get to it. they got to the outskirts, they pulled some bodies. there could be a lot of casualties in that particular area. for now the ambulances are not going deep inside there. just to explain what kind of area we are talking about, it's not a dense residential city area like shajaiya. this is agricultural farm land. there are tens of thousands of people living there, but it's not like shajaiya. having said t

first, let's go to nicole johnson. she's standing by in gaz a. that hamas announced ceasefire came in effect two hours ago. we have seen israeli air strikes. tell us what has happened in the past few moments? >> the situation in gaza changes hour by hour. as you said, hamas and palestinian faction ceasefires started 2 hours ago, 2:00 pm local time. the first one hour after that was heaviy, indeed. air strikes a few blocks away from our position, and in other parts of the gaza strip. five that we know of, including in a refugee camp and the central part of gaza. it was also shelling and artillery fire coming in from the west - from the oorn part of gaza, from the israeli border area, and from the west, from the mediterranean sea. israeli naval ships pounded the coast. it didn't look like there was a ceasefire happening from the israeli perspective. there's no confirmation from israel or statement from them about the proposal from hamas and the other factions. that's where we are. having said that, the last one hour in gaza has been relatively quie

. >> let's go live now to nicole johnson and get an update. is that intensity of bombardment continuing, nicole? >> it had been quiet for a couple of hours, but just as the day of ramadan broke and people started to eat their evening meal, the bombardment started again. we have heard heavy tense shelling again in shujayea. so, it is being attacked for a second night. at this stage, it's not as heavy, not as intention as the previous night. but that area is coming under attack. we have also heard reports of the bridge refugee camp about 15 kilometers from here. it's also being attacked and the sharf and tatara neighborhoods in the eastern part of the gaza strip. we have had leaflets dropped again today in a number of different areas including that bridge refugee camp that i mentioned with israel warning people to get out, saying that that will be the next area that they will be focusing on, telling people there to move to the central part of the gaza str strip, an area called dia abala. we will expect some people, those living on the far sort of

. >>> let's go live to nicole johnson in gaza for us. what can you tell us about events over the past few hours, nicole? >> reporter: the conflict is continuing on both sides. on the palestinian side we just had a rocket fired very close to where we are, actually. the brigade, the military wing of hamas has released statements saying it's firing rockets into a number of areas inside israel including tel aviv and other regions. now, on the israeli side, there's been air strikes across different parts of the gaza strip over the last few hours. we had two air strikes inside gaza city, two people have been killed. a couple of air strikes in the central part of the gaza strip . in those two air strikes, eight people were killed. we know that at least one of them hit a car. there's been quite a few cars hit all over gaza. we've seen them as we drive around. the death toll so far for thursday is over 20. some of them are people who have died from injuries they've sustained over the last few days, but really that death toll is not as high as it's

let's go straight live to gaza, where our correspondent, nicole johnson joins us from there. nicole, tell us about the situation on the ground with the fighting that's continuing, even as the diplomacy goes on behind its doors. >> that's right, and while some days are a little bit lighter or slightly quiet, that hasn't been the case today. we have had israel airstrikes all over the gaza strip. more than 30 houses have been hit. we had one hit in rufa and two killed there. the owner of the house was a senior member of the islamic, and a family's house was hit overnight and they received no warning at all. one woman was killed, she was pregnant. and so it has been a very difficult day in gaza. there's intense shelling going on all along the eastern flank of gaza. we saw it ourselves as we drove down the main road, the thorougho fair in north gaza. also, we can hear the intense shelling. they're pounding the empty land areas and beaches of gaza as well. and here's more in a report from my colleague. >> we rushed to the attack moments after it happened. terrified people lining the

it's a residential neighbourhood and nicole johnson wept into some of the targets. we are seeing thousands of people, residents streaming out. the tank shelling started last night and hasn't ended until 20-30 years ago. that's some 12 hours of shelling. what we have seen is thousands of people, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters. whole families. the people are terrified. what we saw is they had nowhere to go. a lot of people called this a prison. egypt cold the borders and the southern borders. israel warned the people. a lot said "where is there for us to go?" we are in downtown gaza city, only a mile away. they went to shifa hospital, over run by wounded, family and fighters. and there was a scope this morning of chaos and horror. we saw thousands and thousands of people, many, many people crying for what they saw - children crying. we were there all morning, and we saw a medic come in, killed by a tank shell. he was with a local video journalist, he too killed by a tank shell. more than 30 people have been killed this that neighbourhood this morning. >>> you

nicole johnson is in gaza and witnessed the shelling throughout the night. >> reporter: the eastern part of gaza was hit hard on saturday night. it was the heaviest tank shelling since israel started its ground operation. flares hit up the sky. tank shells slammed into people's homes. >> white, white. we can hear shells and rockets falling on the streets and homes. they are walling everywhere. we had no electricity, everything has been cut off. >> for a few hours ambulance vehicles couldn't reach some neighbourhoods. the attack was so intense, it wasn't safe to go there. trrgets the red cross can't rasp the area, it's too dangerous. people are stuck at home. some fled to u.n. schools in safer areas. we are stuck of the the streets are empty. all you hear is shelling. we are living in fear, terrified. there are 18 of us in one room. it's my whole family, we are stuck, and the kids are crying. >> after a while emergency crews started to reach the area, which had been heavily shelled. >> among the dead, two children, a woman and a son of a senior hamas leader. >> translation: there's random

nicole johnson has more. >> reporter: the main street in miranshah has seen better days much the army says the civilians left before the fighting. many will return to find their houses have been destroyed. the military says this is necessary to clear out the pakistani taliban from its hayen in north waziristan. >> engagements on the beginning of the operation, and then rockets having cleared about 80% of the area, where there is systems and where forces are clearing the areas. >> soldiers are still on the look out for fighters. more than 50,000 soldiers have been sent to the area. there are reports there could be up to 80,000. and their battle is with a smaller force, the pakistani taliban and other groups, with 60,000 fighters. they know the mountain ace terrain well and operated for years, launching attacks on forces with afghanistan and hitting military targets, airports and hotels. three weeks ago the military started an offense iagainst -- offensive against all the fighters, first here and against the rest of the country. >> there were snipers, terrorists on top. buildings who we

. >> that's nicole johnson there speaking nson there speaking to us. >> we have been accepted five cease-fires t ham heaths has rejected every single one of them, violated two of them including two humanitarian cease ceasefires we implemented in the last 24 hours. now, hamas is suggesting a cease-fire and believe it or not, they have violated their own cease-fire. they continue to fire at us. of course, we will take the necessary action to protect ourselves, to protect our people, including against the terror tunnels they are digging under our border and trying to reach and blow up our people. we will do whatever is necessary to defend ourselves. >> on saturday, we saw a flury of xlomatic effort in paris which amounted to really nothing much except for a short extension of the cease-fire. where does this now lead both international diplom attic efforts? >> well, we have seen unprecedented diplomatic efforts over the last week. we have seen the u.s. secretary of state, john kerry, come to region, ban ki moon, the u.n. secretary general come to the region. we have seen talks in cairo, a big meet

. >> nicole johnson is in gaza at a u.n. school where some of the displeased have been sheltering. >> we are inside a united nation the school, and most of the families came from the shajaiya neighbourhood. it should be a time of celebration, it's the religious holiday the eid. they'd be visited extended family, exchanging gifts, but instead they are living inside a u.n. school, 3,000 people, around 30 per room. they say there's not enough blankets water or food, and they are desperate for a ceasefire. it's not how they imagined they'd celebrate eid. people will be visiting other families, but it will be to pass on condolences for the more than 1,000 palestinians that have been killed. >> israel says it will continue excavating tunnel networks. a video released monday shows the destination of a tunnel leaving. israeli believe they have destroyed most of the done else leading out of the -- tunnels leading out of gaza. >>> the international agency of the red grass has been attacked in -- red cross has been attacked in gaza. th

here is nicole johnson's report on the events of the last few hours. >> reporter: the eastern part of gaza was hit hard on saturday night. it was the heaviest tent shelling since israel started his ground operation. flares lit up the sky near the border. tent shells slammed into people's homs. >> wait, wait. we can hear shells and rockets falling on the streets and homes in al-shaaf neighbourhood. they are falling everywhere. we have no electricity. >> for a few hours ambulance vehicles couldn't reach some of the neighbourhoods. >> the red cross can't reach the area, it's too dangerous. people are stuck at home. some magged to flee to schools in safer areas, we are stuck. the streets are empty. we are living in sheer. there's 18 of us in one room. it's my whole family, we are stuck, and the kids are crying. >> after a while some emergency crews reached the areas, so heavily shelled. two children among the dead, a woman and the son of a senior hamas leader. >> translation: there's random shelling and no communication with israeli forces. palestinian personnel - we are waiting for them

nicole johnson reports from gaza. >> reporter: scenes of celebration in the occupied west bank after hamas's military wing anouninged a captured an israeli soldier -- announced it captured an israeli soldier. >> translation: the israeli enemy is hesitant to reveal the number of their hoszs. the number -- losses. the number has forced them to admit though. what the enemy did not admit to is the loss of their own soldier. how can they conceal the disappearance of tag number 6092065. >> reporter: the group did not say what the soldier is dead or alive. >> we can't confirm the report, we are aware of it and looking into the detail. we'll confirm and deny over the course of the day once we have clarification. >> reporter: all day shifa hospital has dealt with hundreds of people injured and killed near shajaiya. for a brief moment, this. [ chanting ] >> translation: this is an honour to the palestinian nation and victory for the palestinian people. we are proud of the me of the resistance, and of the palestinians. >> it's to confirm that hamas has the body of an israeli soldier or has take

. >> live to gaza now, nicole johnson reporting there.e of the pictures i have seen looking pretty gruesome. >> that's right. and the death toll does seem to be increasing. it started at five and quickly rose to 17. the gaza min try of health saying that number will rise. deep inside the area, it is empty, they have fled from their homes, but people are still living on the edge of it, and that's where that market was underway. ambulance crews are in there trying to get to the dead and take out the injured, children, a busy market area, people perhaps trying to take advantage of what they thought might be a brief pause in fighting. but a whole long list of areas would not be part of any of this so f-called humanitarian pause. what we have had over the last two hours is a lot of deaths. we have had four people in the east, and four more people in another area. and three people killed from air strikes in the central part of gaza city. and as we were driving around, we would see black smoke pouring into the gaza sky, still very heavy shelling

this report from nicole johnson. scenes of celebration in the occupied west bank, after hamas's military wing announced it captured an israeli soldier. >> translation: the israeli enemy has been hesitant to reveal the losses. the magnitude of the loss has forced them to admit to their losses and damages. what the enemy did not admit to today is the loss of their own soldier. how can they conceal the disappearance of soldier tag 6092065. >> reporter: the group did not say whether the soldier is dead or alive. >> at this time we can't confirm the report. we are aware of it and looking into the details. we'll confirm or deny over the course of the day. >> all day gaza's hospital has been dealing with hundreds of people, injured and killed in the area of shajaiya. and then for a brief moment, this... >> translation: this is an honour for the palestinian nation, and vlentry for the palestinian people. we are proud of the men of the resistance, as well as of the palestinians. >> reporter: if it's confirmed that hamas has t

nicole johnson watched it unfold. here is her report. >> the eastern part of gaza was hit hard on saturday night. wait, wait. we can hear shells and rockets fall on the streets and homes. they are falling everywhere. we have no electricity, everybody has been cut off. for a few hours ambulance vehicles could not reach the neighbourhoods. the attack was so intense it was not safe to go there. >> the red cross can't reach the area, it's too dangerous. people are stuck at home. some managed to flee to schools in safer areas. we are stuck. the streets are empty. all you hear is shelling. we are living in fear, terrified. there are 18 of us in one room. it's my whole family. we are stuck k and the kids are crying. >> reporter: after a while emergency crews started to reach the area which had been heavily killed. amongst the wounded two women and a child. >> translation: there's random shelling and no communication with israeli forces. >> it was a long and difficult night in gaza. each in daylight, the tense shelling is goi

we have reporters in key locations and starting with nicole johnson in gaza city, who sent this report. >> reporter: lighting the way for israeli soldiers to move in. people in the east saw palestinian fighters and the israeli army exchange fire. in an unusual move, is ral announced the ground offensive before it started. >> translation: we are going to strike. it's going to be a combined attack from the air and ground. our forces with op rate along the roots of deployment and the area itself to receive operational control of the area. >> reporter: hamas says it's ready for it. >> i believe this will completely destroy the the 2-state solution. the palestinians will not believe or trust the israelis, that they are looking forward to a political solution. at this moment there'll be another struggle. a military struggle. or a system, entire system struggle. >> on thursday, a 5-hour truce between israel and hamas gave people in gaza a chance to shop for supplies. >> the banks were packed with people trying to get cash. this didn't last for long. as soon as the truce was obvious, both side

let's go to nicole johnson in ga gaza. >> yes, it hasn't turned out to be much of a ceasefire.he humanitarian pause as israel was calling it was in a very small part of gaza. just to update you, four people have been killed in central gaza from an ire strike. and four people were killed from tank shelling. we're getting reports just now of five people killed in the neighborhood east of the central part of gaza. that area that was devastated. so some people were there. and 50 wounded in another neighborhood. it has been a difficult one or two hours in gaza. we were driving right downtown in an area that israel had said is part of this so-called pause or break in haostilities. this humanitarian pause so to speak, israel had said that it wouldn't include six areas of gaza, and those are those areas, many that i just mentioned, the whole eastern flank of gaza, it is more than 40% of gaza. just some other information that we have, a brigade as you said they are saying they hit an israeli tank, and they are saying that have carried out an ambush in the east. they say they ambushed a

most of the cashing at thises have been civilians, nicole johnson sent this report from gaza. >> reporterraeli troops are inside gaza, near the border, lighting up the sky with flares. their tanks are firing shells, you can hear it everywhere. houses have been hit, people killed in their homes. at an emergency meeting of the united nations security council, the pantsil vinnie ambassador called on the world to intervene. >> crimes against humanity and systematic human rights violations are being committed by israel against the palestinian people. >> reporter: israel says it's protecting itself. >> there is no country in the world no country in the world that would tolerate such an assault on its citizens and israel should not be expected to either. >> reporter: and the u.s. took both sides. >> no family, palestinian or israeli should have to live in perpetual fear of being unsafe in their own homes. >> reporter: however, the u.s. pred reaffirmed his support for israel. >> no nation should accept rockets being fired in to its borders or terrorists tunneling in to its territory. >> reporter:

. >> let's bring in nicole johnson who is in gaza and give us the latest. what are you seeing?t are you hearing? >> well, the latest israeli how the people of shujayea and the other neighborhood of gaza city are now trying to deal with the fact that their neighborhood has been pounded. earlier in the day, around 6:00 a.m., i saw thousands of people walking out of that area. they walked about four kilometers after enduring the very heavy, hard night of tension shelling and people had n nothing on them. they were literally walking out, daz he hzed. most said they had nowhere where to go. they are terrified after what they experienced during the nighttime emergency crews have been trying to get in, as you said, during that humanitarian pause to pull out bodies to reach the injured and now, it's at that case of waiting to see what the night will bring, whether we are going to have just as heavy firing. >> what's the story, nicole, about why the people were still there when the israeli military had dropped leaflets two days ago, they say, they sent texts messages saying: get out, ge

nicole johnson has more now from islam. it is believed he was taken off a public bus by security forces. >> i feel but then i have to do the counseling myself, and say yes he will come back. >> so i continue my fight. >> until this week, pakistan security forces have no legal authority to hold people without charge. once the president signed off on it there will be a new law giving the state power to detain pea for up to three months without a warrant. >> shoot suspects on site with approval and force the accused to prove they are innocent. >> campaigns for not only her husbands freedom but also the cases of almost 2,000 people who have disappeared. believed to be at the hands of the security agencies. she says the anti-terror law is a threat to the public, especially the part of shooting suspects on site. >> this is the worst part that they can do the offense, they can kill anybody, any citizen on site, and then they will be just left. >> the government says it needs this haw to support it's military campaign against forei

nicole johnson has the latest from gaza. >> so far we have not seen signs of it being widened. it's a similar pattern as last night where we get tent selling from israel towards gaza, into the buff ever zone. the israeli soldiers and tanks positioned in gaza, within a couple of hundred metres from the border. it reverberates across the gaza strip. we know that a lot of that shelling in areas - we know that that is hitting a lot of people's houses. palestinians at the moment will ask if israel is going after the tunnels, why are we getting a large amount of civilians injured and killed over the last 24 hours. in the last few hours we had a family of eight people in the bay han un area, killed when their house was hit by tank fire or shelling from tanks. there has been reports in other parts of gaza. two children have been killed. civilians are taking a very heavy price at the moment for this tank sheing and artillery -- shelling and artillery fire from inside the border. an extra 8,000 people arrived at shelters over the last 24 hours since israel announced a grouped invasion. p

let's go live to nicole johnson. tell us about the attack on eastern gaza that is now continuing. >> it was a very fefy overnight attack in the shajaiya neighbourhood. we were in the office all night and could hear the shelling. this is a big residential area and there was shelling all night. houses shops, cars had been hit, the street, and the loss of life was very high, around 50 people in one night. >>> if you will, we hear the shots behind you, the bombs going off. can you set the scenes for us, the missiles?. >> actually, the sound you hear is not bombs going off. we had breaking news in the last couple of minutes from the al-kassam brigade, the military ring of hamas. the spokesperson abu abider say the al-kassam brigade kidnapped an israeli soldier. we haven't had it confirmed. what we hear in the background is gun fire from people in gaza celebrating the news, because the statement from the al-kassam brigade was only just broadcast. >> israel says hamas is responsible for the deaths. how do israelis feel abou

nicole johnson is on the ground in gaza. >> reporter: people have been using the break in fighting to get money. banks were closed for days. now the atms are open again, but not for long. israel propose a 12-hour extension of saturday's ceasefire. they wanted to keep their soldiers in gaza, destroying tunnels. hamas said no. the ceasefire fell apart. a few hours later there was another plan. this time from hamas. >> translation: in transto the assessment of the -- response to the assessment of the u.n., talking into account our people in gaza, and the coming eid holiday, there was a discussion and they reached an agreement for a 24 hour american calm starting 2 o'clock on sunday. >> reporter: during the first hour of the hamas ceasefire, israel carried out five airstrokes. in the middle of the confusion about the ceasefire, people are in lum bow -- limbo. they don't know if israel will ex-pond or when -- expand or when. they gave us a temporary ceasefire. >> despite the uncertainty, some people wonder around the streets. including children. everyone is sick of being inside their homes

let's speak now to nicole johnson who joins us live in gaza. nicole, just describe to us where you are right now and what's happening. how are the residents making use of this 12-in our cease-fire? >> reporter: we're in the central part of a neighborhood that was heavily attacked by israeli tank shelling over the weekend. in that attack more than 60 people were killed in one night, and here as you can see behind me, there is no sign, no semblance of any nor normalcy at all. it's utter devastation. we've been to a few different areas of the neighborhood today, and this is the worth part of it we've seen. there's people coming to have a look. residents, people who live in the area, and really they're lost for words. as you can see, there's nothing left. a few shells of houses, but homes have been completely destroyed. some people are going in and trying to pick a few bits and pieces out of it, but i really don't know what they could get. as our cameraman pans around, you might be able to see a few people in one of the hilltops of rubble there. i'm

nicole johnson joins us live from gaza. we're getting grisly details coming through. what are you hearing? that's right, the information is still quite sketchy. we have attained there on the moments on their way at the moment, they'll be able to provide more information. as you said, the reports are that some 30 people have been killed by tank shelling in the northern part of the gaza strip. it could be more than 100 injured. there are hundred was people who have gone to these united nations schools to try to get protection from the bomb barredment. people have left the eastern flank of the gaza strip, as well as the north, and they've moved to around 70 different schools. they go to these places because they think they'll be safe. some don't go, they don't believe anywhere is safe. as it turns out on this particular occasion, it seems a united nations school has been hit and it's no longer a safe place for palestinians to go to to try and escape the israeli tank shelling. the issue of the schools has been sensitive between the united nations and israel. the u.n. has

nicole johnson reports from gaza. >> reporter: people have been using the break in fighting to get money. banks were closed tore days. now the atms are open again, but not for long. israel proposed a 12-hour extension of saturday's ceasefire. however, they wanted to keep the soldiers in gaza, destroying tunnels. hamas said no. the accuracy fire fell apart. a few hours later, there was another plan. this time from hamas. >> in response to the assessment of the u.n., and taking into consideration the condition of our people in gaza, and light of the coming eid holiday, there were discussions between the factions. they have reached on agreement to accept the offer of a 24 hour calm from 2 o'clock op sunday -- on sunday. >> reporter: during the first hour, israel carried out at least five air strikes. in the middle of all the confusion about a ceasefire people are in limbo. they don't know if israel will expand its ground operation or when. >> translation: how long will be suffer like this. a 12 hour ceasefire is not long enough, only enough to see your house destroyed and break your heart.

nicole johnson watched it unfold. >> reporter: the eastern part of gaza was hit hard on saturday night. it was the heaviest tent shelling since israel started its ground operation. flares lit up the sky near the border. tent shells slammed into people's homes. >> wait, wait. we can hear shells and rockets falling on the streets and homes in the neighbourhood. they are falling everywhere. we have no electricity, everything is being cut off. for a few hours ambulance vehicles couldn't reach the neighbourhoods. the attack was so intense it was not safe to go there. the red cross can't reach the area, it's too dangerous. people are stuck at home. some people managed to flee to schools in safer areas, we are stuck. the streets are empty, all you here is shelling. we are living in fear, terrified. there are 18 of us. one room. it's the whole family. >> after a while, some emergency crews started to reach the area which have been heavenly schedule. among the dead two women, and the son of a senior hamas leader. >> there's random shelling and no communication with the israeli forces on when pa

let's join nicole johnson, our correspondent has been following events for us. we just need some clarification on the u.n. schools that were apparently hit by rocket fire, what is the status of that situation. >> yes, i spoke to someone from the united states refugee and works agency, about that, and they said that the camp, that a school inside that camp which is in central gaza has been hit by intense shelling. this were some visiting internationals at the school, and it was hit again by tank shells. there was some damage, and a girl, a young girl was injured but no one was with killed. the u.n. has says that more nan 70 of the installations have been hit since this conflict began. >> they are seen as safe havens and so many up to 100,000 internally displaced people, what sanctuary can they even go to. >> well, people in gaza are taking sanctuary, anywhere they can. some are saying with with family members some are sort of almost camping out outside the hospital for example, we know that tens of thousands of people are inside these united nations schools, and

in other news, ahowed to allow aid into the territory ended let's go life to nicol johnson who is in gaza for us right now. give us an idea of what people there are having to put up with. >> well, david, it is a heavy bombardment after that five hour lull that we had during the day. very heavy attacks are going on in the eastern part of the gaza strip. there's shilling going on, and one particular area, and the patients there many of them can't evacuate. they are too sick, too unwell, so they are on the bottom floor, and that area around that hospital we with have been told is being attacks with intense shelling. they are very concerned about the situation, other areas include the neighborhood all of this is in the east of gaza, very close to the israeli border, within one kilometer. now, we have had reports of three people killed in that eastern area. this is since that truce has ended. we have also heard of three children being killed inside gaza city. they were playing on the roof top of their building with their cousins around about ten of them, and three children were killed. so

correspondent nicole johnson is in gaza and joins us with the latest. le, what is it like in the areas near the border where fighting is happening? >> reporter: today, i was near an area that is very close to downtown gaza city, only about two or three kilometers away. it was like a ghost town. the street was quiet. the buildings and shops were closed. houses were empty. you could see cars that had been hit and bombed. you could see houses that had been hit by tank shelling. having said that, there were still some people there. some people had decided that they wouldn't leave, that they wouldn't seek shelter further inside the gaza strip because they believed at this stage, it's not safe anywhere. they say there is no point leaving their home because downtown gaza city is being hit, also. so that's the situation in those border areas and to update you on what's happening tonight, it's a very difficult night in the eastern part and the northern part of the gaza strip. only a couple of kilometers away from where we are, there is the constant sound of tank

nicole johnson spoke to some war-weary residents in gaza. >> parts of the neighborhood are in ruins.re is not much for people to salvage here but they still try. tired men covered in dirt and if you will of despair. the gibari family had a house and a small shop. this is all they have left now. they have no faith in cease-fires. >> translator: what will we achieve if we have a cease-fire without conditions? they could come again and destroy our houses. today, they hit our houses. tomorrow, they might open the border. they don't respect what's agreed upon. >> there are few words to describe what's happened here the entire neighborhood has been destroyed. buried beneath the rubble are the homes an lives of countless palestinians. once the cease-fire started, the people shujayea walked home. it was a answer it to take whatever was left. mattresses, clothes. some pushed their cars out. they don't know when they will be back. >> i came to my house to see what happened to it. we aren't here to take anything. we only took our clothes when we evacuated. it's an earthquake here you can't take