Transcripts For CNNW The Situation Room 20140724

Were following the breaking news in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 and in gaza where at least 16 people have been killed and more than 200 injured in what was supposed to be a safe haven. This was the scene after a strike at a United Nations schoolhousing palestinians fleeing the fighting between israel and hamas. The palestinians called the strike brutal israeli aggression. But israel says it may have been the result of a hamas rocket noting several have fallen in the same area. We have breaking News Coverage you will see only here on cnn. Lets start with the cnns karl penhaul in gaza city. Whats the latest on this u. N. Shelter strike . We have to be very precise about all the information to make sure that were not reflecting the version of only one of the warring sides, wolf. 16 dead, as you say. 200 wounded. This was a United Nations school about a mail and a half from the israeli gaza border near the town of beit hanoun. There has been intense fighting including ground to Ground Fighting between militant factions and israeli troops. This strike took place around 3 f. M. Local time. It was some kind of an explosion that went off in the school courtyard. Some of those witnesses that were wounded anad ended up in hospital spoke of several, three or four perhaps explosions of what they described as shells. The United Nations said that in the course of the day, it had asked on two occasions to the Israeli Military that the civilians from this school who were sheltering there should be allowed to evacuate. The United Nations says that that was not permitted. However, weve heard a statement from the Israeli Military saying they did offer a window for civilians to evacuate that school, a period of about four hours. We dont note who is telling the truth there or if there is confusion. We know in the past in the past few days, the United Nations accused both israel and hamas of violating neutrality of u. N. Schools. They say on two occasions in two separate schools hamas has stored rockets in u. S. Schools and on two occasions over the past three days, the u. N. Says the Israeli Military has supplied artillery into u. N. Schools. Were trying to look at this. The Israeli Military says it is investigating. The United Nations says it is waiting for a full report. We went down to the school after everybody had been evacuated to see what we could find and cnn teams including our own Security Consultant went down there. We found a single point of detonation on the cobblestones of the courtyard of the school. We saw a fragmentation spread a lot on a wide area around the school ranging from just a few inches off the ground right up to rooftop level but as i say, we saw only one point of detonation and that point of detonation was not very deep. It was only about one inch deep. We did not see any wreckage of a rocket. We also did not see any fragments of what could be described as commercially made military grade munitions. We have heard from the Israeli Military that there could have been some misfiring of a hamas rocket. We hear from hamas theyre squarely blaming the israelis, wolf. Blame continuing. Carl, thanks very much. Earlier today, i spoke with Lieutenant Colonel peter lerner, the spokesman for the Israel Defense forces about this incident at that u. N. Shelter in gaza. Heres what he told me. The idf does not target u. N. Facilities. We knew there were rockets in u. N. Schools. We are having an ongoing relationship working relationship with the United Nations. Operating within the context of the conflict. And beyond. We do not target u. N. We actually appeal to them three days ago together with the red cross to evacuate this area because we understand there is extensive hamas terrorist infrastructure in this area and that they will abuse it and they will put the people at risk like they go have been doing over the last five or six days. Later this hour, ill get additional reaction from the spokesman for the israeli Prime Minister benjamin netanyahu. In it the t also the hamas spokesman will be joining us, as well. The first u. S. Flight to tel aviv was scheduled to leave just a few minutes ago after the faa in washington lifted its nearly twoday ban on american carriers flying into tel aviv. Many International Carriers are also resuming normal service to Ben Gurion National airport. Despite continued rocket interceptions in the area, one israeli official told me earlier today that Ben Gurion Airport is actually safer than an airport that the president of the United States was using today. We welcome the decision by the u. S. Federal Aviation Administration to reinstate flights to israel. That was a major setback for israel. And it was wrong. Listen, l. A. X. Is ten times more dangerous than the israel airport. How can you say that. Because the rask is so big comparing to us. There are no rockets flying around l. A. X. There are no rockets flying around the ben gruron airport. There was one landed more than a mile away. The minute we presented the faa with the details and facts of the matter, they say you can go back flying there. Its totally safe to fly to israel. I recommend it, by the way, to everyone who wants to come in. The finance minister and a member of the Prime Ministers inner security cabinet. Our justice correspondent pamela brown is standing by. Shes got the very latest from there. Wolf, even as the faa lifted its ban on u. S. Flights to and from tel aviv, two u. S. Officials say the facts on the ground are the same as they were before freeze was put into place. The big change that did happen, according to officials, is an increases in information sharing between israel and the u. S. Back in the sky, u. S. Based airlines are again allowed to fly to tel Avivs Ben Gurion international airport. But even this morning, at least one rocket was stopped right in the vicinity. Wow. That ones right over the airport. The faa offered lots of reassurances but few specs on why the ban was lifted after just 36 hours. We have information now that is given us the satisfaction we need to lift it and thats all i have to say about it. So what changed their minds . Guareel Officials Say they convinced the faa it was safe. We had to demonstrate to the faa to give the faa our basic assumptions the matrix of the planing and some technological variables. Officials tell cnn the threat on the ground is still there but the israelis caked some protocols after the ban and shared new information about existing security measures, convincing the u. S. They were adequate. But at the same time, in the background, accusations the ban was more politics than safety. I rise today. Senator ted cruz accusing the president of using the ban in order to try to force our ally to comply with his Foreign Policy demands. Taking his own stand, former new york mayor threw to israel to protest the ban. It doesnt mean you should down air traffic into a country and paralyze the country. All three uls airlines that fly to israel announced they would resume flights. United explained why on a Conference Call today. We have consulted extensively with the u. S. Government as well as our own people on the ground in tel aviv, and that is and we believe its safe to fly. Some european carriers are flying but not every airline says the airport is safe. Lufthansa canceled flights and the European Aviation Safety Agency recommends flying to tel aviv calling it a hazardous situation. And the state Department Says there is still no plan to cancel the travel warning. One of the u. S. Officials i spoke with says that is officials here at home are watching the situation closely at tel aviv and the ban could be returned if necessary. Wolf . Pamela brown with the latest on that. Thanks very much. The Israeli Military says it is intercepted five hamas rockets launched from gaza aimed at tel aviv today. Martin savidge is just outside of tel aviv. You say you saw some of these rocket interceptions. Tell us what it was like. Reporter well, i mean, you know, it was only a couple of hours after the news was announced that the faa was lifting the ban for usair carriers. We had come to the airport to report the news when we heard sirens in the distance and then just moments later, you heard the very zing but rapid explosions and those are a signature of the iron dome. And so there were a series of those. It got quite for maybe ten minutes and then it repeated again. So it was really a series of two waves of missile launches that came from gaza, but they were all intercepted according to the idf. Nothing struck on the ground here. Its a clear indication that the air space here is challenged from time to time. Its not to say that something is going to strike the airport here but remember, aircraft dont just stay at the airport. Theyre going to take off and they have to make their approaches. In any place where they might are up into either a rocket coming from gaza or a defensive missile going up, you can see why they might give pause, wolf. Certainly can. Thanks very much. Martin savidge of Ben Gurion Airport. Im going to talk about all of this and a lot more with senator ted cruz of texas. That will be coming up in our next hour. Just ahead here, were going to get palestinian and israeli reaction to the breaking news. The hamas spokesman osama hamdan is standing by. Mark regev is stabbeding by, as well. More bodies of victims found along with the largest pieces of the plane recovered so far. Were going live to ukraine. Really. So our business can be on at ts network for 175 dollars a month . Yup. All five of you for 175. Our clients need a lot of attention. Theres unlimited talk and text. Were working deals all day. You get 10 gigabytes of data to share. What about expansion potential . Add a line anytime for 15 bucks a month. Low dues. Great terms. Lets close. Introducing at t mobile share value plans. With our bestever pricing for business. You know what i love america . Fine barbecue, good times and zero heart burn. And thats why i take prilosec otc each morning for my frequent heart burn because it gives me zero heart burn. Prilosec otc the number one dr. Recomended frequent heart burn medicine for nine straight years. You can beat zero herat burn prilosec otc one pill each morning 24hrs, zero heart burn welcome back. Were coming to you live from jerusalem where were following the intense efforts to try to broker a ceasefire between israel and hamas. Mark regev is the spokesman for Prime Minister benjamin netanyahu. Thanks very much for joining us. Are you close to a ceasefire in are gaza . We dont know because hamas apparently says no. We saw the hamas leader today talk publicly and he put so many conditions on a ceasefire, he makes it impossible. Israel has shown a willingness. We have said so in the past. Weve been ready for an immediate cease fire and hamas makes that impossible. In doing so, hamas condemns both the israelis and the palestinians, the people of gaza to continued blood shed and hamas is solely responsible for the continuation of this conflict. If theres a ceasefire, would you as a longer term process, would you allow international monitors to go into gaza as part of an effort to demiller ta rise the gaza strip. It should be demilitary rised. Theres no reason for any rockets or any terrorism whatsoever in the gaza strip. We pulled out of gaza. We took down all settlements. We pulled back the International Frontier and we hoped at the time we would be able to live in peace with gaza, there would be commerce, tourism, trade, people going back and forth. Hamas took over the gaza strip. Instead of having cooperation, weve had conflict. If the situation was to change, if there wasnt balance from gaza, then the restrictions we placed on many of them to protect ourselves wouldnt be necessary. Would you pull out owl israeli forces, would you pull out all of those forces and allow international monitors to go in to police, if you will, some sort of internationally guaranteed cease fire . We defend ourselves. Weve never asked the United States or any other country to defend us. We cannot pull out our troops as long as those rockets keep firing down on our cities, as long as hamas keeps trying to kill our people. Were talking about monitors not necessarily protecting israel to observe to make sure that the gaza strip would be demilitariz demilitarized. If its demilitaritirized, it would be a major achievement. Theres a palestinian signed commitment that should be the case. The fact there are so many rockets in gaza is a violation of signed agreements in the peace process. What do you know about the shelling of this shelter in gaza, beit hanoun, 16 palestinians killed, civilians, maybe 200 injured. What is the Israeli Government saying about this . Its obviously a tragedy. Some civilians seem to have been killed. Its a very sad situation. You cant see those pictures and not be moved. We dont yet what happened. The u. N. Has reported that there was palestinian rocket fire in that area. So it could have been palestinian ordinants. It could have been israeli fire because there were fire fights in that area. Weve had continuous examples of palestinian terrorists hamas using u. N. Facilities, u. N. Schools as part of their military machine. The secretarygeneral of the United Nations who was here two days ago asked for an official ip inquiry. Why is it that u. N. Facilities have been used to store rockets by hamas . So when hamas does this, when hamas abuses a u. N. Facility, when hamas turns a u. N. Facility into a war zone, ultimately theyre responsible for any casualties that happen there. A u. N. Spokesman says on two occasions they tried to get israel, the idf, to agree to see the coordinates so that palestinians in that shelter could have an exodus, if you will, could leave in peace but they got not response from israel. Weve got very good relations with the u. N. Bodies and we want to support their humanitarian work. We agree between 10 and 2 local time, there would be time for a u. N. Corridor to let the people leave. Our understanding is the terrorists didnt let the people leave. As far as the u. S. Carriers flying to Ben Gurion Airport, you just heard Martin Savidge report he was there at the airport. There were four or five rocket attacks from gaza that went nearby when the tel aviv area, not far away from the airport. What is the reainsurance that you have that it will be safe for international and u. S. Carriers to fly in and out of Ben Gurion Airport . Not one of those rockets landed in the airport, not on the terminal and the runway because that airport is secure, one of the most safely guarded facilities in my country and rightly so. That airport is shielded by a multilayer Defense System of Missile Defense and incoming rockets cannot penetrate that the airport. You the know when experts hear there are sort of rockets and interceptions in the sky near an airport, they get efforts in. Theyre allowed to get nervous but theyve got to be rationale. I think an israeli guest before me said some airports around the world including in america in earthquake zones, theres a higher probability youll have a problem there than Ben Gurion Airport. In israel we do some things well and some things very well. Aviation security in this country we do very well. How did you convince the fp aa in washington to go ahead and lift that fan after 36 hours . We were totally transparent. We got our Airport Security professionals to speak directly to their u. S. Counterparts. They had a professional dialogue with security expert, aviation expert and we showed them that Ben Gurion Airport is safe and open for business. Yesterday, when i spoke to the spokesman for hamas, osama hamdan, he acknowledged the hamas rocks are being aimed at Ben Gurion Airport in part, he says, because the Israeli Air Force military activities going on there, as well. First of all, its not a military airport. And frankly, hamas is being disingenuous. Hamas has a track record of targeting innocent civilians. Just blows us here in jerusalem, woo he remember a time when hamas was exploding, killing scores of different people. Hamas shoots rockets endiscriminately trying to kill our people. Hamas kidnaps youngsters and murders them brutally. The truth is, they are a brutal extreme violent terrorist organization committed to a crazy religious cereed a warped version of islam. They had are the enemies of everyone who believes in peace, tolerance and democracy. I spoke with dr. Mustafa barghouti. He said right now, hamas and the Palestinian Authority of president Mahmoud Hamas were were on the same wage when it comes to a ceasefire with israel, that hamas is ready for an fiveday cease fire but israel is rejecting that. Thats be clear. An egyptian proposal calls for an immediate cease fire to end the violence. Weve accepted that proposal. That proposal is supported by the United Nations and the arab league and the Palestinian Government of president mahmoud abbas. Hamas opposes that cease fire. And hamas is directly responsible therefore for the continued blood shed because they are the only party that the refuses a ceasefire today. Is secretary john kerry coming back here in israel or is he done with his current leg of shuttle diplomacy as far as you know . I dont know. If he comes back, hell be a welcome visitor because the u. S. Secretary of state is always a welcome visitor in israel. We are one of the few countries on the planet that is unabashedly will he pro american. Thanks very much for joining us. Weve got a lot more news coming up including grim new discoveries. Well go live to ukraine for the latest on whats going on there. Serious tensions involving the u. S. And russia at the same time. Much more coming up. Were live in jerusalem. Our situation room special report continues. At every ford dealership, youll find the works its a complete checkup of the services your vehicle needs. So prepare your car for any road trip by taking it to an expert ford technician. Because no matter your destination good maintenance helps you save at the pump. Get our multipoint inspection with a Synthetic Blend Oil change, tire rotation, Brake Inspection and more for 29. 95 or less. Get a complete vehicle checkup only at your ford dealer. Its been that way since the day you met. 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Well get palestinian reaction to the latest clashes between israel and hamas. Theres other break news were following including the investigation into the downing of malaysianian Airlines Flight 17. Investigators report theyve come across the largest piece of wreckage theyve seen so far. All this comes as the military situation in Eastern Ukraine grows more dire. Lets bring in pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr getting new information. Barbara . Wolf, there is new intelligence today about what the Russian Military may be up to. It is quite concerning. I want to get right to what the state department had to say today about the latest Russian Military moves, have a listen. We have new evidence that the russians intended to deliver heavier and more powerful rocket launches to the separatist forces in ukraine and have evidence that russia is firing artillery from within russia to attack Ukrainian Military positions. In fact, u. S. Intelligence satellites and radars have been monitoring this firing from russia for the last several days into ukraine, why might putin be doing this . Of course, the ukrainian pushing the rebels, the promoscow separatists if you will into more of a corner. Putin perhaps now ordering his troops to fire from russia to open that will territory inside ukraine back up to them. We have some photos to show you. These are some of the pictures that u. S. Intelligence is looking at that they believe may well be Russian Artillery just on the russian side of the border. Pointed into ukraine. The empty shells firing into ukraine. Now, about 15,000 Russian Troops on that border, wolf. It continuing to be a hair trigger situation. Certainly could very, very dangerous situation. Were going to be speaking with marie harf later here in the situation room. Barbara starr at the pentagon, thanks very much. Meanwhile, crash investigators complained today people they described as huna ticks and criminals continue to block their access to some off the wreckage. Cnns phil black is in the east certain ukrainian city of donet donetsk. You were at the site today. What was the scene like . Reporter wolf, it is an eerie scene because for much of the day it looks seemingly abandoned. There is no one there examining securing the site. There is no one maintain agon going operation to try to find remains, victims. The only people out there at the moment are the observers, some malaysian experts and today for the first time, some australian diplomats and a forensic expert, as well. Theyre traveling around in a convoy from one keel site to the next. And its very much an assessment that they are doing. It is not an Ongoing Investigation it is not an ongoing search. The fact that this is not taking place, that no one is still taking responsibility for that site is concerning because this small group of observers and experts are finding disturbing evidence that the initial search operation was less than thorough. On the last two days of being out there, they have found human remains, new sets of human remains on both occasions. There is still clearly a great deal of work to be done. We believe there will be more International Experts stepping up there in the coming days. For the moment, one week since the crash of mh17. That site, that wreckage is still not being treated with the care that it deserves, wolf. And we know, phil, that a freelance journalist for cnn has been detained by prorussian rebels in Eastern Ukraine. What can you tell us about that . Were talking about a local journalist here in donetsk called anton skiba. He was working with us out an the crash site two days ago. When we returned to this location and we were unloading our vehicle, we were met by a very heavily armed very serious prorussian militants. They were looking us up and down very closely. A man had a photo of anton skiba and within moments they had detained him and were leading him away. As we tried to engage them to stop them to find out what was happening, this man told us, and hes a representative of the local if prorussian militant leadership here, he said skiba is dangerous. He accused him of being a terrorist. He had only worked with us for 24 hours but he is known to a lot of other International Journalist here. He worked with them as a translator, guide and so forth. There were a lot of International Journalists worried about him because we havent seen him for two days. Hes been in custody that long. Indeed, other international agencies, journalist protection groups, even the u. S. State department have all issued statements expressing concern about his detention and demanding that he be freed. The sad fact is though wolf, the journalists being detained here has been a reality from the very earliest days of this conflict. It has been happening regularly. It still does and it is something that affects both sides of the conflict. At the moment, there is a journalist who, would for rt, the russian state network. His name is graham phillips. He has previously been detained by Ukrainian Government forces. This Russian Network says he has been retained once again by the forces. This is happening on both sides, so say ob ser vers and journalists here. It is an unfor the reality of this on going reality, wolf. You noam this freelancer personally, phil . Well, as i say, we spent the day with him. He worked with us out at the site for 24 hours and the evening before that, as well. We cant say we knew him particularly well. But he came recommended. There is a very tight community here in donetsk of local journalists who are assisting International Media with language skills,ings with directions and these sorts of things, all of these skills helping us do our jobs to cover this story here. Theyre an important part of our coverage. They are a tight community. They all know each other, as i say and they do work for various organizations from time to time. So the we worked with him for a day. He was professional. He was he performed his duties very, very well. He was then detained but as i say, hes wellknown to the journalists here from various media organizations. There are a lot of people worried about his wellbeing at this time, wolf. All right. Thanks very much, phil black. Lets hope this freelancer is freed very, very soon. Up next, were going live to the netherlands. Dozens more coffins arrive today and the dutch Prime Minister now says he wont rest and will do everything he can to make sure whoever shot down the airliner is brought to justice. Narrator these are the skater kid whoa narrator that got torture tested by teenagers and cried out for help. From the surprised designers. Who came to the rescue with a brilliant fix male designer i love it narrator which created thousands of new customers for the tennis shoes that got torture tested by teenagers. The internet of everything is changing manufacturing. Is your Network Ready . Could help your business didavoid hours of delaynd test caused by slow internet from the phone company . Thats enough time to record a memo. Idea for sales giveaway. Return a call. Sign a contract. Pick a tie. Take a break with mr. Duck. Practice up for the business trip. Fly to florida. Win an award. Close a deal. Hire an intern. And still have time to spare. Check your speed. See how fast your internet can be. Switch now and add voice and tv for 34. 90. Comcast business. Built for business. Ruth. Dutch Officials Say the transfer of bodies from ukraine back to the netherlands should be finished by saturday. 74 more coffins were flown in today and taken by heres to a lab where the remains will be identified. Erin mclaughlin is joining us live from amsterdam with more. Tell us what happened, erin. Hi, wolf. As you say, today some 74 caskets can arrived here in the netherlands. But that does not necessarily mean 74 bodies. Dutch Officials Saying that there is a possibility that each bag contains more than one and that is the grim reality of the tragedy this country is struggling to come to terms with today. Dutch Prime Minister mark rutte saying they have identified so far 203 body bags. And tomorrow, a team of forensic workers expected to make their way out to the crash site to try and find more victims. And i cant tell you how important that is to the families i have been speaking to. In the words of one mother, she told me its her human right to be able to bury her son and there will be devastated families out there if they are not successful in identifying and repatriating all 29 victims. Now, tomorrow, were expecting the arrival of 70 more coffins, more arrivals also expected on saturday, each arrival will be accompanied by the same and somber ceremonies weve been seeing over the past couple of days, wolf. How far, aaron, have officials gotten actually collecting all the bodies . Well, as i said, wolf, we simply do not know because they dont know the at this moment how many bodies they have. They still need to go through all of these body bags and were talking about body parts, as well. So they simply dont know. They know they have 203 body bags. How many bodies, how many victims that means they simply are still trying to figure out. 29 people were aboard that airliner. The dutch government i know theyre responding to all of this and its very somber, very detailed. But officials there where you are, theyre pretty angry at whats going on, especially the russians, right . Thats right, wolf. Today, we heard from the dutch Prime Minister mark rutte actually in an interview with cnns anderson cooper. He said hes made a pledge to the victims families, a threepronged pledge really first to identify and repatriate all of the victims, all of the bodies in this disaster. The second to find out out exactly what happened to them, are what exactly what caused the downing of mh17. And then the third pledge is to bring the perpetrators to justice. That is a tall order for a small european country. But as you say, people here are determined, theyre outraged. They want to see justice. Wolf . Yes, they do. All right, erin, theres very much. Theres more breaking news were following. Wreckage of an algerian airliner that went missing with at least 116 people on board has reportedly been spotted in the saharan desert. Tom foreman, what is the very latest . They think theyve found this wreckage and there are similarities between what happened here and what happened near taiwan. Look first at the flight track of this plane that is believed to have crashed in mali. Yes, it went down in an area where had been rebel forces extremists fighting for months against the government. Of course, that raised concerns early on. But this is just as important to consider. It the plane was flying through an area known for producing powerful storms this time of year. And storms where is active during this flight. So right in this area, look at whats going on there. Now, lets go over and look at that the crash near taiwan. Again, here is the flight pattern for that crash over there. Over this direction with this way. This time as the plane went down, once again, it was attempting to land amid had had heavy rains, associated with a typhoon. We dont know the for certain if weather was the official cause, wolf. But this it is something they both have common. If you look at sticks on this chart from boeing of the causes of Worldwide Air accidents from a recent tenyear period, this bar over here represents accidents in which the pilot lost control of the aircraft. And many, many of these involved a primary problem of bad weather. Wolf . Tom, aviation safety analyst worldwide as you know, theyre on alert for possible terrorist missile strikes on planes right now. So do investigators still have to consider that in this particular case. Of course they do in the case in mali. They have no choice. The simple truth is, they have to take to heart the likelihood that terrorism might be involved or that perhaps with an aging athlete in the world that there was an equipment failure of some sort or the people were inadequately trained or distracted. But as odd as it is for both things to happen at the same time, you have to always think about the weather because we do know in circumstances like this that the weather remains one of the biggest reasons that planes go down. Wolf . Tom foreman within an excellent explanation as usual. Thank you. In our next hour, two important newsmakers will join us. Ill ask the state Department Spokeswoman marie harf about whats happening in the ukraine as well as the middle east. Plus, u. S. Airlines resume flying in and out of tel aviv. Ill ask republican senator ted cruz of texas about his charge yesterday that president obama was playing politics with the fp app a and hurting israel. Your education is built to help move your career forward. Heres how we work with leading employers to learn what you need to learn so classes impact your career. While helping ensure credits youve already earned pay off. And we have Career Planning tools to keep you on track every step of the way. Plus the freshman fifteen, isnt really a thing here. And graduation, its just the beginning. Because we build education around where you want to go. So, you know, you can get the job you want. Ready, lets get to work. At every ford dealership, youll find the works its a complete checkup of the services your vehicle needs. So prepare your car for any road trip by taking it to an expert ford technician. Because no matter your destination good maintenance helps you save at the pump. Get our multipoint inspection with a Synthetic Blend Oil change, tire rotation, Brake Inspection and more for 29. 95 or less. Get a complete vehicle checkup only at your ford dealer. Were back with you live from jerusalem. President obama, meanwhile, is wrapping up his fundraising trip out west today. Tomorrow, he will be back in washington, and meeting with Central American leaders. They will discuss the flood of unaccompanied children crossing the u. S. Border. A new cnn poll, by the way, shows 57 of those questioned are willing to let some of the children be relocated in their city or town. However, the poles shows the crisis is changing. Voters attitudes about immigration reform. Lets bring in our cnn reporter, jim acosta. Well, the administration is working aggressively to solve the border crisis but they are very gloomy about prospects that congress will work out a deal with just a week to go before the lawmakers leave for their august recess. Even with thousands of Migrant Children still in limbo, the white house and congress are hardly bordering on a solution. This is a problem of the president s own making. Reporter House Speaker john boehner said that the democrats wont get 7. 3 million for the funding unless the republicans can tweak the law which offers the unaccompanied minors a certain stipulation. He has to get engaged if he wants something to happen. The cnn poll shows 74 saying it is extremely or very important for the u. S. To deal with illegal immigration. A tenpoint jump over last year. We must pass the president s request, a supplemental bill. Reporter leaders in washington are asking for help, many people are at risk on their journey. Young girls, 13yearolds, the coyotes, the human smugglers give them Birth Control pills because most of them are going to be sexually abused. Reporter Texas Governor rick perry is calling for the National Guard to be deployed on the border. I will not stand by while our citizens are under assault and little children from Central America are detained in squalor. We are too good a country for that to occur. The white house first called perrys request symbolic, noting apprehensinpprehensionpprehensi unaccompanied minors are symbolic. They would send an additional 20,000 personnel to the border. Reporter now, it turns out, the Obama Administration has its own team on the border assessing whether a National Guard deployment might be a good idea after all. And tomorrow, president obama will meet with the president s of honduras, el salvador and guatemala. The president wants those governments to do a better job to to be the human smuggling. And without the border bill they may not get it. The Homeland Security is warning without the bill, the extra money, they may run out of space for these children fast. Wolf . Jim acosta, thank you very much. All right, coming up next, ill ask the republican senator ted cruz of texas as to why he thinks the Obama Administration is pressuring them to a ceasefire. And secretary of state john kerry standing by. Well have more on the latest on the efforts to achieve a ceasefire and the dire situation right now along the ukrainianrussian border. We never thought wed be farming wind out here. Its not just building jobs here, its helping our community. Siemens location here has just received a major order of wind turbines. It puts a huge smile on my face. Cause im like, this is what we do. the fact that iowa is leading the way in wind energy, im so proud, like, its just amazing. I never know what kind theof adventure awaits. That the days are longer, and the breeze feels a little sweeter. And, thanks to volvo, ill pay nothing for repairs or maintenance for 5 years, nothing. They even cover my first months payment. So, ill be happy wherever the summer takes me. The wonder of summer event. The 2015 volvo s60 sedan with complimentary first months payment. Starting at 319 a month. Happening now, a situation room breaking report, carnage in gaza, ill talk to officials on both sides. U. S. Airlines once again are taking off for israel just hours after the faa back in washington quickly lifted a ban on all flights. Ill ask texas senator ted cruz about that. He accused the Obama Administration of using it to try to twist the israelis arms. And the u. S. Says they have evidence that Russian Artillery is being fired across the border into ukraine. Will there be any action . Ill ask a u. S. Department spokesperson. I am wolf blitzer, youre in the situation room. Lets get right to the breaking news tonight, the civilian blood bath that is driving home the urgent need for a ceasefire. Palestinians say more than 60 are dead, more than 200 injured after the strikes on gaza, the new flash point between gaza and the hamas militants. Were following all the breaking news in that story as well as in the showdown over the shootdown of malaysian flight 17. We have brandnew pictures of the scene, as the u. S. Lobbies powerful accusations against russia. In our news room theyre all standing by to keep you up to date in the huge news stories. More on the gaza strike and who may be to blame. Pools of blood stain the concrete floor and a bench where students sat at their desk. This school is being used for shelters for families in gaza when it was hit. There were multiple deaths and injuries. It is clear that women and children are among those who suffered in the terrible incident. Reporter it is not immediately clear who launched the strike. The Israeli Military says it is investigating, raises the possibility that a hamas rocket hit the shelter. We have our sensors which have indications that at least on two or three different occasions in the course of the afternoon, rockets launched from within gaza landed. Israel has shelled the area in northern gaza before, accusing hamas of hiding rockets inside the civilian buildings. The secretary general demanded they stop endangering the civilians by placing weapons in the schools. Palestinians say theyre ready for the ceasefire. We need the ceasefire more than anybody else. We need to stop the bloodshed. Inside israel, new rocket attacks, and this was seen by a cnn crew outside the bengurion international airport. This is just hours after the administration reversed the ban on the flights to and from tel aviv. We have information now giving us the satisfaction we need to lift it. Israels top aviation official said his team convinced the faa the airport is secure, despite the rocket that fell about a mile away earlier in the week. The faa decision to stop the ban is a vote of confidence in our quality and the level of professionalism. Israeli officials located hard for the faa to allow flights to resume, getting help from the former new york city mayor Michael Bloomberg who flew to tel aviv from new york and was passionate in making the case that the flight ban was a mistake. That is how terrorists win, wolf, cant do that. Reporter tonight, the Palestinian Government is calling the attack on the u. N. Shelter an act of brutal israeli aggression. Shortly, ill be speaking with the palestinian negotiator, but right now im joined by the spokesperson for the Israeli Defense forces, colonel, thank you very much. Thank you once again for joining us. You have been investigating what happened at the u. N. Shelter. What is the latest information you have . Well, clearly it is a tragic, awful event with awful outcome. Were still investigating, still looking into it. There are still two options viable. First of all, the mortar rocket was fired in the middle of combat between terrorists, Hamas Terrorists and our forces. And second of all there is a clear option that hamas rockets that were being shot from gaza strip actually struck. We have specific indications that they actually struck the area. Were trying to figure that out, were trying to really find out what really happened. But it is an unfortunate, awful, tragic outcome. We do not strike u. N. Facilities. We do not target civilians. We are aware of this facility. We are operating, working closely with the United Nations in order to enable them to carry out their humanitarian mission within the scope of this conflict. That is what were doing. So youre saying it was either a mistake by an israeli rocket or shell or it was a hamas rocket that was aimed at israel but landed by accident at this u. N. Facility, is that what youre saying . That is the possibility that is currently on the table. An errant mortar fire that hit and caused this damage, caused this terrible loss or indeed the palestinian rocket we have had in the past two weeks, over 40 counts of rockets that have fallen short. But we have to clarify that. Let me play a clip, this is a spokesperson for the United Nations relief work, this is the agency that was in charge of the u. N. Shelter where the palestinians had fled because it was too dangerous where they were living in their homes. Listen to this. Im not saying that either side it responsible. I do know that the israeli side had all of gps coordinates, of all the insulation coordinates, of the school, and we spent the whole day trying to organize so that they could be evacuated. And that never came. But he says that they never got that coordinate the coordinates, they never got the confirmation from israel that it was okay to go ahead and evacuate the palestinians. No, that is not true. We coordinated with them and und urged them for days to evacuate the people. We have spoken with them earlier today and informed them of a humanitarian window of opportunity that can be utilized. We conveyed that message directly on the ground level on the liaison bodies so that the people, the situation on the ground, the complex combat the way these terrorists are using u. N. Facilities, they have placed rockets in the u. N. Buildings and using ambulances going from place to place. They have launched rockets from schools and they will go to any length to carry out their undiscriminate attacks, we have a situation that is abusing and exploiting the civilian component. This is a tragedy. This is a clear tragedy. We do not strike civilians. We are trying to combat this organization. There is a possibility that it was errant. We have to get to the bottom of it. This is the third time a u. N. Structure, whether a shelter or a school has been hit. You know that . I have heard the reports today. Indeed again, the situation you have been to gaza. You know how it is. You know what the situation is like down there. And the type of combat. The type of challenge were facing with the terrorist organization, the facilities theyre using, the emblem, the symbols, we are trying to work within the realm of that capability and trying to address it. Indeed, we are going to a great effort to strike the terrorist organization and prevent their attacks against us, against israel, against our home front and sever the rockets, the tunnels going into israel, they have the ability to ceasefire and to stop. Indeed if they abided by the ceasefires that were on the table in the past week or so there would have been no event. How strong is hamas, militarily speaking, some military analysts here have told me the resistance theyre putting up, the discipline theyre showing, the training that they have is much more sophisticated than the idf anticipated. No, we were well prepared. We knew they had had training with iranian knowledge. We know that the trainers have gone to iran and brought back the Iranian School of thought of military activities. And they are carrying it out to the letter. Theyre crossing every ts, and that is how theyre operating. Indeed, they have advanced weaponry that they did not have in the past. I would say they have discipline. They have theyre more organized. Weve seen it in the footage weve shared with you. When they come out of the shafts in the ground in the tunnels you see them operating as a force. I will say, though, every time weve met them face to face on the battlefield weve come out with the upper hand. They have paid the price. They have over 200 deaths killed in action with us. Every time that that has happened that is what we intend to do you are saying 200 hamas militants have been killed by israel . More than 200. But they still have rockets and weapons coming into israel, you have not been able to nullify that. Well, it is not an overnight operation, we know that. Indeed, it is an operation with 10,000 rockets when they began this campaign against us they had a huge armament. This is a huge situation where they dont finish them in one day. How many, those that they have used already and been destroyed . Our assessment is approximately 40 now is what remains after what they have launched at us and what we struck. Reporter so maybe 4,000 . Approximately, and they also have the tunnels which we have exposed over 30, 32 tunnels that were all going towards israel. Some of them even already inside israel. Were cutting those up, were tearing them down, taking away the capability in order to protect our civilians. Lieutenant colonel lerner, thank you very much. The palestinian chief negotiator, he is standing by live. Also tonight, the secretary of state john kerry is urging all sides in the middle east conflict to do more to protect the civilians. Secretary kerry is now back in cairo, continuing to do a shuttle diplomacy to broker a ceasefire. One of the key players of that effort is the nation of qatar, which has considerable influence with hampton. Brian todd has been looking at the qatar connection, what are you learning, brian . Reporter well, that connection with hamas makes it a key player here, but it is a problem for the u. S. Qatar is a country that has a close and lucrative relationship with america. At the same time it supports what the u. S. And america considers a terrorist group. A sophisticated lethal web of tunnels, used by hamas to attack israel. Israeli forces now in a bloody fight to destroy tunnels. Where did hamas get the money to build the underground network . The bulk of finance comes from qatar. Reporter qatar in the middle east, housing a massive u. S. Air base, a country which will reportedly just spent 11 billion to buy American Patriot missile batteries and apacheattack helicopters. One finance tracker with the treasury Department Says that qatar, with a tiny population but loads of wealth from natural gas has become the principal financer of hamas, which america considers a terrorist group. That is not all. How generous is qatar with hampton . In 2012, the amir traveled to gaza, the first foreign leader to do so since hampton took over the territory and pledged 400 million. Reporter it is worth noting that hamas doesnt just consist of a military wing, running schools and hospitals and other civil programs. Qatar also runs al jazeera, a critical element against the u. S. He believes it is time for the u. S. To get tough with the amirs of qatar. What were seeing right now is a washington that is not punishing qatar for its behavior. In many ways it looks like were rewarding them to purchase this advanced weaponry. Reporter why does the u. S. Still do business with qatar . We have had issues over the last ten years with qatar and frequently reevaluate the relationship with them. But on balance believe that the engagement with them, because of their relationship with people we are often adversearies with, that it is a useful dialogue for the u. S. To maintain. Reporter contacted by an official, they made it clear that they consider hamas a terrorist organization. The official said that qatar assured the administration that the 400 million it gave to gaza would not go to hamas. We tried several times to get response from qatari officials on their support of hamas. They did not respond. Lets bring in our Global Affairs correspondent. What are the u. S. Officials telling you about the potential role that qatar could play in this . Reporter well, wolf, i think it is a little bit easy to overestimate what qatar can do. Certainly they have close ties with hamas and they do give them money. But if you look at what hamas is doing right now, they want to open the borders with egypt and israel. And qatar cant really do anything there. It is really something the egyptians can do. That is why qatar is more likely to play a role in a ceasefire effect, where you talk about building institutions, qatar has a lot of money. That is where they could be really most helpful. What do you hear about the secretary of state . What is he up to right now . Because he has been in cairo and he has been relatively quiet today. Reporter well, really all efforts are at trying to get hamas to back down and stop the fighting. Theyre really digging in their heels, wolf, they have seen a lot of victories in the past several days not only the death of soldiers, but the closing of the airport and air space. They dont feel like they need to back down until those demands, particularly the reopening of the border, those criteria are met. Israel has agreed, if you can get hamas to agree, then secretary kerry and the egyptians are talking about a second phase of the negotiations where you deal with the underlying crisis, particularly the dire humanitarian situation in gaza and also on the israeli side. The demilitarization of hamas, and the Palestinian Authority may be taking over some of the Security Apparatus there so that egypt would feel more comfortable with the border crossings. And this way, wolf, youre not doomed to repeat seeing the same thing going on in another two or three years. Thank you, senator ted cruz of texas is standing by. Ill ask him about the u. S. Decision to resume flights to israel, his criticism of president obama. And more, senator cruz coming up. And well talk to our correspondent near the scene when the u. S. Shelter in gaza was hit. First, more on the bloodshed coming up, as well. Hi, im jay farner president of quicken loans and were here in detroit, michigan, helping folks refinance their homes and save money. Does it make sense to refinance right now . A lot of times we can lower the monthly payment, we can consolidate debt. Okay we just want to make sure that you know your options, and were here for you. 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Among them, senator ted cruz, republican of texas. He is joining us on capitol hill. Hey, senator cruz, thank you for joining us. You issued a strong statement yesterday basically accusing the president of the United States of improperly using the faa as a tool to squeeze israel. On the basis of what did you make that allegation . Well, wolf, thank you for having me. Good to be with you, yesterday i raised serious questions because the faas actions naturally lent themselves to questions. Number one, what the faa did was unprecedented, never shutting down flights to israel. Number two, the behavior was unusual, they never shut down flights to pakistan and yemen. The faa has not shut down flights into ukraine even though ukraine just had a Passenger Airline shut down with a russian buk missile. And so the faa did not explain why israel was being singled out for treatment simply because one rocket landed a mile away in a ben gurion field. So that treatment raised questions hold on, senator, i just want to go through some of the points and then we can discuss. First of all, that rocket landed with the faa says, and we checked, about a mile from Ben Gurion Airport. And it was not in an abandoned field. It destroyed the house in that area. Secondly when i first covered the gulf war, the faa did close traffic to tel aviv when the rocket scud missiles launched by Saddam Hussein came into the tellte tel aviv area. Well, ill tell you they did discuss this. That treatment. My measure, by any one rocket, Ben Gurion Airport has among the best safety records in the world. And if you compare other trouble spots such as ukraine, the disparate treatment of israel is troubling. But the second thing is, the timing was not accidental, i dont believe. The timing was such that this ban was announced at the same time that john kerry arrived in the middle east. At the same time that john kerry was announced 47 milli 47 milli gaza, much of which will end in hamas hands. And the effect was imposing a ban on israel. So the questions i ask, where did the decision come from . Was this a politically driven decision from the white house or was it a professional decision from the faa . If it was the latter, wolf, that will be easy to answer. They can produce the career efforts at the faa who engage in expert analysis regarding the danger in pakistan, or yemen or ukraine and they can lay out the analysis. If on the other hand, it was designed to exert Economic Force to pressure israel into giving in to the demands from america that is a very different decision. And those are questions Congress Needs to ask and have answers to. Well, i spoke with the head of the Israel Aviation Authority today. I spoke earlier right after the faa announced the initial ban on flights united airways, delta flights coming into israel. And for 36 hours he said on a professional level, the best aviation experts of israel and at the faa, they did have a very detailed discussion about the threat that u. S. Passengers potentially could face after those 36 hours. The professional experts at the faa decided to lift the ban. And the white house completely denies they had anything to do with it. They say it was strictly an faa decision. You clearly dont buy that. And wolf, i would know you have been a reporter long enough to have skepticism of representations that the administration gives. Of course it is right the israeli authorities were doing everything they could to persuade the ban. Of course that was right. But the question was, what was the decisionmaking that went in to the Obama Administration imposing the ban on the front end. And when i asked those questions the result has been anger, has been dismissiveness, but a refusal to answer the question. I thought it was striking that a state Department Spokesperson when asked that question dismissed it but then proceeded to speak for the faa, to speak on behalf of the faa. And it is a very different decision, if it came from the state department or the white house as an economic tool to pressure israel, then it was simply an airline judgment on Airline Safety and that is easy to assess because if there was the latter, there will be career employees and written reports laying it out. If it was the former then there will be a trail of communications from the political leadership. Reporter you know, there are other airlines that i guess it is fair to say followed the u. S. Lead. In fact, even right now, lufthansa, the german carrier still are not flying out of israel. How do you explain that . They want to make money, those flights are pretty crowded. Look, europe has never been shy about putting undue pressure on the nation of israel. And america and israel enjoy an unshakeable alliance. Weve never had an administration demonstrate as much antagonism. The questions i ask come in the context of a Global Movement to divest and impose sanctions against israel that sadly, john kerry made comments that many took are encouraging the effort. And in that context the effect of the faa order was a blunder. Now, im glad that the Obama Administration reconsidered. But we should still acquire was this a political decision done from political motives or was it an independent agency . If it was only the faa they should easily be able to produce the experts and the written Expert Opinion before they issued the ban. Reporter here is what the state Department Spokesperson she will be joining us later this hour said about you and your statement. Ill play the clip. Faa has publicly said the only consideration they take into account is the security and safety of american citizens. I think the goal, senator cruz should, in theory, play fair and not play politics. All right, go ahead and respond to marie harf. Well, look, yesterday when she was asked about it she chose to ignore the question and belittle the very serious questions. But then, strikingly, she stood up and said she would speak on behalf of the faa. I think it is a little ironic that the state department protests they had nothing to do with the decision but then state department is acting for the official spokesperson for the faa at this time. Right now the facts we know suggest this was a decision driven by the state department and perhaps by the political operatives at the white house. Because there is no justification for why you would ban flights into israel and not ban them into other far more dangerous areas, including most notably ukraine where a commercial airliner was just shot down with a missile. Over 200 people were murdered with a russian buk missile. And yet the faa has not banned flights to ukraine. That raises a serious question and even in the comments you just played, the state departments spokesperson will not answer the questions or produce the internal faa analysis that she claims were the basis of this decision. Well, she is standing by live, well talk to her. But very quickly you know the Obama Administration with the support of House Republicans and democrats continues to provide about 3 billion a year, and now supporting another 250 million or so to help israel deal with the iron dome antimissile system that worked so well over the past few years. You cant say the administration is totally antiisrael, helping israel militarily, with this kind of financial assistance. Well, you can say that, are they honoring the treaty commitments that have passed with overwhelming bipartisan support . Yes, but at the same time the administration goes out of its way repeatedly to criticize, attack, hector the nation of israel. It is just a couple of months ago that john kerry