welcome back to our viewers in the u.s. and around the world. i'm natalie allen. >> and i'm george howell. hamas has rejected a 24-hour ceasefire extension with israel. the group says the withdrawal of israeli soldiers from gaza is mandatory for any deal. israel accepted the extension late saturday and its military appears to be holding fire. n and in libya, the united states evacuated its embassy from tripoli on saturday. the urgent removal of 150 personnel comes amid intense violence in the region. >> the last set of coffins containing the remains of flight 17 victims has arrived to the netherlands. forensic experts say they've made the first positive identification of a person who

was on board that doomed flight. they aren't releasing a name yet, but they say the deceased was a dutch national. turning back now to the situation in gaza where what appears to be a unilateral ceasefire is still in place. >> after a 12-hour humanitarian truce that expired on saturday, the israeli security cabinet agreed to a 24-hour extension proposed by the united nations. that was supposed to go into effect more than nine hours ago. hamas, however, rejected that deal. while activity in gaza seems calm, israel says several rockets have been fired into israeli territory over the last few hours. >> the unrest has spread to the west bank. mass protests turn violent with at least four palestinians killed, and one victim, a human rights activist, was shot in the chest. ben wedeman spoke with his heart-broken family. >> friends and family come to

mourn the death of a 47-year-old human rights activist. israeli security forces shot him in the chest during a protest at the entrance to his village friday afternoon. >> translator: wherever they are, their orders are to kill. >> reporter: he was one of at least eight palestinians killed by israel, as unrest spreads through the occupied west bank sparked by israel's onslaught in gaza. >> he was doing nothing. he was just standing with his friends, trying to -- trying to give a message for the whole world, that there is something going on in gaza. but they shoot him with cold blood, as i said, for no reason. >> the israeli army claims its troops were responding to gunfire from the palestinians. although eyewitnesss and the israeli human rights group, who

had an observer there that day deny there was any live fire from the palestinians. >> i was on this march, the solidarity march with what's happening in gaza, but he did not throw stones. hasham was in the midst of a group of people, and he was selected by a sniper to be shot. >> in the nearby refugee camp, hundreds attend the funeral of a 28-year-old killed in clashes on friday. the funeral was followed by more clashes. israeli police and soldiers find tear gas amongst the houses as stones were hurled back. >> on a regular basis, israeli troops come in here and there are clashes, equally on a regular basis. what is changing is that the clashes are taking on a new intensity. many of them focused upon the situation in gaza. but beyond recent events, this is the reality of life on the

occupied west bank. the war in gaza, adding fuel to the fire, but the fire has been smouldering, sometimes flaring for decades. for 47 years, israel has tried to subdue the rest of palestinians under its control and is no closer to achieving its goal than it was in 1967, the year israel conquered gaza, the west bank and jerusalem. that, if nothing else, is certain. well, the 12-hour ceasefire between the two sides gave some israeli soldiers a chance to see their loved ones. the emotional meetings took place at a checkpoint between israel and a closed military zone. but for dozens of other families, there will be no reunions. at least 42 israeli soldiers and three civilians in israel have been killed in the fighting.

>> translator: there are no words to describe the sorrow and the loss. not just his loss, but all those who have been killed. we hope that the operation will end, that the war will end already, and that there will be peace. >> citizens from other countries are fighting for israel too. those who joined israel's defense forces, i should say, have become known as lone soldiers. it's believed there are more than 700 americans serving there. alexandra field spoke to some of them. >> two americans killed in the conflict in gaza, they weren't obligated to serve israel. they decided to. now they're hailed as hireeroeso did the same. >> i was sad, but i was proud to see two people who did something they believed in. >> you weren't required to serve. why did you choose to? >> i'm jewish, and i felt it was really important.

>> ari plait was raised here and served there. he has dual citizenship with israel and the u.s. foreigners who serve in israel's army are commonly called lone soldiers, but often their decision to join is motivated by feelings they share. >> i chose the israeli army, because as a jewish person, the imminent threat of destruction, of all the atrocities that happen in our entire life, from the holocaust, from beforehand, it was something that if we have an army now, i have to help them out. >> more than 900 palestinians have been killed in the latest conflict. including two americans. >> max was from los angeles, from the san fernando valley, where my brother and i grew up. though i didn't know him personally, it hits close to home. >> an american and israeli citizen served with the idf for

three years. his brother is on active duty. his unit is in the conflict zone. >> you start imagining the worst and on the one hand, each time they release a name, you breathe a sigh of relief because it's not him. but then you realize it's someone else's son or brother or father. >> zlotnik says soldiers from his unit have been called back to duty. so far, his team hasn't. >> it's not something i would ever want to put myself in, but at the same time, this is what we have to do. >> zlotnik and plait don't live in israel, but both believe they have a responsibility to fight for it. >> it's easy to live in america and advocate for israel, but if you want to take the next step and being active and stand up for what you believe in, it seemed a logical progression. >> alexandra fields, cnn, new york. france has declared three days of mourning for those

aboard flight 5017. investigators have covered the flight data recorders and it's hoped they'll shed light on why the plane crashed in mali on thursday. coming up, abducted by pro-russian rebels, we meet one man who says he's been through hell and back. and take a closer look at the dangerous job of securing the release of hostages in ukraine. and mh17 is a tragedy that should never have happened, but it is not the first time a passenger plane has been mistakenly shot down. we take a look back at iran air, flight 655, next. unlimited cash back.

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turning now to the latest on the down of flight 17. it's been about a week and a half since the plane came down and the crash seat remains unsecure. the dutch government says a group of forensic experts were unable to reach the area on saturday due to fighting in the region. hundreds of coffins containing the remains have been sent to the netherlands for identification. but other human remains are still scattered amid the debris. all 298 people on board that flight were killed. the u.s. and ukraine say a missile fired by pro-russian

separatists hit the plane. despite the danger, international observers say they'll keep working to get investigators access to the crash site. cnn spoke to a representative in europe and he provided us with the latest from the scene, as well as what is planned next. >> investigators with us found new identification documents, and we had a better look at the bigger pieces of fuselage as well. one more thing, of course, very difficult for us, all of us, we did discover evidence of human remains. so what happened next is more investigators from the netherlands and from australia, are going to add to the numbers already here on the ground. and we intend to take them out to the field tomorrow. >> they say there are still many questions to be answered about flight 17. much of the blame focuses on russia and pro-russian

separatists. russia denying officially they played a role in this. but as history shows, the united states has also been part of a strategy like this and had similar reaction. the images we're seeing now, 298 victims of a passenger plane, shot out of the sky. it's happened before. july 3rd, 1988. what was supposed to be a short, roughly 30-minute flight from iran to dubai ended in tragedy. 290 innocent passengers became victims to ongoing tensions in the region. iran air flight 655, mistakenly shot down by the american navy ship, the uss vin sens. >> it was a shock, because the russians had just shot down a korean passenger plane a few months before. and the u.s. had never done that. so it was shock and disbelief certainly. >> and just as we're seeing

today, the incident back then, sparked international outrage, finger pointing, and controversy. all of this directed as the united states. >> it seems likely there was an inadvertent, tragic mistake. given these circumstances, why shouldn't the united states pay reparations to the families of these lost ones? >> were you out there banging for reparations when our hostages were held against their will for so many months? >> officials blame the u.s. navy ship acted in self-defense in international waters, firing two surface-to-air missiles is what was thought to be an enemy warplane. >> i'm not going to digify way response the charge that we deliberately destroyed iran air 655. >> even then george h.w. bush stood rigid, saying quote, i will never apologize for the united states. i don't care what the facts are approximate. i'm not an apologize for america kind of guy. despite the enormous loss of

civilian life, military leaders defends the action. >> captain rogers acted reasonably and did what his nation expected of him in defense of his ship and crew. >> it happened during a time of tension between the iran-iraq war. the ship was there to support friendly shipping. iran condemned the attack, claiming the u.s. acted negligently in firing the missiles. marking yet another negative milestone between the two countries. >> for the iranian leaders and combeeny it was an indication the u.s. might come to war. and that led him to the conclusion that he had to end the war. >> years later, the united states did agree to pay more than $60 million to the victim's families. though never fully admitting responsibility or apologizing

for what happened. >> so years after that incident, the u.s. government did express deep regret for what happened and that was part of the compensation to the victim's families in that incident. >> a freelance journalist who had been working for cnn has been freed by pro-russian rebels in ukraine. he was detained last week, but more than 200 people are still being held there. cnn's sarahside ner meeds with one man who's job it is to negotiate. >> beaten, shot, and threatened with death, this is the face of survival. held by pro-russian rebels in eastern ukraine, nikolai was even show on russian television alongside his pro-russian abductors. a group calling itself the russian orthodox army. >> what did they do to you? >> caller: they shot me in the leg. i was hit with rubber bullets. then my head was severely

beaten. i was beaten. i was taken out to be shot and killed. >> reporter: he said the physical and psychological torture he experienced is nothing compared to other hostages and there are many others. the numbers are staggering. the united nations human rights monitor says there have been more than 400 kidnappings since the clfs started in the east. about half are still being held. the u.s. ambassador to ukraine a says the kidnappings are a tactic to terrorize. >> their whole strategy, the kremlin strategy, is premised on creating a false narrative, weaponizing information. >> the ukrainian government says it does not have an official negotiator to deal with kidnappings. the government line, we do not negotiate with terrorists. but we found a man who is negotiating with them. he's a retired general who has an official letter green

lighting his unofficial efforts. >> translator: as a rule, people who are taken hostage face very cruel humiliation. they are beaten to get information. the next step, he says, is torture. unfortunately the survival statistics are very sad. >> reporter: he's never without at least two phones, even as we did our interview, he took a call. another hostage negotiation in full swing. he says the most difficult case right now involves a female ukrainian pilot who he says was taken over the border to russia. he's talking to us because he's frustrated with kiev's and russia's government. >> how difficult is this job? >> translator: it's quite complicated. both sides are angry and the new president does not understand this process, which creates obstacles for prisoner exchanges since there's no war officially declared, there can be no legal exchanges of prisoners. >> so far he's helped free 65

people, including nik lie. in an ironic twist, he was captured on his way to free another hostage. he was abducted by the group he was negotiating with. he says there's a reason he's been successfully getting prisoners released. >> translator: i knew him as a decent officer. he's a very sensible officer with a gift to talk to people and find common ground. that gift allowed him to laugh and again walk freely on the streets of kiev. >> we have a programming note for you, former u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton sits down with our own fareed zakaria, she says putin is indirectly responsible for the shooting down of mh17. that's on fareed zakaria gps, airing at 10:00 a.m. for our viewers in the united states and

at 11:00 a.m. for our international audience. >> pope francis renews his message for the mafia while visiting a troubled region of italy. woman: what do you mean, homeowners insurance doesn't cover floods? [ heart rate increases ] man: a few inches of water caused all this? [ heart rate increases ] woman #2: but i don't even live near the water. what you don't know about flood insurance may shock you -- including the fact that a preferred risk policy starts as low as $129 a year. for an agent, call the number that appears on your screen. i'm spending too much time hiring and not enough time in my kitchen. [ female announcer ] need to hire fast? go to ziprecruiter.com and post your job to over 30 of the web's leading job boards with a single click; then simply select the best candidates from one easy to review list. you put up one post and the next day you have all these candidates. makes my job a lot easier. [ female announcer ] over 100,000 businesses

have already used zip recruiter and now you can use zip recruiter for free at a special site for tv viewers; go to ziprecruiter.com/offer5. welcome back. pope francis is continuing to spread his anti-mafia message. he took that message right to the heart of another mafia stronghold. the town of kas erta, not far from naples. the mafia in that area is believed to have poisoned local

farmland, dumping deadly toxic waste. the pope delivered an open-air mass there saturday. encouraging the people to say no to evil and corruption and lawlessness. more than 1,000 california residents have evacuated as wildfires rage on east of sacramento. >> the fire began friday, destroyed five homes and several other buildings. the cause remains under investigation, but officials say only about 20% of that fire is contained. talk about fires all over the west, i don't remember us talking about one near the capital, but they're all over the place. >> foot hills of the sierra nevada. and we're north of 3,000 acres that have been scorched as a result of sand fire. any fire that gets started in california is going to be a big, big problem. the entire state is under a

severe drought or worse. as of the last check, 36% of the state, in the deep red, that is exceptional drought, you don't go higher than that. it's going to take several seasons to make up, if we can begin to make up this unbelievable drought in california. relative humidity, nice and high, but that's the marine layer right along the coast. get inland, and forget about it. it's very low. it's a problem for fire-fighting efforts. the other problem is the wind. but for the next few days, that part of the equation, going to be able to help things out. the winds are not going to be as strong over the next couple days. the temperatures will still be hot, talking temps in the mid to upper 30s, that's selsicelsius. and then through the afternoons, cool down a little bit here, but nevertheless, that is the situation there with the sand fire.

there's no rain in the forecast. if anything, it would be lightning strikes, that would make things a heck of a lot worse. speaking of which, arizona, look at this, phoenix again, the same satellite from yesterday. the thunderstorm activity has blown up over the city here. upwards of 7,000 people without power as a result of heavy thunderstorms. of course because of the monsoonal flow. that's typical. what is not is what i think is about to occur in the united states later on today. a bit of a complex and atypical pattern for summer. we'll have a potential tornado outbreak here with a few strong tornadoes not out of the question. if you're watching from lexington, or charleston, if you hear thunder, get to your local weather folks on the tv, because that may not just be a regular thunderstorm. the potential for significant severe weather for this afternoon. so we'll watch for that. in the entire orange area, that's depicting severe weather potential as well.

but if you're in the red, that's going to be a problem later on today. we'll keep you posted on that. then in the next hour, we'll get back to europe, where the tour de france continues. we have more pictures and the forecast -- >> it just keeps going. >> well, it ends today. so that's it. no more. commonwealth games in the uk are just getting going. >> and they're indoors. >> a lot of us is, and we'll still talk about it. >> all right, ivan. that will do it for our special coverage this hour. thanks so much for watching. >> the coverage continues here on cnn with john voss reporting live in jerusalem right after the break. ♪ turn around!

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starts as low as $129 a year. for an agent, call the number that appears on your screen. fire, agreeing to extend a humanitarian truce, but in gaza, hamas says no, sending rockets across the border. ate mid chaos and violence in tripoli, the u.s. evacuates its embassy. a surge of fighting across libya, said to be the worst since the fall of gadhafi. and headed for scrap, the "costa concordia" about to reach its final resting place. hello, everyone, and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around