[Amara Walker:] Hello, I'm Amara Walker at CNN Center in Atlanta. Welcome to NEWS STREAM where news and technology meet. Palestinian officials say 26 people have been killed by Israeli air strikes since Monday as Israel answers militant rockets with attacks of their own. Shock and sadness in Brazil as Germany humiliates the hosts. Brail crashed out of the World Cup after a 7-1 defeat. And both candidates claim victory in Indonesia's presidential election. Israel warns it may send ground troops across the border into Gaza to stop a barrage of rocket attacks. The Israeli military says Hamas militants have fired more than 130 rockets into Israel in the past 24 hours. Air raid sirens rang out in Tel Aviv as Israel's Iron Dome intercepted a rocket over the city. Israel says it launched 160 airstrikes on, quote, terror sites in Gaza early Wednesday. Palestinian officials say 26 people have been killed and more than 150 people have been injured in the air strikes since Monday. Now a human rights group says eight of those killed in the air strikes were children. Diana Magnay is near Asghalan in Israel near the Gaza border. Diana, the death toll is rising. Eight children dead. What's the latest?
[Diana Magnay, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, I'm being plagued by flies. I apologize, Amara. There are continuing rocket attacks from Gaza towards Isarel, long range missiles being used. As you mentioned, there were rockets intercepted over Tel Aviv and a barrage of rocket fire last night. And there were also three that actually went over Jerusalem and hit parts of Jerusalem. But the thing about this Iron Dome missile defense shield, which the Israelis have put in place since 2012 is that it is and has been working very effectively to intercept rockets that are aimed at civilian densely populated areas like those key cities. And what we are learning from the IDF is that one of the rockets, which actually last night went beyond Tel Aviv to Khadeira was something called an M302 missile, which they believe to have been supplied to Hamas by Iran. They believe that because a few months ago they intercepted a ship carrying a large amount of the M302 missiles, which they said back then was being transported for Hamas by Iran. Clearly, you know, despite the efficiency of the Iron Dome system and the Israeli air strikes on Gaza territory, and they have targeted 160 areas overnight, concealed rocket launches, weapons caches and also the homes of Hamas militants. This does not seem to be deterring from Hamas and other militant groups from using their rockets and possibly also showing what kind of weaponry they have and how far it can go. Effectively these missiles can reach 99 miles, across most of Israel, Amara.
[Walker:] So you have these long range rockets being used by Hamas. Israel saying that ground troops is a possibility. How likely is that considering what's happened in the past?
[Magnay:] Well, in 2012 ground troops again were amassed, or reservists it was discussed the possibility of using ground troops in the conflict at the end of 2012. In the end, there was a ceasefire brokered by Egypt and they weren't brought in. At the moment, what the IDF is saying is that they have been authorized to bring in an extra 40,000 reservists who would then, for example, go to the West Bank whilst the regular forces would move into Gaza. But they haven't recruited that many people yet. It's not as though 40,000 are waiting on the borders for the marching orders to go in. And obviously once you send in ground troops you up the ante. Once you have these two populations Hamas militants facing off on the ground with Israeli forces that changes the dynamics significantly. Israel is saying it's still hypothetical. It is on the cards. Their objective seems to be not just to cease the rocket fire into Israel, but also to hammer Hamas so that they seriously deplete its weapon capabilities, its rocket firing capabilities. And if you think about the fact that they believe Hamas to have some 10,000 missiles, then that probably is going to take quite some time Amara.
[Walker:] You know, these Israeli air strikes that have been carried out, some people are getting phone calls in Gaza warning that an attack is imminent. Are civilians getting enough time to evacuate? And are human rights groups saying anything about this? And also what's being done to mediate an end to this crisis that we've seen time and time again?
[Magnay:] Well, this knock on the roof, as it's called, is part of the strategy of the IDF really to try and avoid unnecessary or you know, too many casualties. So the calls are made by Israeli intelligence to these houses five minutes before an air strike. Now yesterday in Gaza we saw a situation where a call was made. Civilians went onto the roof and formed a human shield and the airstrike happened nonetheless, seven of them killed in that attack, two of them just 9-year- old, 10-year-old boys. So, you know, there are going to be casualties whatever precautions the Israelis put into place and that is the sad fact of conflict.
[Walker:] All right, Diana Magnay with the latest there. Diana, thank you for that report. Well, the Israeli defense forces says Iron Dome missiles that Diana talked about have intercepted dozens of rockets fired at Israel from Gaza since Monday. Now the high tech system has been in use since 2011. It's mainly used to intercept rockets fired from Gaza. Israel's military claims the Iron Dome intercepted more than 80 percent of incoming rockets fired during the 2012 conflict with Hamas. Each interceptor missile cost almost $50,000 and they are largely paid for by the U.S. Well, the airstrike have turned homes into in Gaza, into rubble. Israel says it's taking aim at Hamas militants and says it's warning civilians to get out of harm's way. But as Ben Wedeman reports, that may not be enough to save lives in one of the most densely packed places on Earth.
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn International Correspondent:] Rihab picks through the ruins of what was her home, destroyed by an Isareli war plane Tuesday afternoon. Seven people were killed in the strike, including two young boys. "I heard the blast," says neighbor Salha, "then saw them pulling out the bodies." Five minutes before the strike, Rihab received a phone call. "I'm David," he said. "And he called me by my name," she tells me. "He said, get out of the house for your children's sake." She wouldn't say if she or her family were part of Hamas, but those killed were forming a human shield on the roof of a home belonging to members of Hamas' military wing, Palestinians sources said. The Israeli military makes these warning calls known as a "knock on the roof" before a strike to minimize civilian casualties. Here, the roof was knocked clean off. Rihab left the house in this cramped neighborhood of Han Unis in southern Gaza before the missile struck. Regardless of what the target might be, the problem in Gaza is that it is one of the most crowded places on Earth. Wherever Israel strikes, there's a high probability that innocent people will be hurt. Many of the homes struck Tuesday belong to families believed to be associated with Hamas. Ahmed, who lives across the ally, echoes the anger of the neighborhood. "In that house," he says, "lived an old man and his wife and his five sons and their wives and children and they hit it. It's routine for the Israelis. Any Palestinian is a target." 12 hours earlier, the Zalut family home in Gaza City suffered a similar fate. They also received a warning. "
[A 3:] 15 in the morning," says Majid Zalut, "my cousin received a call to leave the house within five minutes while we were having our last meal before the Ramadan fast. Five minutes later, they struck." In this case, the knock on the roof left no injuries. Others weren't so lucky. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Gaza.
[Walker:] And you are watching News Stream. Still to come, the winners of a World Cup semifinal are usually ecstatic with joy, but it was a somber scene after Tuesday's match as German players handed out hugs to a devastated Brazil. Yeah, it was just that bad. We bring you more on one of the football tournament's most stunning defeats. Plus, a look ahead at what to expect from today's semifinal when top teams Argentina and the Netherlands face off. We take you live to Brazil next.