[Wolf Blitzer:] Happening now, a SITUATION ROOM special report. Day of mourning remains of Malaysia Flight 17 victims are returned to the Netherlands as the U.S. learns about new information about troop movements in the area where the plane was shot down. Defiant flight the former New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg, flies into Tel Aviv in a show of support, as the U.S. extends its ban on flights to Israel's main airport. My interview with Michael Bloomberg coming up. Raging war Israel launches fresh air strikes in Gaza, Hamas unleashes new rocket attacks, while diplomats work desperately to try to halt the fighting. Are they on the verge of a cease-fire? I'm Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. You're in
[The Situation Room. Announcer:] This is CNN breaking news.
[Blitzer:] We're following two major breaking news stories in the world's spotlight right now. The war between Israel and Hamas now in its 16th day and the growing diplomatic pressure to end the fighting that has already claimed more than 700 lives. Also, new developments in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, including victims' remains returned to the Netherlands and new intelligence about what's happening on the ground in Ukraine and in Russia. We have CNN's global resources on both stories. Our correspondents are standing by, so are our guests, for the kind of coverage you won't find anywhere else. Let's begin with our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. She's working the Flight 17 story for us you've got new information,. Barbara. What are you learning?
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Correspondent:] Tens of thousands of Dutch citizens having the sad honor of standing watch for the fallen of Flight 17.
[Starr:] Sounding the call known as the last post, a centuries old military tradition that a fallen soldier's duty is over, now rest in peace. As if they fell on a battle field, the Dutch rendering full military honors, saluting the civilian victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. Lining the roads, the people of the Netherlands making clear respect will be paid. Even the smallest citizens laying flowers. As the solemn tribute continued, the accusations did not stop. The Ukrainian counterintelligence chief telling CNN's Kyung Lah he has no doubt the rebels knew they were firing at a passenger jet.
[Vitaly Nayda, Ukraine's Director Of Informational Security:] If they possess this kind of military weapons, like Buk-M1 automatic missile launcher, they should know that the plane is not a military plane. It's a big target. They should analyze and they should know that it was a civilian plane.
[Starr:] The United States laying the blame on Russia.
[Marie Harf, State Department Deputy Spokeswoman:] Responsibility lays at the feet of President Putin, not just for this, but for every incident that we have seen throughout this conflict.
[Starr:] Vladimir Putin's intentions on Ukraine's eastern border with Russia are unclear, as U.S. officials question moves by the rebels and their backers in Moscow. U.S. intelligence is looking at whether these two Ukrainian Su-25s, shot down Wednesday, could have been brought down by surface to air missile fire from the Russian side of the border. CNN has learned the latest U.S. intelligence indicates, in fact, some Russian troops have moved right to the border, giving them the ability to attack into Ukraine without entering the country, even as they continue to send tanks and artillery across into rebel-held territory. Intelligence also indicates some rebels have fled from their Ukrainian strongholds and gone back into Russia. Now the U.S. calculates that the missile that hit Flight 17 perhaps flew for less than 10 seconds before it hit the plane. So where are we? If the Russians, indeed, are moving closer to the border, which U.S. intelligence believes they are, that puts their rockets, their artillery, in range of Ukraine territory. And, Wolf, it puts the region even more on a hair trigger Wolf.
[Blitzer:] It certainly does. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thank you. Let's get some more now. Let's go to Eastern Ukraine. CNN's Phil Black is on the scene for us Phil, we just heard about those two Ukrainian military jets shot down. What are you picking up where you are?
[Phil Black, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, what the leaders of the pro-Russian militants are telling us is that they shot down these two fighter aircraft, a short distance from the crash site of MH17. And they did it using shoulder mounted surface to air missiles. The Ukrainian government has a different view. It says that these aircraft were flying at an altitude beyond the range of any shoulder mounted or mobile system. It says it has preliminary information suggesting that these weapons may have been fired across the border in Russia. So, once again in this conflict, one event, two different versions. But what it shows is that despite all the international outrage, really, toward the separatist forces over the downing of MH17, it has not deterred them or their willingness to take on and really launch surface to air attacks against Ukraine's air power Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Phil, what's the latest from the Malaysia Flight 17 crash site?
[Black:] It's an eerie sight out there, or it certainly was today. It looked effectively abandoned no militants, no investigators, no emergency workers, some journalists and some locals trying to get back to their normal lives, and, really, that's it. So no progress, really, in answering the key questions that still need to be answered. And, crucially, I think, no further searching for more human remains or bodies. International leaders and officials have expressed concern that it is possible that there could still be more passengers' bodies out there that have yet to be found. And it is certainly possible. It is a wide search area. And the search that we've witnessed up until this point has not been particularly thorough Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Phil Black on the scene for us in Eastern Ukraine. Thank you very much. Let's get some more on the situation at the crash site. Joining us is Michael Bociurkiw. He's spokesman for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the OSCE. Thanks so much for joining us. Explain what the OSCE's crash site access today was, if you could describe some pieces of interest you seem to have been able to uncover today for the investigators.
[Michael Bociurkiw, Organization For Security & Cooperation In Europe:] Right. Thank you for having us back, Wolf. Well, I don't want to contradict your correspondent, but there was activity out there today, not from the rebel side, but certainly from our side and, you know, the Malaysian side. We spent the whole day out there today. And we combed more area, I think, than we had ever before. Yes, we did stop for quite some time at two or three pieces of fuselage which, if I can describe it this way, they bore characteristics that were not consistent with everything else we've seen, kind of shrapnel and hoses that were very, very bizarre. So the Malaysians took quite an interest in that. A lot of photographs were taken. We documented it carefully. And then on the other side, Wolf, we we know our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We made an intentional effort today to keep a very keen eye out for any sign of human remains. We did only see, in one spot, some human remains and we noted that and told the rebel kind of escort about it. And then, also, there were reports coming in tonight from journalists who had been out in the field that they perhaps have seen more bodies. So as a monitoring mission, our policy is to follow up those types of reports. And we will be doing that tomorrow with the Malaysian experts.
[Blitzer:] Do you know how many bodies have actually been recovered and how many still remain at that wreckage site, presumably?
[Bociurkiw:] Wolf, we have no way of independently verifying that. When that train left, shortly before it left, we were told by the rebels in the vicinity of about 260 or 270. But at that time, we were very careful to say we have no way to verify that. So all we're going by is what we actually see. We we put the figures of what we actually saw in body bags at a few dozen. But, again, that was a very limited area. Tomorrow, and for as many days as necessary, we will keep our eyes very widely open and travel as much territory as we can to spot that type of remains, because, you know, there is a lot of, Wolf, there's a lot of heavy debris still out there. And we're not quite sure what could be underneath. So we will do our best to to document that and...
[Blitzer:] I'm sure you will. Let's not forget, 298 people were aboard that Malaysian aircraft. You've also said that parts of the plane were actually hacked into, possibly with saws. Explain the state of the wreckage, what you what you and your team actually saw.
[Bociurkiw:] Yes. Sure. That was about two days ago, when we were leaving one of the main impact sites. And, Wolf, this is where the cockpit and the forward section of the first class section actually came down and kind of pancaked very compactly. But as we were leaving that site the other day, there were workers in uniform taking out a power saw and hacking into it quite invasively. And we took note of that. We reported on it. And then also, Wolf, at the other main site, the site where the earth was really scorched by a lot of fuel that came down, that's where the wings came down, there was big parts of the fuselage that were propped up yesterday. And, again, we noted that difference and we reported on it. And it will be for others to draw conclusions. But there were marked differences from when we first came here.
[Blitzer:] Do you think that that chaos, that horrible scene you saw, is actually going to jeopardize the entire investigation?
[Bociurkiw:] Well, you know, at the beginning, there was chaos. And as Phil Black accurately described it, it was there calmness all over today, and even yesterday. It's like everyone picked up and left. There were no tents there anymore that they were using to, you know, manage the whole site. No activity going on except, you know, ourselves. We had about almost 15 people out there today. And we had the Malaysian experts with us. But, no, we feel somewhat on our own right now. And, you know, as I've said many times, there are people far better placed and trained than we are to do this very specialized type of work. And just quickly, Wolf, I will say, within our monitoring mission, over 40 different countries are presented. We do have former military, former law enforcement, human rights experts. So we will do what we can to help this process as much as possible.
[Blitzer:] We've spoken several times with the U.S. ambassador to the OSCE, Daniel Baer, who's really helped us appreciate what's going on. And Michael Bociurkiw, you've helped us, as well. Keep up the good work. Good luck to you and your entire OSCE team. We'll stay in close touch with all of you. Thank you very, very much. Up next, the FAA extends the ban on U.S. airlines flying into Tel Aviv. So why did the former city mayor, Michael Bloomberg, hop on one of the few remaining Flights? I'll ask him. Also, growing talk of a possible cease-fire here between Israel and Hamas. I'll get the latest from a spokesman from Hamas. Also, I'll speak with the spokesman for the prime minister of Israel.