In today’s newsletter: A humanitarian worker outlines the situation on the ground following an 11-week blockade – and whether the country’s announcement will make a difference

Good morning.

As Israel intensifies its assault on Gaza, bombarding the already besieged strip with relentless airstrikes and expanding its ground operations to “take control of all areas”, the international community has urged Israel to open the border for aid. Countries including France, the UK and Canada have threatened action against Israel if it does not stop its assault on Gaza, which were described as “disproportionate” and “intolerable”.

Europe | Keir Starmer has vowed his EU reset deal will deliver cheaper food and energy for British people, heralding a “win-win” as he sealed the high-stakes agreement with concessions on youth visas and fishing.

Russia | Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have held a rare phone call, which the US leader described as “excellent”, but the Kremlin refused to agree to an immediate ceasefire in the war with Ukraine despite pressure from Washington and European allies.

UK news | The personal data of hundreds of thousands of legal aid applicants in England and Wales dating back to 2010, including criminal records and financial details, has been accessed and downloaded in a “significant” cyber-attack.

Welfare | At least £357m in carer’s allowance benefit was paid out in error over the past six years because of official failures, resulting in debt and misery being inflicted on tens of thousands of people.

NHS | A senior doctor has been accused of wrongly failing to escalate the care of a 13-year-old girl whose death led to the adoption of Martha’s rule, which gives the right to a second medical opinion in hospitals.

Latest snapshot also finds half of households have had to sell or swap clothes for food, despite pressure on Israel to improve aid deliveries

More than half of households in Gaza have had to sell or swap their clothes to be able to buy food, the UN is to report, as a high risk of famine remains across the whole of the territory after a new round of violence in recent weeks.

The latest “Special Snapshot” of Gaza from the UN’s hunger monitoring system, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), that will be published on Tuesday also says that one in five of the population – more than 495,000 people – are now “facing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity” involving “an extreme lack of food, starvation, and exhaustion”.