In today’s newsletter: Attack on alleged Hamas command centre beneath hospital is a key test for Israel’s military and its ability to protect civilians
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Good morning. In the last few hours, Israeli soldiers have stormed Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital. Israel says that the raid, which is still underway, is a “precise and targeted operation against Hamas”, which it accuses of operating a command centre beneath the medical facility, a claim Hamas denies.
The attack at al-Shifa is militarily significant – but it is also taking place in the arena of an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe that has drawn huge global attention, with conditions rapidly deteriorating on the site since the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) surrounded it last week. And so whether Israel is able to carry out the pinpoint attack it has promised is likely to be a critical test of the international community’s view of its conduct of the war.
Conservatives | Suella Braverman has launched an astonishing attack on Rishi Sunak the day after he sacked her as home secretary, claiming he had “betrayed” the country by failing to deliver on secret promises he made her last year. Braverman indicated she will spearhead a Tory rebellion over the government’s Rwanda asylum plan, which faces a crucial legal test on Wednesday.
Cyprus confidential | Chelsea FC is facing questions over how its former owner Roman Abramovich funded the club’s success, after leaked files revealed a string of secret payments that may have breached football’s strict “financial fair play” rules. The disclosures are part of an international investigation into a cache of 3.6m leaked offshore records in Cyprus.
Cost of living | The UK inflation rate has dropped to 4.6%, down from 6.7% in September, it has just been announced. That is an even larger fall than was expected. Head to the business live blog for more.
Ukraine | The Ukrainian president’s chief of staff has said for the first time that Ukraine’s forces in the Kherson region have a foothold on the eastern bank of the Dnipro river, potentially opening a new line of attack towards Crimea. Andriy Yermak claimed that the advance was part of a developing counteroffensive.
Health | A vaccine to protect against chickenpox should become a routine childhood jab in the UK, government advisers have said, adding that it would not only reduce the number of children who become sick from the virus, but also cut the number of cases that can become fatal.
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