Gaza, 18 dead since dawn from Israeli raids. Israel orders evacuation of Gaza City

On this last point, the United Nations Population Fund intervened, warning that humanitarian operations in Gaza are on the verge of collapse due to extreme fuel shortages. In a joint statement, seven UN agencies said that 'fuel is the backbone of survival in Gaza: it powers hospitals, ambulances, water supplies and bakeries. Without constant supplies, 2.1 million people will be left without access to vital services'.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN correspondent in Israel, reported that he was attacked by Israeli settlers while documenting the situation in the West Bank. "The rear window of our vehicle was broken, but we managed to escape unharmed," he wrote on X. "This is just a fragment of the reality that many Palestinians face on a daily basis."

On the Israeli domestic political front,the ultra-Orthodox Degel HaTorah party announced the withdrawal of its deputies from the coalition led by Benjamin Netanyahu. A decision linked to the failure to advance a bill to exempt students of the 'yeshivot' - the Jewish religious schools dedicated to the intensive study of Torah (Jewish law) and Talmud - from military service.

In an interview with Euronews, Israeli Foreign MinisterGideon Sa'ar sought reassurance on the country's strategic orientation, stating thatIsrael "has no intention of maintaining control over Gaza in the long term". Only in May, Netanyahu had stated that the Jewish state would "take control of all of Gaza" and relaunched the so-called "Trump plan", which envisages the resettlement of Gazawis in other countries.

The 27 "took note" of the agreement reached with Israel by EU High Representative Kaja Kallas to increase the volume of humanitarian aid to Gaza but also agreed that "monitoring of its implementation" will be necessary. A European diplomatic source told ANSA. A report will now be submitted to the EU's Policy and Security Committee (Cops) every fortnight and the foreign ministers will draw conclusions at the informal Council meeting in Copenhagen at the end of August. "The response options listed by the Kallas report remain on the table," the source explains, adding that "no one" has proposed to activate them.

Tensions are also flaring up again in southern Syria, where the Israeli army launched raids against tanks advancing towards the province of Suwayda. The area is the scene of clashes between Druze militias, Syrian government forces and tribal groups. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the fighting left about 100 people dead. Israel justified the intervention as a preventive measure to protect the Druze community, which has repeatedly turned to Tel Aviv for support.

Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said they had ordered the IDF to strike Syrian forces 'following the attack on the Druze in Syria'. The Times of Israel reported this. The statement said that the IDF was ordered to strike "regime forces and weapons that have been brought into the Sweida area", which Netanyahu and Katz say is "contrary to the decided demilitarisation policy, which prohibits the entry of forces and weapons into southern Syria that endanger Israel".

Finally, in Jericho, in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli Defence Forces announced the arrest of a man accused of attempting to ram a military vehicle. Soldiers responded by shooting and blocking the alleged bomber, who was taken into custody.