Overview

• The European Commission sent member states a package to partially suspend EU trade preferences for Israel, raising tariffs on roughly 37% of Israeli exports and proposing targeted measures against ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, extremist settlers, and Hamas officials.
• Adoption would require a qualified majority for the trade step and unanimity for personal sanctions, with governments such as Germany and Italy signaling reservations as Brussels also moves to halt €6 million in bilateral payments and pause about €14 million for projects.
• Israeli forces pressed deeper into Gaza City and forecast months of urban fighting, with the military estimating up to 3,000 Hamas fighters entrenched and deploying large ground units supported by precision strikes and intelligence.
• Israel says nearly 400,000 people have left Gaza City under evacuation orders, humanitarian groups report many cannot afford or access safe movement, and the army opened a designated evacuation route for 48 hours starting at noon local time.
• UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the situation as unbearable and aid groups described catastrophic conditions, as a UN‑commissioned panel reported Israel is committing genocide, a conclusion Israel rejects.