Israel has begun its long-planned ground offensive in Gaza City. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed an “intensive operation” had begun as he appeared in court as part of a long-running corruption trial, and asked to be excused from testifying because “important things” were happening. A United Nations report has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, having shown a clear “intent to destroy the Palestinians”. Police say security will be at a “very high threat level” around Windsor Castle today as Donald Trump arrives for his second state visit to the UK. Public order officers, dog and horse units and drone squads have been deployed, as well as a marine unit drafted in to patrol the River Thames. An app that detects when older users are getting ill is halving hospital admissions, saving the NHS more than £1.5m every day. The software, which has been rolled out to more than 10,000 carers and nurses in England, analyses key markers like blood pressure and heart rate using AI to detect subtle health changes, often before symptoms emerge.

A dangerous moment for the Tories

Danny Kruger’s defection from the Conservatives to Reform UK is a big deal for both parties, says Tom Jones in The Critic. Until now, the Tories who have jumped ship to Nigel Farage’s party have been “bit-part players, also-rans or have-beens”: the likes of Nadine Dorries, Andrea Jenkyns and Jake Berry. Kruger, the Eton-educated son of top chef Prue Leith, is not only the first sitting MP (and shadow minister) to defect; he is also widely considered one of the Tory party’s “most thoughtful, serious and intellectually capable” figures. A social conservative and devout Christian, he previously worked for David Cameron and then Boris Johnson. Speaking alongside a delighted Farage yesterday, the 50-year-old said his rationale for shifting allegiances was simple: “The Conservative party is finished.”

In a way, Kemi Badenoch brought this on herself. Just two weeks ago, the Tory leader declared that if people didn’t like the way she was running things, they were “welcome to leave”. The worry for her now is that the party’s other “rising stars” will decide that if a man of Kruger’s capabilities and conviction thinks the Conservative Party is a busted flush, then they’re better out than in. This should also be a “turning point” for Reform. It further burnishes their credentials as a serious operation. And it should allow them to be more selective in who else they take on from the Tories – if they import too many “veterans of the old regime” it rather dilutes their claim to “radical renewal”. One thing’s for sure: Kruger won’t be the last Conservative to make the jump into the “turquoise sea”.

💔😬 As for Kruger himself, says Paul Goodman in The Daily Telegraph, he’ll be hoping he can fare better than previous Tory defectors. Neither Douglas Carswell nor Mark Reckless, who joined the Brexit Party, sit in Parliament as Reform MPs today. And the wider list of those Farage has “worked with, fallen out with and seen off” is a very long one, including the likes of Robert Kilroy-Silk, Godfrey Bloom and Rupert Lowe. “No one else is allowed to last long in the limelight.”