Newshour

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says more than 30 people have died of starvation in the past two days, as Israel continues an offensive in the centre of the territory. We hear form a resident of Gaza City.

Also in the programme: Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osborne dies, and mining for lithium in Chile's salt flats.

(Photo: Smoke rises in the aftermath of an Israeli military operation in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip. Credit: Reuters)

The World Health Organization says Israel's offensive in central Gaza has compromised its efforts to continue working, after its facilities came under attack. Also on the programme, we speak to the Kenyan human rights activist who was arrested on suspicion of terror offences; and Australia's pristine waters off its south coast have been inundated by a toxic algal bloom.

(Photo: Smoke rises during Israeli strikes amid the Israeli military operation in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, July 21, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled)

Israel has launched a ground offensive against the town of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. It comes as 25 countries, including two permanent members of the Security Council, have called for an immediate end to the fighting. Newshour speaks to Norwegian foreign minister Espen Barth Eide.

Also in the programme: the stolen painting returned to Italy after 52 years; Venus Williams is back on court.

(Picture: Smoke rises during Israeli strikes amid the Israeli military operation in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, July 21, 2025. Credit: Reuters)

The Israeli military has launched a ground and air assault on Deir al-Balah in central Gaza just hours after Israel issued evacuation warnings for several parts of the town. Also on the programme, Ecuador's most notorious gang boss is extradited to the United States; and, a musical which tells the stories of two Iranian women who feel compelled to leave Iran and make dangerous journeys to Europe.

(Photo: Smoke rises during Israeli strikes amid the Israeli military operation in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, July 21, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled)

Health officials in Gaza say dozens of people have been killed and dozens more injured by Israeli fire as they waited for a UN aid delivery.

The IDF has not previously sent ground troops into the neighbourhoods because it believes that Hamas is holding hostages there.

Also in the proghramme: Syria's interior ministry says violence in the southern city of Sweida has "halted"; six months since Donald Trump returned to the White House. we'll check in with Trump supporters; and British men collect world relay gold medals 28 years late.

(Photo shows people waiting at an aid point in Gaza on 20 July 2025. Credit: Ramadan Abed/Reuters)

There have been further clashes in Syria's Suweida province where gunmen from the Bedouin community have continued to target the Druze minority in defiance of a ceasefire. Also today: another twist in the complex relationship between Rupert Murdoch and Donald Trump; and a symphonic tribute to The Beatles.

(Photo: Bedouin fighters stand in the back of a truck at an Internal Security Forces checkpoint working to prevent Bedouin fighters from advancing towards Suweida, following renewed fighting between Bedouin fighters and Druze gunmen, despite an announced truce, in Walgha, Suweida province, Syria July 19, 2025. Credit: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi)

Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa has pledged to protect all of Syria's minorities as he sent security forces to the Druze heartland, after sectarian clashes left hundreds dead in Sweida.

We hear from a Druze woman whose whole family was killed by what she claims were Syrian government forces.

Also, should Putin-aligned artists be welcomed at cultural events? And, a symphonic tribute to The Beatles.

(Photo: Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Aleppo, Syria, 27 May, 2025. Credit: Reuters)

Renewed clashes between Bedouin tribesmen and members of the minority Druze Community have erupted in the south of Syria. A war monitoring group says there's been fighting and shelling in neighbourhoods of the mainly Druze city of Suweida. We'll hear from Damascus and get a US view of Israel's policy.

Also, why President Trump and some of his most loyal supporters are at odds over the late, disgraced financier, Jeffrey Epstein.

And some virtuoso piano playing from a performer born with only one hand.

(Photo: Syria's interim president said government forces had expelled "outlaw groups" in Suweida. Credit: Reuters)

Three and a half years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, European Union countries have agreed to slap yet more sanctions on Moscow. Slovakia had been blocking the package over concerns regarding a separate EU proposal phasing out gas imports from Russia. This is the EU’s 18th package of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.

Also on the programme: we hear from a British surgeon working in Gaza about what he calls a concerning pattern of injuries in patients being brought to hospital from aid centres; and the North Korean defectors making their debut in a new K-pop boy band.

(Photo: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a press point on 18th package of sanctions against Russia in Brussels, Belgium, June 10, 2025. Credit: REUTERS/Yves Herman)

Pope Leo XIV has renewed his call for a Gaza ceasefire after three people sheltering in the Catholic church in Gaza City were killed in an Israeli strike. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzabella gives us his reaction to the bombing. The Israeli military says the incident is under review.

Also on the programme: We ask whether the Israeli bombing of targets in Syria complies with international law; and the sale of ROSEBUD, the wooden sledge that drove the plot of one of the greatest ever films: Citizen Kane.

Photo: Mourners attend the funeral of Palestinian Christians Saad Salama and Foumia Ayyad, who were killed in a strike on the Holy Family Church, according to medics, at the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church, in Gaza City, July 17, 2025. (Credit REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alka)