Thursday briefing: Does the latest round of Tory backstabbing spell doom for Rishi Sunak?

In today's newsletter: Former minister Simon Clarke has called for the prime minister to walk before the next election - here's why

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Good morning.

Betrayal, treachery and drama: combined together these elements make for great reality TV. They do not work quite as well in government.

Middle East | Thousands of people sheltering in hospitals in Khan Younis are now trapped after the Israeli army said it had encircled" Gaza's second largest city after two days of heavy fighting, in what officials have described as the last large ground assault in the three-month-old war.

Prisons | A prisoner who repeatedly self-harmed spent more than 800 days in segregation, according to a damning report that reveals that jails are using isolation to manage severe mental health needs. The inmate is one of dozens with severe psychological issues who have been held for months at a time in isolation.

Russia | Russia has accused Kyiv of downing a large military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war, after a crash in the Belgorod region that killed everyone onboard. Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied that it hit the plane.

Housing | The government wants to give British citizens higher priority for social housing in a controversial scheme that will be badged as British homes for British workers". Housing experts say it is likely to be either illegal or unworkable, or both.

Post Office | Kuldeep Kaur Atwal, a former post office operator, has come forward claiming she was told British Asian women were often pushed into theft as auditors urged her to confess to stealing 30,000 - a charge of which she was later cleared.