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Israel said it has deployed ground troops in its assault on Hamas in the Gaza Strip after days of relentless bombing aimed at the Palestinian militant group, which has fired more than 1,500 rockets into the Jewish state.

Israel has launched a barrage of air strikes against militants in Gaza this week, killing 103 Palestinians, including 38 women and children, according to health officials in the territory. Hamas has fired salvos of rockets deep into Israel, killing seven Israelis, including a soldier and a child.

The deployment of ground troops marked a significant escalation of the conflict and raised the prospect of an Israeli invasion, the first since hostilities in 2014 which killed 2,000 Palestinians and 72 Israelis. Joe Biden’s guarded approach to Israel also stands to be tested by the violence.

Concerns have been building inside the Israeli army that Hamas has spent years building up a critical mass of weapons. The sides have fought three wars since the militant group took control of the strip in 2007.

Violence between Israeli Jews and minority Israeli Arabs has also erupted in several Israeli towns, opening a domestic front. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to quell rioting with “force, a lot of force”.

Coronavirus digest

• More than a quarter of adults in the EU have indicated they are unlikely to get inoculated against Covid-19, according to a Eurofund survey.

• UK prime minister Boris Johnson refused to rule out the possibility of localised lockdowns to stem a variant identified in India. Almost 5m people are waiting for non-urgent NHS treatment.

• Extending the interval between doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine from three to 12 weeks strengthened the antibody response in elderly people, according to a UK study.

• The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said fully vaccinated Americans do not have to wear masks in most settings. Officials are handing out free MetroCards and lottery tickets to encourage vaccinations.

• Organisers of the UN COP26 climate summit are exploring a special vaccination programme to ensure the conference can proceed face-to-face in November.

• More the 60m jobs were lost in the travel and tourism sector as the industry shrank one-fifth last year. But Brian Chesky, Airbnb chief executive, predicted the “travel rebound of the century” as the company reported promising first-quarter revenues.

• The pandemic is threatening the climbing industry crucial to Nepal.

• Cuba has begun its vaccination drive using two homegrown shots — before they have received full regulatory approval.

Follow the latest on our live blog, and sign up for our Coronavirus Business Update newsletter.

In the news

Hedge funds look to tap corporate dealmaking Hedge funds are aiming to profit from a surge in dealmaking as economies reopen. Merger arbitrage funds, which buy shares in M&A targets and bet against the acquirer, gained 7.7 per cent in the first four months of 2021, a marked contrast with last spring’s coronavirus-driven market turmoil.

David Cameron defends Greensill lobbying The former PM has defended lobbying UK ministers and officials on behalf of Greensill Capital, insisting it was to benefit the economy rather than preserve the value of his share options in the supply-chain finance company that collapsed in March. “Your reputation is now in tatters, Mr Cameron,” said Labour MP Rushanara Ali.

Alibaba swings to first loss since listing The Chinese ecommerce group reported a net loss of $836m, its first quarterly loss since its US public listing six years ago. Last month, Chinese regulators levied a record $2.8bn antitrust fine on Jack Ma’s group, which weighed on its earnings.

Russian allowed to bring $6bn divorce claim in London The Court of Appeal has overturned a lower ruling and decided that the former wife of one of Russia’s richest men can bring her $6bn divorce claim in England, reinforcing London’s position as a global centre for such litigation.

McDonald’s raises US wages The fast-food chain plans to increase wages an average of 10 per cent for more than 36,500 of its employees as it struggles to fill vacancies. Businesses across the US are facing a labour shortage, even with millions still unemployed following the pandemic-fuelled downturn.

Argentina buys time for debt payment Martin Guzmán, Argentina’s 38-year-old finance minister, is touring several European capitals this week with President Alberto Fernández to appeal to the “Paris Club” of 22 countries — which include the US, Japan, France and Germany — to delay a $2.4bn debt payment due on May 30.

Netflix outpaced by old media The latest round of quarterly results from media companies has put the industry disrupter in the role of defensive incumbent. Netflix added fewer than 4m subscribers globally in the first three months, missing its own forecasts, while rivals Disney, HBO and ViacomCBS all grew their streaming services more quickly.

The day ahead

N Ireland party vote Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party will elect a leader today following the defenestration of Arlene Foster last month — in significant part due to the political fallout from the Northern Ireland protocol. Boris Johnson will also meet his counterpart in the Republic of Ireland, Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

Economic data US job figures could tame inflation nerves, but rising consumer prices still rank high on worry lists. Industrial production is expected to advance in April. (FT, WSJ)

Earnings Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mizuho Financial, Semiconductor Manufacturing International, Foxconn, Honda Motor, Toshiba and Hargreaves Lansdown report.

What else we’re reading

How the super-rich soaked up Covid-19 cash As the virus spread, central banks injected $9tn into economies worldwide to keep the global economy afloat. Much of that stimulus went into financial markets, and from there into the net worth of the ultra-rich. Ruchir Sharma charts the rise of “good” and “bad” billionaires around the world.

Ian Osborne: the secretive Spac man When the tech financier invests in a company, executives must agree to an unusual clause: not to talk about it without his permission. Such tactics have helped Ian Osborne and his firm Hedosophia fly under the radar even as he built a $1.5bn venture capital business involved in high-profile investments and takeover bids.

The English vs the French The two countries are practically twins in gross domestic product, absurd over-centralisation and declining national grandeur. The deeper issue is that the English and French hold opposing world views, writes Simon Kuper: England is a complacent society, and France is an apocalyptic one.

Can you really change your personality? It’s hard to grasp the possibility that we might change over the years as we leave school, move house, acquire hobbies and friends, get jobs, become parents and experience love and loss. Yet we do, and we will. Tim Harford has three tips on self-change.

Relax: trust fund kids are not taking over the world Middle-class families are haunted by a contradiction, writes Chris Giles. They want to spend time, money and effort helping their children get ahead while fretting about society being distorted by inheritance. But the evidence does not suggest they are heading towards a future dominated by unearned wealth.

Podcast of the day

A crisis in the Middle East Gideon Rachman talks to Diana Butto, a Palestinian lawyer, and Noga Tarnopolsky, a journalist based in Jerusalem, about the political conditions that have kindled the region’s worst fighting in years.