  We analyzed an XMM-Newton EPIC observation of a bright knot, named FilD, in
the northern rim of the Vela SNR, where the shock has encountered a cloud. The
good combination of sensitivity, spectral, and spatial resolution allowed us to
describe the internal structure of the observed ISM clouds and to obtain
estimates of their temperature, density, O, Ne, and Fe abundances, and of their
extension along the line of sight. We also examined the interaction of the
shock with the FilD knot and estimated that the time elapsed from the shock
impact is about one cloud crushing time. Our analysis allowed us to conclude
that the observed X-ray emission is best explained by the propagation of
transmitted shocks through ISM inhomogeneities with an inward increasing
density profile. We found that the interaction with the shock determines the
heating of the inner part of the clouds and the evaporation of the outer part.
