The Independent covers a Jewish Chronicle interview with Prime Minister David Cameron which was previewed yesterday. In the interview, Cameron strongly defended Israel’s right to defend itself during last summer’s Operation Protective edge. He quoted his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, saying “Israel uses its weapons to defend its people and Hamas uses its people to defend its weapons.”

The Financial Times, Guardian and Telegraph all report that Iranian navy vessels yesterday seized a ship in the Straits of Hormuz which was flying the Marshall Islands flag. It remains unclear why Iranian forces took such action, but the United States has responsibility for the defence of the Marshall Islands as part of an agreement which sees Washington enjoy military basing rights on the islands. As a result, the Telegraph reports that American officials termed yesterday’s Iranian seizure a “provocative act” while the Financial Times suggests that the incident will “add to international tensions” in the region.

The Guardian online includes an update on the controversial trial of two Al-Jazeera journalists in Egypt. A committee charged with investigating coverage by the correspondents concluded yesterday that they had not fabricated news footage as alleged. A third accused Al-Jazeera journalist, Australian Peter Greste was released earlier this year.

In the Israeli media, the rescue and recovery efforts by Israeli teams in Nepal remains a major item. The front page headline in Israel Hayom reads “Survival and rescue.” Meanwhile, Yediot Ahronot and Haaretz both highlight that a handful of Israeli travellers remain unaccounted for following the devastating earthquake.

Meanwhile, a major item in both Maariv and Haaretz is the opinion of Israeli officials that arch-Hams terrorist Mohammed Deif is alive and has resumed command of Hamas’s military activities. Israel attempted to assassinate Deif during Operation Protective Edge and it had been unclear until now whether he had survived or not. According to Israel Radio news, Deif is working to strengthen ties between Hamas and Iran, which has allocated significant funds and weaponry for Hamas to re-arm.

The ongoing coalition talks are prominently covered in Israel Hayom, which says that Likud has reached agreement with Moshe Kahlon’s Kulanu and the ultra-Orthodox party United Torah Judaism (UTJ). However, Yediot Ahronot focuses on some of the apparent terms of the agreement between Likud and UTJ, which specify that legislative attempts by the previous government to better integrate the ultra-Orthodox public into the workplace and the army will be dropped. Yediot Ahronot highlights the dismay of Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, whose party spearheaded the reforms. Meanwhile, Israel Radio news says that Likud’s coalition talks with Jewish Home and Shas remain difficult.