The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Times report that several members of Islamic State escaped from prison after inmates provoked a riot and seized control of part of the prison in north-east Syria, Kurdish and US military sources have said. The Independent reports that the inmates broke through internal walls of the prison, seized an entire floor, and attempted to escape.

The Guardian reports that health officials focused on Lebanon, Iraq and Syria fear people infected with coronavirus far exceed the official figures disclosed by all three governments, and claim non-state actors are quarantining entire communities in areas outside state control. Reuters reports that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has told the relevant authorities to boost strategic reserves of staple goods, a presidency spokesman said on Monday, as global concerns about food security rise amid the coronavirus crisis.

BBC News reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tested negative for Covid-19, after placing himself in isolation until the results of his test. The Independent reports that Netanyahu and his staff were advised to self-isolate after a close aide tested positive for the disease. Reuters reports that Israeli police have used a drone, helicopter and stun grenades in recent days to prevent people gathering in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood of Jerusalem in defiance of Health Ministry measures aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. Reuters reports that Israel’s defence ministry plans to use software that analyses data gathered from mobile phones – allegedly produced by the spyware firm NSO – to locate likely carriers of the coronavirus in order to test them.

BBC News reports that Syria’s health ministry has said a woman has died from coronavirus, becoming the war-torn country’s first officially reported fatality, state media reported, without giving a location.

Reuters reports that the US has allowed Russian, Chinese and European companies to continue their work at Iranian nuclear sites to make it harder for Tehran to develop nuclear weapons, the US State Department said on Monday.

The Times reports that oil prices have tumbled to their lowest level in 18 years amid fears that producers could quickly run out of storage space for crude rendered surplus by falling demand in the coronavirus crisis

The Telegraph report that fighting between Libya’s UN-recognised Government of National Accord and rebel leader General Khalifa Haftar’s army has surged, despite commitments by both sides to respect a “humanitarian pause” to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

The Times reports that an Iranian migrant was charged yesterday with plotting to arm thousands of asylum seekers trying to enter Europe through the Greek-Turkish border.

In The Guardian, Anna Stavrianakis argues that the UK continues to feign ignorance in the Yemen conflict, refusing to track the use of its weapons in a conflict that has targeted civilians and healthcare facilities.

In The Jewish Chronicle, Jonathan Boyd asks whether Jews are dying in disproportionate numbers after contracting Covid-19, given the high average age of British Jews and the likelihood of the virus being more virulent among the old.

The Israeli media report that coalition talks between Blue and White and Likud have slowed down due to differences over key ministerial appointments and wider government policy. Channel 12 news reported last night that a government may only be finalised in time for the Passover holiday next week. Differences include appointments to the Internal Security and Justice ministries, as well as Knesset speaker. The two sides are also divided on applying Israeli sovereignty over West Bank settlements. Senior officials from Likud and the Yamina party publicly criticised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for giving away too many portfolios to Blue and White and its allies. “A unity government is important but not at any price,” Likud whip Miki Zohar tweeted yesterday. The future government is expected to have 32 ministers (out of 78 Knesset members in the unity coalition).

The Israeli media report that the Labour party will also join the Netanyahu-Gantz government, with party leader Amir Peretz likely to be appointed Economics Minister and MK Itzik Shmuli Welfare Minister. The agreement was reportedly reached between Peretz and Blue and White. The Labour party’s third Knesset member, Merav Michaeli, has refused to join the government and is demanding a vote in the Party Committee because Peretz and Labour had previously promised not to serve in a Netanyahu government.

Palestinian media report that two Palestinian suspects were arrested overnight by Israeli forces in Ramallah, despite the coronavirus outbreak and full lockdown instituted in the Palestinian Authority. According to Israeli reports, the two suspects are believed to have been actively involved in prior terrorist attacks. Israeli forces were met with a hail of rocks, Molotov cocktails, and paint bombs on their way out of the Palestinian city.