The Guardian, Financial Times and The Associated Press report that a UN investigation into atrocities committed in Syria has for the first time accused Russia of direct involvement in war crimes for indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas. The Times and Reuters report that Russian forces helped President Assad to recapture ground lost to a heavy Turkish artillery assault on Monday, including the strategic rebel-held town of Saraqeb. The Associated Press reports that Turkey’s president, Recep Erdoğan, said on Monday he hopes to broker a cease-fire in Syria later this week in Moscow when he meets with Vladimir Putin, after growing alarm over direct clashes in northwest Syria between Turkish troops and Syrian forces backed by Russia.

BBC News, Reuters, The Times, The Associated Press, The Financial Times, The Independent, The Telegraph and The Guardian report that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed victory in Israel’s general election with early results putting him ahead of main rival Benny Gantz, as exit polls suggest his right-wing bloc is on course to win 59 seats to become the biggest group but still short of a Knesset majority by two seats.

The Times and the Financial Times report that the World Health Organisation has sent an emergency team into Iran last night as fears set in that its coronavirus epidemic was spiralling out of control, as the Iranian authorities raised the acknowledged number of cases by more than 50 per cent to 1,501. The Associated Press reports a member of a council that advises Iran’s supreme leader died Monday from the new coronavirus, becoming the highest-ranking official within the Islamic Republic’s Shiite theocracy to be killed by the illness ravaging the country.

The Guardian and The Associated Press report that international efforts to broker a Libyan ceasefire have been plunged further into chaos by the unexpected resignation of Ghassan Salamé, the UN special envoy to the country.

Reuters reports that the UN atomic watchdog policing Iran’s nuclear deal with major powers plans to issue an imminent rebuke to Tehran for failing to provide access to one or more sites that are of interest to it, several diplomats who follow the agency said on Monday.

The Independent reports that video emerged on Monday of Greek coastguard officers apparently trying to capsize a boat full of refugees at sea, as a crisis mounted over migrants from the Middle East attempting to reach western Europe.

In The Guardian, Simon Tisdall argues Turkish president Recep Erdoğan is ‘reaping what he sowed’ in Syria, as Turkey has alienated its allies by going further than a proxy-based conflict with the Assad regime.

All the Israeli media focus on the election results. Nahum Barnea in Yediot Ahronot writes: “The people have spoken. The people have spoken through the mouths of right-wing voters who in previous rounds of voting either stayed home or voted for Blue and White, and the people have spoken through centre-left bloc voters who chose to stay home. Based on the assumption that the tally is correct and does not change dramatically in the course of the night, the message from the polling stations is clear: the way out of the political impasse in Israel runs through Netanyahu. One can like that and one can hate it, but that is the way things are.  The question is, how do we move forward. The dilemma is first and foremost Netanyahu’s: will he prefer to form a government that has a solid majority in the Knesset, or will he prefer a narrow right-wing-Haredi government? If avoiding trial is his top priority, he will opt for a narrow government. That was also the commitment he made to his voters in the course of the campaign. On the other hand, a narrow government will have a hard time passing legislation and it will be vulnerable to extortion by its own fringe elements. This does not guarantee stability.”

In Haaretz, Anshel Pfeffer calls the projected result a “stunning comeback”, he writes: “If Monday night’s exit polls are accurate or nearly accurate, half of the Israeli electorate voted for a man set to go on trial in two weeks for bribery, fraud and breach of trust. They did so fully knowing the charges against him, that he had used every dirty trick in the book, and told barefaced lies over and over again. They still voted for him because they trust his leadership more than they trust Israel’s legal system. Certainly more than they trust Benny Gantz.”

In the commentary in Israel Hayom, Amnon Lord writes, “a majority of the electorate has delivered an overwhelming vote of no-confidence to the judiciary that has been working against the prime minister. The indictments are not even viewed as crimes by the public, and big words like “bribery” and “breach of trust” are seen as having little backing by the facts. If  the public were bothered by the crimes, Netanyahu would have been gone long ago.”

The Israeli media also report on the Israel Defence Force (IDF) preventing an election day attack yesterday.  The IDF confirmed that they hit a vehicle on the Syrian side of the northern Golan Heights after its occupants attempted to carry out a sniper attack across the Syrian border.  One missile was fired at the vehicle and several people were apparently injured. Israel Hayom quotes Defence Minister Naftali Bennet  who said that: “Even on Election Day, our enemies keep trying to hurt Israeli citizens and disrupt our lives, but we are going to stop them from doing that like we do every day.”