Headlines are dominated this morning by the fallout from weekend air strikes in Syria, thought to have been carried out by Israel, which targeted sophisticated Iranian weaponry being transferred to Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Independent, Daily Express, Independent i and Guardian online all report indications from Israeli leaders that the air strike was intended to halt Hezbollah’s progress and was not intended as an attack on the Assad regime. The Telegraph online includes a similar report that claims the air strike killed at least fifteen elite Syrian troops. The Times says that Syrian President Assad has informally warned that he will respond militarily to a further Israeli strike. The same article and a separate piece in the Telegraph online notes that US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with Russia’s President Putin in Moscow to discuss breaking the deadlock in Syria, with Russia remaining a staunch supporter of the Assad regime.

Meanwhile, the Guardian, Telegraph, Daily Mail, Independent i and Independent online all cover comments made by United Nations (UN) human rights investigator, Carla del Ponte, who suggested that opposition forces in Syria have used sarin nerve gas, although she admitted that the investigation is far from finished. All reports note that the United States and the UN itself has urged caution over del Ponte’s claims.

There is significant commentary over the growing uncertainty in Syria. An editorial in the Times suggests that developments over the weekend makes the decisive involvement of the United States even more urgent and suggests arming moderate opposition groups. Writing in the Financial Times, David Gardner says that the weekend air strikes, attributed to Israel, have fuelled Assad’s conspiracy theories of a Western plot to carve up Syria. Meanwhile, in the Telegraph, David Blair discusses the dilemma now facing Hezbollah as it weighs whether to respond to the weekend air strikes.

The Independent reports that both Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas are both currently visiting China, suggesting that China is searching for a larger role in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the Independent i and the online editions of the Guardian and Independent report on comments made Israel’s deputy foreign minister and Likud MK Ze’ev Elkin, who said that Google’s decision to re-label its homepage from “Palestinian territories” to “Palestine” is “very problematic.”

In the Israeli media, the front pages are mostly dominated by economic measures set to be included in the 2013 and 2014 state budgets by Finance Minister Yair Lapid. The headline in Yediot Ahronot simply states “The Austerity Measures” while both Haaretz and Israel Hayom focus on a 1.5 per cent rise in income tax, which is expected to be introduced across all tax brackets. Among the other measures being planned are reduced child allowances, a one per cent rise in VAT and a reduction in expenses in all government ministries. Yediot Ahronot, Haaretz and Israel Hayom also cover the likelihood that mandatory service in the IDF will be shortened by several months, which will save the army an estimated £270million per year, according to Israel Radio news. Meanwhile, Maariv notes on its’ front page that despite Israel starting to produce natural gas just a month ago, electricity prices are set to increase by 6.3 per cent.

Maariv also focuses on continued tensions along Israel’s northern border with Syria, although Israeli officials are looking to calm the situation. Yediot Ahronot and Maariv report that Israel and Turkey are on the verge of resolving differences following a productive meeting between respective delegations in Jerusalem yesterday. Diplomatic relations broke off in 2010 after nine Turkish citizens were killed whilst trying to prevent Israeli commandos taking over a Gaza-bound protest ship. Both newspapers speculate that the improved relations between the two countries were a factor in the weekend air strikes on Syria, thought to have been carried out by Israel.