Yesterday’s exchange of fire over the Israel-Syria border on the Golan Heights makes headlines this morning. Significantly, although missiles from the Syrian civil war have strayed into Israel on several occasions over the past few months, yesterday’s cross border incident was the first time that the Syrian regime itself took responsibility for firing on Israel. The Telegraph, Evening Standard, Independent, Metro and the online editions of the Guardian and Financial Times report that the Syrian government claims to have destroyed an Israeli military vehicle that had crossed the ceasefire line. The same papers note that Israel said a routine IDF border patrol vehicle was attacked resulting in no injuries. Israel returned fire with precision Tammuz missiles. Most reports note comments by Israel’s Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon and IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz who both warned that Israel would not tolerate Syrian fire but equally would not be drawn into its neighbour’s conflict.

The Financial Times, Telegraph and the Times all report that the UK is pushing the European Union to follow its’ lead and formally classify the military-wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation, a move which could seriously hamper Hezbollah’s fundraising and logistical capacity. The UK initiative comes after a Bulgarian investigation found Hezbollah responsible for a bus bomb targeting Israeli tourists in Bulgaria last summer and a Hezbollah operative was convicted of planning a similar attack in Cyprus. It is thought that Hezbollah’s growing direct military cooperation with President Assad’s forces in Syria has increased the chances of the EU adopting the UK proposal next month.

Yesterday’s controversial announcement by Iran’s clerical leadership of the eight candidates that it has approved to stand in a presidential election next month is covered by the Guardian and the online editions of the Telegraph, Financial Times, Independent and the Times, with the latter paper saying that the vote “is set to be a farce.” Two high-profile politicians considered to be reformists, including former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, have been excluded from the list, leaving just allies of Ayatollah Khamenei as presidential candidates.

In the Israeli media this morning, yesterday’s cross-border skirmish on the Golan Heights is a prominent story, after the Assad regime admitted to being responsible for firing on an Israeli army vehicle. Israel Hayom and Makor Rishon focus on the warnings given by IDF Chief Benny Gantz after the incident who said that Assad would “pay the price” if he caused a deterioration on the Golan Heights. Although Maariv’s headline states “Assad orders troops to fire on Golan Heights,” Israel Radio news suggests that Israeli officials are considering the possibility that Syrian troops in the field decided independently to open fire.

Yediot Ahronot, Maariv and Makor Rishon highlight a separate incident in the Golan Heights yesterday. An IDF soldier in the Engineering Corps was killed while taking part in a routine mine-clearing exercise. The anti-tank mine which he encountered should not have exploded under the weight of a human being and the IDF has launched an investigation into what Makor Rishon calls a “catastrophe.”

Meanwhile, Maariv reports that Israel has permitted the use of Egyptian war planes in the Sinai Peninsula for the first time since 1977. The Egyptian aircraft are assisting in efforts to locate and free seven soldiers and policemen who were kidnapped last week by an extreme Islamist group in the area which is demanding the release of fellow Islamists from Egyptian detention.