The first day of Operation Protective Edge is covered widely this morning. The Telegraph focuses on the rocket barrage fired yesterday by Hamas from the Gaza Strip, which reached Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In total, around 160 rockets were fired into Israel yesterday, reaching as far north as Hadera. Meanwhile, the Financial Times, Guardian, Times, Daily Mirror, Sun, Evening Standard and Metro all highlight the Israeli response of air strikes against specific targets in Gaza, focusing on the leadership of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. However, a number of civilian casualties were also reported to have been killed as a result of the strikes. The Independent includes an eye-witness account of the fighting from the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, while the Telegraph features a similar item from Gaza.

The Times also notes condemnation by Foreign Secretary William Hague of “the firing of rockets into Israel by Gaza-based militants,” saying that “The people of Israel have the right to live without constant fear for their security.”

In commentary on the situation, the Telegraph praises Israel’s “commendable restraint” thus far, but warns against fanning the flames of extremism in the wider region. Also in the Telegraph, David Blair speculates that it may not be in Israel’s best interests to topple Hamas, as the Jihadist alternative which may fill the subsequent power vacuum could be even worse. Writing in the Independent, Ben Lynfield says that a beleaguered Hamas is desperately attempting to re-assert its relevance, having recently lost the support of Egypt and seen a unity pact with Fatah come to nothing.  In the Times, Roger Boyes warns that global Jihadists could use the current instability as a pretext to target Israeli interests across the world. An editorial in the Financial Times says that ultimately the current operation is further evidence that the status quo of Israel’s West Bank occupation is “unsustainable.”

In other news, both the Times and the online edition of the Guardian report that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has said that Iran needs 190,000 centrifuges to satisfy its energy needs, not the 10,000 centrifuges envisaged by Western powers. Negotiations in Vienna are ongoing between Iranian officials and P5+1 (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) representatives to broker a long-term deal over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

The Israeli media is thoroughly dominated by day one of Operation Protective Edge. The headlines in Yediot Ahronot, Maariv and Haaretz focus fully on the rocket barrage faced by Israel yesterday. Meanwhile, Israel Hayom’s front page headline is devoted to suggestions that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed willingness to “Go all the way” in order to restore quiet. Israel Radio news updates the latest developments, saying that Israel carried out strikes on 160 targets in the Gaza Strip overnight. Israel Radio news also reports that Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas spoke with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who expressed a desire to broker a ceasefire in the near future.

There is plenty of commentary on the conflict. In Yediot Ahronot, Nahum Barnea suggests that the prime reason behind Hamas’ decision to escalate the fighting is because it believed that Israel was bluffing in its threats to respond. Also in Yediot Ahronot, Alex Fishman paints a dark picture, saying “from here on in, neither side has any control: Not over the timetable and not over the way that this campaign will end.” Meanwhile, in Israel Hayom, Yoav Limor predicts “tense days on the Israeli home front.”