The Telegraph, Independent and Independent i all cover the appointment of Yossi Cohen as the new head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. Cohen is currently the head of Israel’s National Security Council and has forged a close working relationship with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Telegraph emphasises Cohen’s nickname, “The Model” due to his typically dapper appearance. Meanwhile, the Independent says that Cohen is likely to have been responsible for Mossad’s efforts to hamper Iran’s nuclear programme including the assassination of key scientists. The article also notes that Netanyahu indicated that Cohen will be tasked with advancing diplomacy with Sunni Arab countries.

The Financial Times reports that Netanyahu is set to send an envoy to Egypt in order to resolve a dispute over gas supplies. An international arbitrator ordered that Egypt compensate Israel more than £1 billion for ending gas supplies in 2012 following attacks on its pipeline in Sinai. Egypt has consequently suspended a lucrative deal for Israel to supply it with natural gas, hampering Israel’s export plans.

The Times reports that Hamas is facing a growing challenge to its authority from ISIS in the Gaza Strip, plus a trend of defections by Hamas fighters who have shifted their loyalties towards ISIS. Meanwhile, the Independent i includes a brief focus on the high-tech scene in Gaza, which includes four business incubators and accelerators for entrepreneurs.

The Guardian online reports that a BBC report has concluded that Radio Four’s Today programme breached accuracy guidelines when John Humphrys and Kevin Connolly implied that all the deaths during the current wave of violence were Israeli casualties.

In the Times, Col. Richard Kemp, former commander of UK forces in Afghanistan, writes that the Foreign Office should end its de-facto ban on senior members of the Royal Family from visiting Israel, in order that they can honour the large number of UK war dead buried in the country, mainly as a result of fierce battles during World War One.

The Guardian online reports that US Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Samantha Power says Washington is conducting a “serious review” of claims that Iran conducted a ballistic missile test last month in contravention of two UN Security Council resolutions.

The Telegraph online says that the Pentagon is “assessing the credibility” of reports that a US air strike in northern Syria killed 26 civilians. Meanwhile, the online editions of the Guardian, Telegraph and Independent all cover a study which says that the number of foreign fighters joining ISIS has doubled during the last year. The figures include 760 British citizens in Syria, of which around 350 have returned to the UK.

In the Israeli media, the top story in Maariv, Haaretz and Israel Hayom is the evidence given yesterday by Prime Minister Netanyahu at the Knesset Economics Committee over the agreement between the government and major investors regarding regulation and profits for the nascent natural gas industry. The government has been accused of bowing to corporate greed in finalising the arrangement, but Netanyahu said yesterday that developing Israel’s natural gas industry is vital for the country’s security and international diplomatic standing. Israel Hayom also says that the gas deal is likely to end up in the High Court.

Israel Radio news reports that Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin arrived yesterday in the United States for an official visit and will today meet US President Obama at the White House. Writing in Yediot Ahronot, Nahum Barnea says “Rivlin’s visit is intended to illustrate that in the relationship between the two political establishments, in Washington and Jerusalem, a new leaf has been turned over, free of past baggage.”

Meanwhile, Israel Radio news says that US Presidential candidate Donald Trump has announced that he will visit Israel before the end of the month.