The Independent online covers a report in the Israeli news site Walla, which claims that a former-IDF infantry soldier, an Arab Israeli man, has now joined ISIS in Syria. An unnamed Israeli army official is quoted as saying that the authorities are “familiar” with the case. Several Arab Israeli citizens are thought to have travelled to Syria to fight with ISIS and five men were arrested in northern Israel last week on suspicion of planning an attack in Israel on ISIS’s behalf.

The Telegraph online says that Israel’s Justice Ministry is investigating whether a police officer used excessive force last month neutralizing a 16-year-old Palestinian girl who attacked and wounded a 70-year-old man in Jerusalem with a pair of scissors. The police officer shot and killed the assailant, saying that she was still a danger when he opened fire. The stabbing was one of the almost daily attacks on Israelis since the start of October, which has seen at least 21 Israelis killed.

The Telegraph and Times both report that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dog, Kaya, has been placed in quarantine for ten days in accordance with Israeli regulations, after she bit two guests at a reception at Netanyahu’s official residence last week – Likud Knesset member Sharren Haskel and the husband of Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely. Netanyahu has pledged to investigate the regulations and possibly look to change them.

The online editions of the Guardian, Telegraph and Independent all say that at least 45 civilians are thought to have been killed in an air strike on a rebel-held area east of Syria’s capital Damascus. It is unclear if Syrian or Russian planes carried out the attack.

The Guardian online reports that Egypt’s best-selling author Alaa al-Aswany has complained that Egyptian authorities are preventing him from appearing on television and in newspapers because of his increasing criticism of President al-Sisi’s regime. It is the latest accusation that Egyptian authorities are cracking down on dissent and freedom of expression.

In the Israeli media, the top story in Yediot Ahronot and Maariv is the claim by Hamas that it possesses a letter from IDF soldier Oron Shaul urging his family to press for his release. Shaul was declared killed in action during Operation Protective Edge, although his body was never recovered and is thought to be in the hands of Hamas. The IDF said that the letter is a forgery and commentators say it is merely an attempt by Hamas to extract concessions from Israel. However, the Shaul family held a press conference yesterday and called for Hamas to provide concrete evidence that Oron is alive. Writing in Maariv, Yossi Melman says “the very fact that the family held a press conference is an achievement for Hamas’‎s psychological warfare campaign.”

Israel Hayom leads with criticism of a Haaretz conference currently being held in New York. The front page headline “flag lowered” refers to the Israeli flag at the conference apparently being lowered as Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat took the stage. In Yediot Ahronot, Ben-Dror Yemini criticizes President Reuven Rivlin for speaking at the conference, given the participation of the group Breaking the Silence, which provides a platform for former-Israeli soldiers to anonymously provide testimony critical of IDF behaviour, which is widely published not only in Israel but also abroad.

Meanwhile, Israel Radio news reports that Israel’s Air Force struck Hamas infrastructure in central and northern Gaza last night, in response to a rocket which was fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel yesterday. The rocket landed in open area and did not cause injuries or damage.