The Times, the BBC, the Guardian and the Telegraph all cover our main item, on Israel’s denial that it was responsible for the strike on al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza in which hundreds died.

The Guardian also covers the subsequent protests and unrest which broke out in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, and the West Bank

The BBC covers news that a British teenager who went missing during the Hamas attack on Kibbutz Be’eri was killed in the attack. Yael, 13, was confirmed dead, while her sister Noiya, 16, and their Israeli father Eli remain missing.

The BBC, The I, and LBC all report MI5 head Ken McCallum saying that the UK’s terror threat could be expected to rise as a result of Hamas’s attacks and the war in the Gaza Strip. “It has always been the case that lots of would-be-terrorists in the UK draw inspiration through their distorted understanding of what is happening in other countries,” he said during an unprecedented public appearance of the security chiefs of the Five Eyes alliance in California. McCallum confirmed that the security services were monitoring a “pretty large cohort” of potential threats in the UK, while his US counterpart, FBI Director Chris Wray, said “we cannot and do not discount the possibility that Hamas or other foreign terrorist organisations could exploit the conflict to call on their supporters to conduct attacks on our own soil.”

Similarly, The Times writes “what could the Israel-Hamas war mean for the UK?” Oil and other energy prices, food supply, social cohesion, and an increase to the terror threat could all be impacted, it says.

The Financial Times reports a group of senior and prominent UK Jewish lawyers urging Israel to abide by international war in conducting its war on Hamas. Lord David Neuberger, president of the UK’s highest court from 2012-17, Philippe Sands KC, and six other lawyers, write that though the “vile crimes perpetrated by Hamas in Israel have shaken us to our core”, the laws of war “apply irrespective of the level of outrageous conduct of an enemy… In these times of pain and terror,” they continued, “the notion that there are laws that we must all live by is challenging but essential. Jewish history teaches us that we cannot give up on them.”

Sky News runs an explainer, “What is the two-state solution for Israel and Palestinians?”

The Financial Times claims that officials and diplomats have warned that “western support for Israel’s assault on Gaza has poisoned efforts to build consensus with significant developing countries on condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine… We have definitely lost the battle in the Global South,” said one senior G7 diplomat. “All the work we have done with the Global South [over Ukraine] has been lost… Forget about rules, forget about world order. They won’t ever listen to us again.”
Much of the Israel media’s commentary and analysis is devoted to anticipating the upcoming visit of

President Biden. Haaretz’s Washington correspondent, Ben Samuels, writes that “Biden’s visit is widely anticipated to lead to a delay in Israel’s looming ground invasion, and the trip indicates that much diplomatic work still needs to be done prior to a potential hostage deal — all the more so following the events of the past 24 hours, where Israel and Palestinians are each blaming each other for the mass-casualty explosion at a Gaza hospital that left hundreds of people dead.”

Yediot Ahronot’s Nahum Barnea writes that there is “more to Biden’s visit than meets the eye… It isn’t only the Israelis’ confidence in the government that was deeply rattled by October 7. It seems that the US administration was similarly rattled. The conclusion they drew is that prosecuting the war cannot be left to the Israeli government. The repercussions on direct American interests are too severe; America is unwilling to be drawn into a war with Iran and it is unwilling to risk the rulers of its protectorates. It recognises that it cannot trust either the emotional fortitude of Israel’s leaders or their good judgment.”

Haaretz’s Amos Harel concurs, arguing that “America is now seen as a full partner in Israel’s war effort. It indicates just how worried the Americans are about what might happen and how much they are investing to help protect Israel from the enemy and, no less, from Israel itself. Before the outbreak of the war, amid the efforts to normalise relations with Saudi Arabia, a lively debate got underway in Israel about the possibility of a defence pact with the US. As it has in many other areas, Hamas’ murderous attack on October 7, has accelerated developments to a breakneck pace. America’s diplomatic and military presence here has served as a strategic asset in these difficult times. In the longer term, this will come with significant costs, but for now it needs to be acknowledged that Israel needs the Americans.”

Maariv’s Ben Caspit writes: “welcome to Israel, Mr. President. How moved we are to see you here. The president of the United States of America, the most powerful man in the world, dropping everything to board Air Force One and coming to support a nation he loves is not something to take for granted. You elicited a lot of shed tears in Israel with your incredible speech on the day after the slaughter.” Of Biden administration opinion on the nature of Israel’s response, Caspit continues: “We know you won’t interfere with us doing what needs to be done in Gaza, you’ll only try to convince us not to cross the lines that democracies try to respect, and to do everything possible to avert a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. I believe we will try to take that into account. I also believe that at the same time you will take us into account. We need time, Mr. President. Rushing in too quickly could be a bad mistake. We have to understand the lay of the land, to gather intelligence, to crush this Nazi enemy in order to make the mission just a little bit easier.”

Israel Hayom’s Ariel Kahana welcomes Biden as one “personally and deeply committed to the Jewish cause.” Kahana is also reassured by the US’s “full agreement with the objective that has been set by the security cabinet: to wipe Hamas off the face of Gazan soil. That is Israel’s primary objective and to that end Israel can afford to pay a small price in order to keep the United States committed to it.” Kahana also notes “the American desire to ease the humanitarian situation in the southern Gaza Strip… Israel has made its consent to that contingent on progress being made on our own humanitarian catastrophe—namely, the 199 hostages being held in captivity by Hamas. That is going to be one of the issues that Biden and Netanyahu will discuss today. The Israeli public might  not like the statement that Biden makes on that issue, but he too has political needs.”

Elsewhere, Channel 12 reports Biden’s German counterpart, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to Israel. Like UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly during his visit last week, Scholz witnessed firsthand the procedure when the air raid sirens sound. In Scholz’s case, his plane was about to depart Ben Gurion airport when the alarm sounded, forcing him to lay down on the tarmac. While in Israel, he affirmed that Germany remains “historically committed to protecting Israel.”

Kan Radio features IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzl Halevi’s remarks yesterday during a meeting with senior commanders in the IDF Northern Command along the northern border. “Everyone is going to do everything,” he said, “including putting our own lives in danger—this really is a fight for our home. We have to get to a place in which every engagement is [i.e. ends in] victory. If Hizbullah makes this mistake and attacks—destroy, destroy, destroy.”

Ynet and Maariv cover thousands of Israelis yesterday attending the funeral in Gan Yavne of all five members of the Kutz family. Parents Livant and Aviv, and their three children – Rotem, 19, Yonatan, 16, and Yiftach, 14,  were residents of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where they were murdered in their home by Hamas terrorists last weekend. Col. Shlomi Kedem, Rotem’s commander, eulogised her, saying: “Dear Rotem. I stand here today along with friends and family to pay my last respects. You were a true friend. You were planning to go to squad commanders’ training and to become an officer, and you embodied a sense of mission and excellence. I promise that we will win. We will restore the sense of security to the citizens. I salute you for the tremendous courage you showed.”

Kan News reports Israel’s travel advisory notice to its citizens currently in or planning to visit Turkey. “In light of the ongoing and increasing threats of terrorism against Israelis abroad, the travel advisory for Turkey is hereby raised to the highest level,” says the advice, while a security official told the station that “we have concrete information pointing to a threat of attacks on Israelis. There is concrete intelligence that justified raising the level of preparedness to level four for all of Turkey.”