BBC online and the Independent note that Gaza militants are ready to sign up to an Egyptian-brokered truce to end days of cross-border fighting after Israeli air strikes killed two people. BBC online also publishes an analysis of Hamas’s motivations in the latest round of violence in the south of Israel, after more than a year of refraining from directly firing rockets at Israel. Reuters reports that protesters are gathering in Tahrir Square in Cairo in preparation for an announcement of last week’s presidential election results. The Independent reports that according to Israeli sources, 30 Jewish families have agreed to peacefully leave an unauthorised West Bank neighbourhood. The Financial Times notes Iranian allegations that it has detected a planned “massive cyber attack” against its nuclear facilities, saying the US and Israel, along with Britain, had planned the alleged attack. BBC reports on the defection of a Syrian fighter pilot to Jordan. The Financial Times publishes a comment calling for economic reform in the Israeli economy, claiming fewer than 20 Israeli families control conglomerates incorporating half the value of Israel’s stock market.

Haaretz reports that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has stepped up contacts with Israeli and Palestinian officials over the past week, in attempt to persuade them to return to the table, beginning with a high-level meeting between Deputy Premier Shaul Mofaz and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Despite Hamas’s announcement on Wednesday that it will accept an Egyptian-brokered truce to bring an end to three days of fighting along the Gaza-Israel border, Israel Radio reports that four rockets were fired yesterday at the southern city of Ashkelon. Yediot Ahronot reports on Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz’s visit to Washington and the White House, and how US President Barack Obama joined the meeting. The paper explains that the US president wanted to relay a message that the Americans consider Mofaz a key figure who can help promote negotiations with the Palestinians. All papers focus on the implications of Israel’s State Comptroller report on the massive forest fire in the Carmel Mountains two years ago. Families who lost members in the fire warn they will petition the Supreme Court to force Prime Minister Netanyahu to dismiss Interior Minister Eli Yishai and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz for their failures in ensuring the fire services were sufficiently funded and equipped to deal with a fire of this magnitude.