All the UK papers this morning report on Egyptian air strikes that killed 20 terrorist in the Sinai Peninsula. Most note this is the first time since the 1973 Yom Kippur war that Egyptian aircrafts have operated in the Sinai. The Guardian includes a leader that claims that the attack on the Sinai Islamists demonstrates the “teeth” of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, and the fact that the Egyptian old guard are a “busted flush”. The Financial Times includes a comment piece by Tal Becker, looking at trends across the Arab Spring and the challenge to end the violence inside Syria. The Times carries an AP report that Swiss experts have been invited to the West Bank to test the remains of Yasser Arafat for poisoning. The Times section on The Games, quotes 18 year old US Jewish gold medal winning gymnast Aly Raisman, who said that “the fact that it was the 40^th anniversary (of the Munich massacre) was special. Winning gold on that day means a lot to me. If there had been a moment’s silence, I would have supported it and respected it”.

In the Israeli press, Yediot Ahronot reveals that Saudi Arabia have passed on a message to Israel via the Americans that they would intercept any Israeli planes that entered its airspace en route to an strike in Iran. One Israeli official quoted in the article speculated that this could be part of the US administration’s attempts to dissuade Israel form launching an independent attack on Iran. Haaretz leads on a new National Intelligence Estimate recently presented to President Barack Obama suggesting Iran is making surprising progress toward military nuclear capability. This new report conclusions are seen as “quite similar” to those of the Israeli intelligence. There continues to be prominent coverage of Egypt’s response to terror in the Sinai. Yediot Ahronot, Haaretz and Israel Hayom report on the dismissal of several senior Egyptian security officials, including the head of intelligence, commander of the Military Police and governor of northern Sinai. Maariv has a reporter inside Gaza who notes the usually bustling area around the tunnels is now desolate. There are thought to be around 10,000 people who are currently stuck in Gaza who entered through the tunnels. They also note that the closure has led to a dramatic rise in price of everyday goods. Yediot Ahronot and Israel Hayom report that 14 Israeli Arab drug smugglers were arrested for having collaborated with Hezbollah to smuggle explosives into Israel. The Jerusalem Post reports that “Palestinian police traded gunfire with unidentified assailants at the Palestinian Authority prime minister’s compound in Ramallah”. There were no immediate reports of injuries.