The Financial Times reports that oil prices hit a fresh three-month high over fears that Israel could launch a unilateral strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. BBC online reports that a senior aide to Syria’s President Bashar Assad has flown to China for talks, amid continuing violence in Damascus and Aleppo. The Times reports that several generals in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard are among the 48 hostages seized by rebel fighters in Syria last week. The Daily Telegraph and the Times published a video issued by Syrian rebels that purports to show a captured pilot who ejected from a fighter plane they claim they downed. The paper also runs an editorial arguing Egypt’s first freely elected leader must resist pressure to undermine his democratic credentials. The Guardian’s Harriet Sherwood reviews A World Apart Next Door, an exhibition at the Israel Museum examining the life and culture of the 250-year-old Hasidic Jewish movement, which has been an unexpected success. BBC online reports that Israeli prosecutors have dropped a manslaughter charge against a former soldier in connection with the deaths of a Palestinian woman and her daughter during the 2009 Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.

In the Israeli media, all papers report that Kadima MK Avi Dichter will resign the Knesset to join the Cabinet as minister for home front security. Ynetnews notes that amidst discussions in Israel about the possibility of a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday that the Obama administration, “Continues to believe that there is time and space for diplomacy” vis-à-vis Iran. Haaretz reports that in an interview to MSNBC, Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren said five months of diplomacy on the Iranian nuclear programme ‘haven’t worked’ and that the Israeli clock on Iran ‘is ticking faster’ than the American one. The paper also runs a feature on the smuggling tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, and assesses that a quiet understanding will eventually enable the Hamas tunnels to continue operating, taking into account Egypt’s security demands and Hamas’ financial needs. Ynetnews notes a statement made yesterday by Syria’s Ambassador to Iran, who said Iran is at war with Israel. The Jerusalem Post reports that the sudden ousting of top defence chiefs by Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi caught the Israeli defence establishment by surprise, but the consensus among security officials is that the move will not lead to any sudden deterioration on the southern border.