BBC News, Reuters and The Telegraph report that Turkey’s president said it is “only a matter of time” before Turkish forces launch an operation to stop a Syrian army assault on the opposition-held Idlib province. President Erdogan warned that he was determined to transform the border area into a safe place “at any cost”. Sky News reports that Syria is facing a ‘massacre’ of displaced persons on a scale never seen before, a spokesperson for the UN said on Thursday morning.

The Telegraph, Reuters, BBC News and The Independent reports that Libya’s unity government has announced it is halting its participation in UN talks aimed at brokering a lasting ceasefire in the war-torn country where a fragile truce has been repeatedly violated. The Associated Press reports that Authorities in northern Italy arrested the captain of a Lebanese-flagged cargo ship on suspicion of international arms trafficking on Wednesday while they investigate if the vessel transported tanks, rockets and other weapons from Turkey to Libya.

BBC News, The Independent, The Associated Press and The Times report that Iran’s health ministry says two people have died after preliminary tests came back as positive for the new coronavirus disease, Covid-19.

The Times reports that Qatar Airways has increased its stake in International Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways, to more than 25 per cent. The increased stake comes after International Airlines Group decided to relax rules it put in place to prevent more than 50 per cent of its shares being owned by non-European Union entities.

Reuters reports that Tunisia’s designated Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh on Wednesday named a new coalition government after reaching an agreement with Ennahda, the moderate Islamist Party that is the largest party in Parliament, ending an ongoing political crisis that lasted four months.

In The Guardian, Patrick Wintour writes that Iranian conservatives are hoping to harness popular anger to win the upcoming legislative elections, chiefly by taking advantage of public fury over corruption to keep President Rouhani on a tight leash.

In The Guardian, Beth McKernan demonstrates the importance of Syria’s M5 highway to determining the future of Syrian citizens caught in the battle for the last rebel stronghold in Idlib.

In The Independent, Kim Sengupta argues that Iranian moderates are fearing a backlash at the ‘crucial’ upcoming elections, asserting the ballot box could turn into a symbol of revenge.

At Sky News, Alex Crawford reports from Idlib province where ‘war crimes are being committed and the world is doing nothing to help’, as over seventy hospitals have been bombed out of action – some deliberately – and those displaced by the war are now being targeted.

The Israeli media report that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit is expected to instruct the police to open an investigation into cyber security company Fifth Dimension after the election.  The company was owned by Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, but he is not personally under any suspicion of wrongdoing.  The inquiry will focus on a contract that was signed between the Israel Police and Fifth Dimension, without a tender, and allegedly based on false information that had been provided by the company. Fifth Dimension promised to provide the police with services valued at NIS 50 million, but the project was stopped after the initial stage and the company went bankrupt. Channel 13 News suggest the investigation will look at elements within Fifth Dimension that allegedly made misrepresentations to the police, and will examine whether the relationship falls under the legal category of “obtaining something by fraud.” Maariv cites Benny Gantz dismissing the allegations saying: “Political pressure has led to the enquiry, it’s just spin.” Kan Radio notes Prime Minister Netanyahu calling it “a sad evening for the State of Israel.”

The Israeli media report Prime Minister Netanyahu’s rare interview to an Arabic language website yesterday. Yediot Ahronot quotes the prime minster discussing relations with the Arab world saying: “The more I talk about it the less it’ll deliver….I can’t tell you how many times I’ve visited Arab countries—Oman, for instance. And in Uganda I met with the Sudanese president. Those were public meetings, but believe me that there are many more, and things  are only becoming closer…I think that we’ll very quickly reach a situation in which Israelis will be able to fly directly to Saudi Arabia for the hajj holiday.” Netanyahu also noted that polling in Arab countries indicate increased support for establishing normalised relations with the State of Israel. “Once upon a time it was zero, even negative. Today we’ve seen a 30%, 40%, 50% rise in support.” Netanyahu, also took the opportunity to appeal to Israeli- Arab voters saying: “I think that the story of the Arab Israelis is a story of great success and a story of great hope and, regrettably, the people who are holding them back, or are trying to hold them back and pushing them into dark corners are actually the Joint List’s representatives.” Netanyahu said that no other prime minister in Israeli history has ever invested as extensively as he has in the Arab sector, and he pledged to continue to invest.

The Israeli media report that Blue and White leader Benny Gantz has refuse the offer of a live TV debate with Prime Minister Netanyahu ahead of the election. Maariv quotes the pair, with Gantz saying, “Netanyahu has avoided debates for over a decade. He refused my call for a debate in the last two elections. He is doing this because of his trial date, set for 17 March”. Netanyahu responded on Twitter: “Gantz is scared of a debate and he knows why. Israel needs a strong leader, not a coward. Israel needs a strong right-wing government, not a government that relies on the Joint List. If Gantz is scared to debate the prime minister, how will he cope with the State of Israel’s big challenges?” According to Israel Hayom, “sources in Gantz’s inner circle admitted that Gantz would like to hold a televised debate with Netanyahu, but said that his advisers have all urged him not to do so, arguing that a debate would fail to serve Blue and White’s campaign goals.”