The BBC report that Lebanon’s economic crash has left prisoners with little medical care. The Lebanese currency has lost 90 per cent of its value, which means salaries cannot buy basic goods like food or sanitary items, while widespread power outages are common due to fuel shortages. Prisons are overcrowded and their inmates have no access to medical care, unless they can pay for it privately.

The Times reports that an Israeli woman has been sentenced to death in the UAE after being found guilty of possessing half a kilogram of cocaine. Fida Kewan, 43, travelled to Dubai last year for work and stayed in a “pre-arranged” apartment, according to reports in the Israeli press. About a week after her arrival the police knocked on the door to search the flat and found cocaine. She was arrested. However, executions are rare in the UAE and most sentences are reduced to prison terms on appeal.

Reuters notes that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett condemned the killing of civilians documented in the Ukrainian town of Bucha but stopped short of accusing Russian forces of responsibility.

The Telegraph round up the latest developments in the trial of the last member of the “ISIS Beatles”.  The boyfriend of an American victim of “Beatle” El Shafee Elsheikh on Wednesday shouted across a courtroom he would be “going to hell”, following an emotional day of testimony in his US trial. Elsheikh, who has shown little reaction in US court this week, briefly glanced back at the public gallery before he was ushered out.

The Guardian reports that Palestinians are using social media to out the Israeli undercover agents who pose as Arab citizens to arrest protesters.

The first trial addressing atrocities committed in Darfur has opened, The Times writes, nearly two decades after a wave of slaughter in western Sudan killed hundreds of thousands and drove millions more from their homes. Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, 65, described as “a feared and revered” commander of the infamous Janjawid militia, is accused of directing murders, rapes and torture alongside Sudanese government forces against the region’s rebels and civilians.

The Guardian also reports that new evidence has emerged suggesting that an Apple iPhone was successfully hacked by a government user of NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware in December, weeks after the technology giant sued the Israeli company in a US court and called for it to be banned from “harming individuals” using Apple products.

In Israeli media, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid visited Athens yesterday where he met with the Greek and Cypriot foreign ministers, as well as with other Greek officials. According to Maariv, Lapid addressed Israel’s warming relations with Turkey, energy trends and opportunities for Israel, Greece and Cyprus, as well as a range of other political and security issues. Lapid also took the opportunity to condemn what he described as Russian war crimes in Ukraine. He said: “There is a war in Europe. Once again, a large and powerful country has invaded a smaller neighbour without any justification. Once again, the ground is soaked with the blood of innocent civilians. The images and testimony from Ukraine are horrific. Russian forces committed war crimes against a defenceless civilian population. I strongly condemn these war crimes.” Haaretz notes that Prime Minister Bennett also condemned the “terrible sights in Bucha,” though he did not mention Russia specifically.

Writing in Yediot Ahronot, Nadav Eyal urges the Israeli government to abandon its nuanced public stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and to speak out firmly against Russia. Eyal writes: “In the face of the awful facts and the brazen lies, the stance that has been taken by Israel—which has tried to keep an open line of dialogue with Moscow by making measured statements and by trying to mediate—no longer appears to be viable … if the small and weak Israel that existed decades ago had the wherewithal to face down the USSR and its proxies, to flourish and to win its wars, Israel in 2022 can certainly do so. If the Baltic states that border on Russia are facing it down, Israel can do so as well. And, most importantly: the words ‘Jewish state’ mean something. Not only when we need the world’s support, but when we see atrocities being committed against others.”

Kan Radio reports that Defence Minister Gantz last night approved several relief measures for Palestinians for the month of Ramadan. There will be no limits on the entry of women, men aged 50 and over and children up to age 12, to Friday prayers on the Temple Mount. Men aged 40 and over will need a permit to enter. Gantz also permitted Palestinians to visit first-degree relatives in Israel from Sunday to Thursday. The opening hours at the crossings will be increased during the month to accommodate the visitors. Another situation assessment meeting will be held next week, after which a decision will be made on whether to take more steps. The relief package comes as violent demonstrations continued last night once again at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City. Dozens of demonstrators ignited firecrackers and threw bottles and stones at the police. Earlier, a mass brawl broke out near the gate, in which dozens of people were involved. The police arrested six suspects and more arrests are expected.

Israel Hayom writes that the IDF the wary of the demographic changes and the considerable increase in the size of the Shiite and Alawite populations in Syria. As civilian distress there increases, Israel’s concern is that Iran and Hezbollah will exploit the situation to recruit supporters and activists from among the Shiite community, similar to what they did in Lebanon. According to the report, Syria’s population on the eve of the civil war was 21.3 million, of which Shiites and Alawites accounted for 15 per cent. Today, they account for roughly 40 per cent of the population under President Bashar al-Assad’s control, and their percentage is likely to grow.

Meanwhile, outgoing Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin has told Kan Radio that Israel’s freedom of action has been curtailed in Lebanon because of the threat of Hezbollah’s anti-aircraft missiles. Norkin was asked in an interview to Kan Radio whether the Air Force could destroy the nuclear installations in Iran. He replied: “We constantly present what we can do, not only in Iran, but in all theatres. We also learn what we can’t do. I have to provide precise and reliable answers only about what we are capable of doing.”

Maariv reports that the relatives of Fidaa Kiwan, who was sentenced to death in the UAE for selling drugs, are trying to help her. The family reached out to the Mossawa Center (which promotes equal civil rights for Arab citizens) after claiming that the Foreign Ministry and the Regional Cooperation Ministry had done nothing to help her. The family has also hired a private lawyer with no connection to the Mossawa Center, and he has begun preparing the appeal against the sentence. The Mossawa Center issued the following statement: “If the suspect were Jewish, the ministries would be taking steps to help her and her family. We saw how Prime Minister Netanyahu brought a Jewish suspect home from Russia in his private plane. The suspect denies that the drugs belonged to her and claims that they belong to the landlord of the apartment where she is staying.”