The Guardian, The Telegraph, and BBC News report that the biggest occasion in the Islamic calendar, the annual hajj pilgrimage, has become the latest global event to be jeopardised by coronavirus, with Saudi authorities suggesting travellers delay plans to visit Mecca in late July.

The Associated Press reports that Israel’s health minister, Yaakov Litzman, who has had frequent contact with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has tested positive for coronavirus, the Israeli Health Ministry said on Thursday.

The Associated Press and Reuters report that US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran or its proxies planned a sneak attack on US targets in Iraq, and warned they would pay a “very heavy price” but gave no details.

BBC News reports that Iran’s official death toll from the coronavirus has passed 3,000, as Health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpour reported 138 fatalities in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 3,036.

Reuters reports that crude oil futures surged on Thursday after US President Donald Trump said he expected Saudi Arabia and Russia to reach a deal soon to end their oil price war and Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a solution to “challenging” oil markets.

The Guardian reports that a British charity that employed the murdered aid worker Alan Henning failed to properly safeguard him and other volunteers on convoys to war-torn Syria, a government report has found.

The Times reports that the alternative financial system set up by the European Union to bypass US sanctions on Iran, INSTEX, has had its first success after Britain, France and Germany were able to export medical goods under the system.

Reuters reports that the US believes Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security was directly involved in the killing of an Iranian dissident in Turkey last November, a senior administration official told Reuters on Wednesday.

The Times reports that BP plans to cut its spending by at least $3 billion this year and to reduce production as it slashes costs in response to the collapse in oil prices.

The Telegraph reports that a British-Iranian grandfather who was imprisoned in Iran for eight years has returned to the UK, raising hopes of the release for other dual nationals held in the Islamic Republic.

In the Financial Times, David Gardner argues that US economic sanctions on Iran must be relaxed during the coronavirus crisis, writing that “ordinary Iranians and their neighbours should not have to die” because of hardline leaders pursuing ideologically-driven policies.

In The Independent, Bel Trew assesses how a coronavirus crisis would unfold in war-torn Syria, Yemen or Libya, using interviews with doctors and medical charities that demonstrate years of conflict will leave them unable to stop the spread of coronavirus.

The Israeli media report that 6,211 Israelis have tested positive for coronavirus and 31 have died, 107 are in serious condition and 83 are on ventilators. In the West Bank, 122 cases have been diagnosed and in Gaza 12 cases have been confirmed.  All the media report that Israel’s Health Minister Yaakov Litzman and his wife have tested positive with the coronavirus.  Channel 12 News reports that as a result the head of the Mossad Yossi Cohen has placed himself in isolation as he sat next to Litzman in a recent meeting.

All the Israeli media report the latest announcement by Prime Minister Netanyahu that everyone is required to wear masks when they go out in public in order to reduce the risk of infection. Due to the shortage of masks, people should improvise with a scarf or cloth to cover their nose and mouth.  Netanyahu said there would be specific travel restrictions in and out of the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak due to the particularly high rate of infection there. People in Bnei Brak who are ill will be moved out of their homes and into hotels.  Netanyahu also announced that families will receive a one-off payment of 500 shekels per child (around £111), up to the fourth child, ahead of the upcoming Passover holiday. The elderly will also receive the same payment. The payments will be approved via emergency legislation, and will be made directly into bank accounts, with no bureaucratic red tape.

Yediot Ahronot reports that the Health Ministry has instructed hospitals to reduce their usual activity to 20% within three weeks and  to reserve all other beds for coronavirus patients. This means that even people who are severely ill, including patients with cancer, heart disease, stroke victims and other patients, may not be able to receive the care that they need. The Israeli media report that the number of unemployed has exceeded one million people. More than 80% of them registered in March, as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The unemployment rate is now 24.4%. The Finance Ministry believes that further restrictions on the workforce will increase the number of unemployed to 1,400,000. In February the unemployment rate was 3.35%.

Israel Hayom reports that Israeli officials are worried that Iran might try to exploit the coronavirus to secretly advance its nuclear programme. Yoav Limor, their military correspondent writes, “IDF Intelligence Branch officials said early in 2020 that if Iran were to continue to advance at its current pace, it would have enough enriched uranium within a matter of a few months to build a first nuclear bomb. The intelligence officials said that Iran would be able to complete that process and to have a bomb by the end of 2021.  Israeli intelligence officials are now concerned that Iran will accelerate this process now. International Atomic Energy Agency officials have all but stopped their supervisory work in Iranian nuclear facilities due to the coronavirus outbreak, and a decision may soon be made to pull the agency’s representatives out of Iran altogether. That will leave the Iranian nuclear facilities without any supervision at all, creating a pathway for Iran to advance quickly towards a nuclear bomb.”