Reuters reports that Israel will deploy its armed forces to assist police on street patrols to enforce its quarantine measures against the coronavirus epidemic, the military said on Friday.

The Guardian, The Telegraph, BBC News, the Associated Press and Reuters report that Israel’s Blue and White party has split after its leader, Benny Gantz, was elected as speaker of parliament with the support of his rivals, including Benjamin Netanyahu, in a stunning plot twist to a year-long political crisis. The Times reports that according to an outline deal expected to be signed by the end of the week, Benny Gantz will be Netanyahu’s number two for the next 18 months, before replacing him as Prime Minister.

The Telegraph reports that France is withdrawing all 200 of its troops from Iraq in the latest Western drawdown in the face of the coronavirus outbreak and attacks by Iranian-backed militia forces.

Reuters reports that the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen intercepted and destroyed drones launched by Iran-aligned Houthis towards “civilian targets” in the Saudi cities of Abha and Khamis Mushait, the coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said on Friday. The Associated Press reports that a spokesman for the US Agency for International Development said on Thursday that strict measures are forcing it to halt aid for deficient health care in war-ravaged Yemen.

The Guardian reports that Egyptian authorities have forced a Guardian journalist to leave the country after she reported on a scientific study that said Egypt was likely to have many more coronavirus cases than have been officially confirmed.

The Associated Press reports that the Iranian military has set up a 2,000-bed hospital in an exhibition centre in the capital to shore up the local health care system as it battles the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East, state TV reported.

The Times reports that the loyalty of Afghanistan’s military is being stretched to breaking point by rival claims to the country’s presidency, raising the prospect of a catastrophic civil war, according to the son of a renowned resistance hero.

The Times reports that EU leaders have agreed to start naval patrols in the Mediterranean to try to prevent arms flooding into war-torn Libya in breach of a UN embargo, ending an internal European standoff during which weapons have poured into Libya.

Reuters reports that Iraq has asked all international oil companies to cut their budgets by 30 per cent due to the steep slide in oil prices but said the cuts should not affect crude output, a senior Iraqi oil official told Reuters.

Reuters reports that Saudi Arabia is struggling to find customers for its extra oil as demand plummets due to the coronavirus and freight rates surge, industry sources said, undermining the kingdom’s bid to seize market share from rivals by expanding production.

A BBC News video report demonstrates that camps for the displaced in North Western Syria could be devastated by an outbreak of coronavirus, as the UN warned on Thursday.

In the Financial Times, David Gardner writes that Middle East refugees are acutely vulnerable to an explosion of coronavirus cases, as the movements of “paramilitaries and pilgrims” makes it especially difficult to contain the disease throughout the region.

The Israeli media report that there are now 3,035 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Israel. The majority of the cases are mild and 79 people have recovered. Ten patients have died and 49 are in serious condition. There are now 413 people in hospital, 1,414 people are being treated at home and 370 in a specially designated hotel. Haaretz reports that in the West Bank, 64 cases have been diagnosed and 17 have recovered, the majority of them in Bethlehem but one woman in her 60’s died. In Gaza, nine cases were diagnosed, the first two after returning from Pakistan, while seven caught the virus after coming in contact with them.

Israel Hayom reports that Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon yesterday urged Iran to suspend its nuclear programme in order to receive aid from the West. The paper reports that: “Iran has over 2,000 dead from coronavirus and the sixth-highest infection rate in the world, Iran has already asked the UN to ensure that the United States eases the stifling sanctions it has imposed on its regime, but Ambassador Danon asserted that any such relief must demand a pledge by the ayatollahs to put any nuclear activities on hold and cease sponsoring global terrorism.” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the US of practicing “economic terrorism” against Iran during a pandemic.

The Israeli media report that three firebombs were thrown at a Border Police vehicle last night as they left the settlement of Yitzhar in the West Bank. One of the firebombs hit the vehicle and caught fire. The vehicle was full of soldiers who were not injured, but the vehicle was slightly damaged. According to Kan News, security officials believe that teenagers from Yitzhar were responsible for the act. Security officials said that they were treating the incident as a terror attack and attempted murder.

Commenting on the dramatic political news that Benny Gantz has agreed to join a Netanyahu led Government Nahum Barnea in Yediot Ahronot writes: “Netanyahu is truly a magician. What he did not succeed in accomplishing in the elections, he accomplished yesterday, with the dissolution of Blue and White. All the commitments given by Netanyahu in terms of portfolios, rules of the game, policy, alternating premiership—are dwarfed by this political fact. There is no way back for Gantz. He has crossed the lines, and that is where he is fated to stay.  Many of Blue and White’s voters felt betrayed yesterday. That is understandable; the only reason that led them to vote for this half-baked party was the desire to see Netanyahu outside of Balfour Street. But before they cast stones at their leader of a few days ago, they should understand how difficult the alternatives he faced were. He is not a traitor. He is also no hero. He belongs to a generation of generals that have not known victory in their career, only a tie. Blue and White came out of the third round of elections bruised. Gantz had to understand that a fourth round would shrink his party even more. He could not have formed a minority government, and even had he succeeded in getting the necessary votes from his party, this government would have fallen prey to the coronavirus crisis and to Netanyahu’s propaganda machine. He did not want to sit in the opposition; he is not cut out for the opposition.  In other words: The results of the elections made it clear that Gantz had no future.”