The UK media continues to be dominated by the ongoing escalation along the Gaza border. BBC News reports that a senior Hamas official predicted Israel and the militant group would reach a ceasefire within the next two days. The Financial Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian and The Times all report that US President Joe Biden has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to de-escalate tensions in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu rejected Biden’s statement saying that while he “greatly appreciates the support of the American president,” Israel was “determined to continue this operation until its aim is met, to return the calm and security to you, citizens of Israel”.

The Times reports that Israeli jets destroyed 60 miles of Hamas tunnels over the last week. Hamas started constructing the tunnels in 2016 at the reported cost of $250 million (£177 million). On senior Israeli official said they could not disclose how the IDF located the underground network as “we’ll have to use these intelligence capabilities in the future. Maybe we can tell how we did it many years from now”.

BBC News reports on the death of Dr Ayman Abu al-Ouf, the head of internal medicine at the main hospital in the Gaza Strip. Dr al-Ouf was killed in an Israeli airstrike along with 12 members of his extended family. His friends and colleagues described his death as an enormous loss for his patients and students.

The Associated Press reports that Gaza’s already fragile health system is “being brought to its knees” over Israeli airstrikes. The report notes that two of Gaza’s most prominent doctors have been killed and that “hospitals have been overwhelmed with waves of dead and wounded from Israel’s bombardment”. The article says: “Many vital medicines are rapidly running out in the tiny, blockaded coastal territory, as is fuel to keep electricity going … just as Gaza was climbing out of a second wave of coronavirus infections, its only virus testing lab was damaged by an airstrike and has been shut. Health officials fear further outbreaks among tens of thousands of displaced residents crowded into makeshift shelters after fleeing massive barrages.”

Reuters reports that the US has rejected France’s draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities. The US mission to the UN said it would “not support actions that we believe undermine efforts to de-escalate”.

Jeremy Bowen writes for The New Statesman about “a new and dangerous form of violence” breaking out in Israel. He writes: “A war between Hamas and Israel is a disaster, but a familiar one. The sectarian, communal violence that has broken out between Arabs and Jews within Israel is new and dangerous …  but one reason why things have deteriorated is Netanyahu’s use and abuse of Jewish nationalism as a political tactic to stay in power.”

Paul Woods asks in The Spectator if the worst is yet to come in the Middle East, outlining why Iran’s support Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah threaten a wider regional conflict . He writes: “Almost the entire Israeli military and political establishment see an Iranian bomb as a flying holocaust. Israel’s military commander, General Aviv Kochavi, warned in a speech earlier this year that he had prepared ‘a number of operational plans’ to attack Iran. That could be a bluff, or Israel might really be prepared to carry out a pre-emptive strike against Iran. Then Iran would activate its allies in Lebanon and Syria and Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and the whole region would be in flames. Much depends, then, on whether the nuclear talks make progress.”

The Times reports that last night Denmark saw several protests throughout the country over its decision to strip hundreds of Syrian refugees of the right to remain in the country. The Danish government says it is now safe for them to return home and is offering those who agree to leave voluntarily up to £25,000.

In the Israeli media, Yoav Limor writes in Israel Hayom that the rockets fired from Lebanon yesterday have exposed Israel’s dilemma about continuing the operation in Gaza. “The linkage that was created between the two theatres and the concerns about a possible conflagration in the north, coupled with the diplomatic pressure on Israel, have intensified the voices calling for the swift conclusion of the operation.” He adds: “While it is true that Palestinian operatives, ostensibly acting in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza, were responsible for all the above incidents, presumably an aggregate of incidents of that kind could never have happened without Hezbollah’s explicit permission. The earlier rocket fire (at Misgav Am) was carried out from the area of the Shaba Farms, which is controlled wholly by Hezbollah, and yesterday’s rocket fire was also carried out from a Shiite area controlled by Hezbollah. This series of incidents most likely does not signify that Hezbollah wants to start a war with Israel. More likely it wants to pay lip service to the Palestinians, and to embarrass Israel along the way. But this is a dangerous game that is liable to devolve.”

Yossi Yehoshua writes in Yediot Anronot that “the most troubling theatre of operations is the northern theatre. The rocket fire yesterday by a Palestinian faction on Haifa’s suburbs was carried out with Hezbollah and Nasrallah’s approval. That is the most significant rocket fire on Israel since the Second Lebanon War. Rockets were also fired on Israel during Operation Protective Edge, but they were shorter-range rockets that landed in the Galilee. Hezbollah currently appears to be willing to take a big risk by allowing that sort of solidarity rocket fire, even at the cost of starting a war — and that is troubling. Hezbollah is signalling: if Israel continues to operate in Gaza, it will be forced to fight on two fronts. That goes well beyond a public display of solidarity with Hamas, and qualifies as taking a real risk of starting a war.”

Yediot Ahonrot runs two contrasting pieces about the American pressure on Israel to deescalate the conflict in Gaza. Nadav Eyal argues that two developments over the past years have shifted the US Democratic Party’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Firstly, “Netanyahu is perceived in large parts of the Democratic Party — and not only among Ilhan Omar and her group — as a dangerous and racist leader. His support for Mitt Romney’s presidential bid, his clash with President Obama over the nuclear agreement with Iran, his insistence on speaking out against the president’s policy in an address to Congress and his personal friendship with Donald Trump — none of that has been forgotten.” Secondly, “large parts of the Democratic Party do not view the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a national-ethnic conflict but rather as a racist event … the conflict is perceived as if it were a clash in which a white, colonialist, occupying and heavily armed state, along with all of its institutions, is crushing non-white people who have been dispossessed of their natural rights.”

Alternatively, Ben-Dror Yemini argues that Israel should fulfil its military goals before agreeing to any ceasefire with Hamas. “Israel is not a banana republic. If Joe Biden is demanding that Israel stop its fire without having defeated Hamas — doing so would be a prize to a terrorist organisation. And with all due respect, there are rare occasions in which Israel must tell its important friend: no farther. We will not forsake our security only because the American president is mistaken.” He adds: “The US is an ally. But friendships also make telling the truth necessary. Israel cannot forsake its security. It could be that there should be a ceasefire, but not in order to save Hamas, but to return to the proposal for ‘rehabilitation in exchange for demilitarisation,’ and to make it clear to the world that Hamas only seeks destruction and devastation.  In any case, Israel — and only Israel — must decide when to declare a ceasefire.”

Kan Radio reports that a delegation of foreign ministers from Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia will arrive in Israel today to express support and solidarity with Israel. Foreign ministers and government officials from other countries are also scheduled to arrive next week to express solidarity. Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said that their visits were further proof of the legitimacy that Israel enjoys.

The Jerusalem Post analyses how Hamas built an underground terror network in the heart of Gaza city. The paper publishes illustrations showing exactly how Hamas terrorists have managed to build elaborate infrastructure within the heart of the densely crowded civilian neighbourhoods in the Gaza Strip.

Maariv and The Jerusalem Post assess at the fighting’s implication for Israel’s political dynamic. One senior political advisor of the Likud said: “Netanyahu is playing on the operation in Gaza to draw out the days of the mandate that was given to Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid to form a government … Netanyahu is racing to a fifth election and is taking the country hostage.” Another political source presented a different perspective, saying: “The current situation is embarrassing for Netanyahu. The Likud movement is strong and has deep roots. But cracks are beginning to form in it. Bibi today isn’t the same Bibi of the past. His obsession with the job [of prime minister] is to his detriment, and the equation that he put forward, ‘quiet for quiet,’ coupled with the Qatari money that was given to Hamas — hasn’t held up.” Meanwhile, Meir Cohen of Yesh Atid said yesterday on the possibility of a fifth election being held: “We will turn over every stone. We have to form a government that will restore sanity to the State of Israel, but if we have to reach elections, we’ll do so with our head held high, insisting on the principle of not sitting with Netanyahu.”

Kan Radio reports that Yitzhak Herzog and Miriam Peretz are the only two who have submitted their candidacies for president, having collected the signatures of more than ten MKs. The presidential election will be held in a secret ballot at a special Knesset session in two weeks.