The BBC, The Times, The Daily Mail, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Channel 4, Reuters and The Independent all report that an attack by Iran seems imminent and the US has restricted travel for its employees in Israel amid fears of an attack. The Standard and The Telegraph assess what Iran may do and how Netanyahu may respond. The Financial Times reports that the US has asked China to tell Iran to not retaliate. Both The Mirror and ITV News lead with Rishi Sunak saying Iran’s threats are “unacceptable”. Anne McElvoy in The I suggests that Iran’s threats are why the UK will keep arming Israel. The Telegraph looks at the history of Iran and Israel’s relationship while both The Times and Sky News ask whether escalation is inevitable. Sky News also interviews Israelis who fear an attack by Iran. The Express looks at new Iranian weapons that could be used against Israel while The Sun looks to wargaming experts on how a conflict could escalate to turn nuclear.

The Guardian, The Daily Mail and The Sun report that the Hamas has indicated it does not have 40 captives who are still alive who meet the “humanitarian” criteria for a proposed hostages-for-prisoners ceasefire agreement with Israel.

BBC News’s Jeremy Bowen writes that while Israel denies that Gaza is at risk of falling into famine, the evidence is “overwhelming”.

BBC News reports that Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh has confirmed that three of his sons and four of his grandchildren were killed in an air strike in Gaza. Hamas-linked media said the car his sons were travelling in was hit in Al-Shati camp near Gaza City.

The Financial Times published a long read on whether time is running out for Benjamin Netanyahu, who remains “as defiant as ever”.

The Guardian reports that a video has surfaced of a senior official at Israel’s cyber intelligence agency, Unit 8200, talking last year about the use of machine learning “magic powder” to help identify Hamas targets in Gaza. The Guardian claims it raises questions about the accuracy of a recent statement about use of artificial intelligence (AI) by the IDF, which said it “does not use an artificial intelligence system that identifies terrorist operatives or tries to predict whether a person is a terrorist”. The Economist also published a piece on Israel and AI, asking whether there is enough human interaction in its warfare.

The Economist reports on the IDF’s use of force: “a former Israeli general and national security adviser this week said that Operation Swords of Iron would come to be viewed as an exemplar of how to conduct urban combat. As our reporting makes clear, the reality in Gaza is different. The campaign against Hamas is justified, but it has been marred by the IDF’s over-reliance on technology and a lack of strategic thinking.”

The Economist also publishes a piece on what it sees as the “military and moral failures of the IDF”.

The Economist further publishes on the state of China’s relations with Israel, and whether the issues between the two countries over Hamas and Iran will change the relationship.

The Times reports that Israel has recovered correspondence that shows the extent of Tehran’s support for Hamas, supplying over £200m to the terror group.

The Times and The Sun report on Rachel Riley and Eylon Levy expressing concern to Apple over its software suggesting only a Palestinian flag when typing ‘Jerusalem’.

Stephen Pollard attacks Amnesty International in The Times; “Today, Amnesty is just another partisan NGO, with all the dreary hard-left obsessions — including the customary fixation on Israel. And the choice of prisoners on whose behalf it campaigns is… different.”

The Telegraph reports that “The most senior IDF commander dismissed for his role in the drone strike which killed seven aid workers in Gaza is a settler who signed an open letter in January calling for the territory to be deprived of aid, The Telegraph can reveal. A senior British lawyer said its contents – including a call for a ‘siege’ of Gaza City – should be considered by the Israeli authorities investigating the killings.”

ITV News reports that the Israeli military says it is constructing a new land crossing from Israel to northern Gaza, according to a statement released on Thursday. Israel’s Defense Force (IDF) said the new northern crossing will “enable more aid to flow directly to civilians in the areas that have been challenging for trucks to access.״

The Sun reports that Eurovision has been accused of refusing to boot Israel out of this year’s contest because it could lose its prime sponsor, Moroccanoil. The Sun can reveal the haircare brand manufactures its products in Israel and has stumped up millions of pounds to stage the contest each year since 2020.

Yaniv Kubovich of Haaretz reports on the IDF launching a new ground offensive in the Gaza Strip which sees “the air force and ground troops…operating near the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, with the operation expected to last a week”.  This operation’s objective is to secure the Netzarim Corridor which bisects the coastal enclave and prevents freedom of movement between Rafah and Khan Yunis, and Gaza City.

In Ynet, Itamar Eichner attributes the stalling of hostage release negotiations between Israel and Hamas to Yahywa Sinwar, suggesting the Hamas chief is waiting for an Iranian retaliation to the killing of a senior IRGC commander in Damascus which could remove much of the IDF’s military focus from the Gaza Strip to the northern border. Eichner’s report also suggests that Israeli officials believe “there is not sufficient pressure being put on him to free the Israelis being held by Hamas”. In Haaretz, Jack Khoury writes that following the death of his three sons in an IDF airstrike, Hamas politburo chair Ismail Haniyeh has said “that the killing of his three sons will not change the organisation’s position in negotiations with Israel. He reiterated that the release of the hostages is conditional on a complete cease-fire, the return of the displaced to their homes, the lifting of restrictions of movement in Gaza and humanitarian rehabilitation”.

In Yediot Ahronot, Itamar Eichner and Einav Halabi report that the head of COGAT, Major General Ghassan Alian, has criticised the UN and advised it that it must now step up and distribute aid from 600 trucks which passed into the Gaza Strip, but not yet reached local Palestinians in need. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Alian said “the content of 600 aid trucks is waiting to be collected by the @UN on the Gaza side of Kerem Shalom in a way that prevents the transfer of additional trucks. We extended crossing hours and scaled up our inspection capacities. @UN, Do your job. The bottlenecks are not on the Israeli side.” In a statement, he also said that “the lack of UN capabilities is actually harming the humanitarian effort led by Israel”.

Writing for Haaretz, Jack Khoury reports the death of a 22 year-old Palestinian man during clashes with the IDF that took place at al-Fara refugee camp, near the city of Tubas, in the northeastern West Bank. According to witnesses at the scene, “the clashes took place at night, when forces entered the area to arrest wanted persons. Two other people were also wounded”. Also in the West Bank, Haaretz and Ynet both report on a security alert in the settlement of Neve Daniel in Gush Etzion late last night. While the Home Front Command issued an infiltration warning, an all-clear has since been provided with no further threat being identified.

In Israel Hayom, Lilach Shoval writes that “After IDF’s female fighters proved their bravery and importance during the war imposed on Israel, displaying supreme courage amid the Black October massacre, the March-April draft that began about two weeks ago saw an unprecedented enlistment of girls for combat roles, with hundreds more girls drafted to combat positions”. The units which have most benefited from this increased female interest include the Combat Engineering Corps, Armoured Corps, Infantry, Border Police, Artillery Corps, and the Home Front Command’s Search and Rescue.