The Guardian, Reuters, The Daily Mail, and The Independent all cover our main story, of Israel striking targets in Gaza in response to rocket fire triggered by the death of hunger striker and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) figure Khader Adnan. The Guardian quotes Adnan’s wife, Randa Musa, who said: “Our message to all the resistance groups is, we do not want the weapons that were not used to free the sheikh [Adnan] to be used after his death. We do not want to see any bloodshed.” It also quotes PIJ as saying: “Our fight is continuing and the enemy will realise once again that its crimes will not pass without a response.”

The BBC also focuses on Adnan, quoting Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh saying Israel had “carried out a deliberate assassination against the prisoner Khader Adnan by rejecting his request for his release, neglecting him medically, and keeping him in his cell despite the seriousness of his health condition.”

The Independent reports Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi landing in Damascus today for the first visit by an Iranian head of state to Syria in over a decade. “During his two-day visit, Raisi is expected to meet Assad to sign several agreements and memorandums of understanding to boost cooperation… The Iranian president’s visit comes as some Arab countries, including regional powerhouses Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have been opening up to Assad and their foreign ministers have visited Damascus in recent weeks.”

Reuters reports that Israeli President Isaac Herzog will walk with British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis to Saturday’s coronation of King Charles, complying with the prohibition on travel by car on the Sabbath. Mirvis is set to deliver a special prayer at the ceremony.

The Economist turns its article, “Israel: the survivor nation at 75”, into a podcast.

The This is Money financial news and analysis website writes on Israel at 75: its “journey from undeveloped, desert economy to the ‘Silicon Valley’ of the Middle East is an inspiring narrative… Israel’s technological revolution has been reinforced by an intense focus by successive governments on research and development, with an astonishing 4.65 per cent of national income devoted to the cause.” The report continues: “In its most recent, largely upbeat assessment of Israel’s prospects, the IMF pointed to large socio-economic gaps which mean ‘lower performance for Arab and Charedim students compared to their peers’… But there can be no dispute about the degree of economic change that has taken place in Israel. A barren land has been transformed into a Middle Eastern economic powerhouse.”

Talks on a compromise on judicial reform between the government and members of the opposition continued yesterday. While the thorniest issue of Judges Selection Committee was not discussed, negotiators tackled the Supreme Court’s ability to intervene on the grounds of reasonability, and the powers wielded by ministries’ legal advisers. Maariv reports that the discussions turned heated, with Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs clashing with National Unity Party MK Gideon Saar. Fuchs is said to have told the opposition, “You don’t want the reform. You simply don’t want it and you don’t want any agreements,” to which those on the other side responded: “We’re trying to save you from yourselves.” An angered Saar stormed put of the room, returning a short time later and receiving an apology from Fuchs. Sources in the room said, “Nobody wants to be accused of derailing the talks or even of something that might be described as a ‘drama in the talks.’ That’s why it was important to end the fight quickly and to restore the positive atmosphere that generally prevails in the room.” Sources also suggested that some progress had been made on the issues discussed, but acknowledged that without any movement on the Judges Selection Committee, all else is irrelevant. Avigdor Liberman, whose Yisrael Beiteinu faction has boycotted the talks, said: “The ongoing talks at the President’s Residence and the game of make believe between the coalition and the opposition are a grave mistake. Regrettably, Lapid and Gantz are playing into Netanyahu’s hands and are helping him achieve his central goal—to pass a budget by the end of the month, as required by law, since unless the budget is passed the Knesset will be dissolved.”

Of the negotiations, Israel Hayom’s Matti Tuchfeld writes: “The meetings, the speeches and the comments by all the sides are longer about negotiations or an attempt to find a compromise; rather, they are the start of a blame game. Both sides know this to be the case but continue to play the game. Both need the short time that remains in order to construct their narrative. The moment in which they begin to attack and blame each other for the talks’ failure is drawing near.”

Ynet covers Deputy Education Minister Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism) publicly rebuking Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday over the government’s failure to pass two bills he says were part of coalition agreement commitments. “We want the bill to override the Supreme Court and the draft bill passed before the [state] budget, and if he cannot do it he should just go home,” Porush said of Netanyahu. He continued: “The prime minister says ‘postpone, I can’t,’ and that is not acceptable… What did I help to establish this government for? So that I would have to hear the excuses of Finance Ministry officials who repeated their stance during the previous government? What did we run for in the elections?”

The site also reports coalition leaders meeting on Monday to discuss the possibility of asking the Supreme Court for a delay in its ruling on the draft bill to buy more time, and Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich informing an angered United Torah Judaism leader Yitzchak Goldknopf that the bill would not be advanced before the budget is passed.

Israel Hayom reports on tensions between Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. Whereas it was customary for previous justice ministers Gideon Saar, Avi Nissankorn, and Ayelet Shaked to meet weekly with the Attorney General, Levin and Baharav-Miara have met only five times since Levin, a leader of the judicial reform programme, took office.

Ynet details 25 MKs retracting a letter sent to Foreign Minister Eli Cohen protesting against alleged discrimination against Iran’s Azeri minority by the regime in Tehran. Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel led the retraction once it became apparent that the letter was being interpreted as supporting national independence for Iran’s Azeris, and thereby threatening Israel’s relations with Iranian opposition figures, including Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, a fierce critic of the regime who recently made a visit to Israel.

I24 News reports Cohen’s meeting on Tuesday with his EU counterpart Josep Borrell in Brussels. The two agreed to hold a bilateral summit later in the year, while Borrell condemned recent terror and rocket attacks against Israelis and underlined the EU’s commitment to Israel’s right to defend itself.

Maariv reports the resumption today of Netanyahu’s criminal trial, with investigator Roni Levy set to take the stand. Levy is set to be questioned on issues pertaining to Case 2000, concerning Netanyahu’s alleged arrangement with Yediot Ahronot publisher Arnon Mozes for positive media coverage.

Haaretz’s Anshel Pfeffer writes on the surge in popularity of National Unity head Benny Gantz, the prime beneficiary in polling from the division caused by judicial reform. “Even in the Israeli political arena which has always loved a good comeback, the rapid revival of Gantz’s prospects is breathtaking,” he writes. “Gantz is currently the only candidate appealing to politically homeless ‘soft right’ voters and since many of these voters are religious, it helps that Gantz has constantly courted the ultra-Orthodox parties…”

Israel Hayom covers the apparent threat to the heritage site of El-Unuk, one of the six “Gilgal” sites that were identified by the archaeologist Adam Zertal as dating to the People of Israel’s entry into the land following Joshua’s conquest. Construction by the Palestinian Authority is said to be damaging the site’s integrity, with Dr. Shai Bar, a lecturer at Haifa University and director of an archaeological survey at the site, warning: “This is doing terrible damage at an important Early Iron Age site, which was revealed many years ago in a survey of Manasseh Hill.”