The Financial Times and Reuters report that the UK is investigating an incident after reports that two oil tankers had been attacked in the Gulf of Oman. UK Maritime Trade Operations said it was aware of an incident involving two vessels and that the UK and its partners “are currently investigating”. Iranian media reported attacks on two oil tankers, saying successive explosions were heard in the Gulf of Oman.

Reuters reports that the Israeli military confirmed it attacked a Hamas target in Gaza after a Palestinian rocket strike, in the first serious cross-border flare-up since an upsurge in fighting in May. The latest hostilities followed Israel’s closure of offshore waters to Gaza fisherman on Wednesday in what it said was a response to incendiary balloons launched across the frontier this week. In a statement, the military said fighter planes attacked “underground infrastructure” in a compound belonging to Hamas. There were no reports of injuries.

The Guardian reports that Sara Netanyahu has agreed a plea bargain to settle a case in which she was charged with overspending $100,000 (£79,000) of state money on lavish meals. She will pay $15,000 to close the case, which accused her of running up large tabs at luxury restaurants while the official prime minister’s residence employed a full-time chef. Last year, Sara Netanyahu was indicted on charges of fraud and breach of trust. According to the indictment, she strove “to circumvent the rules and conditions governing the prime minister’s official residence in order to fraudulently obtain state funding for various expenses” from 2010 to 2013.

BBC News, Financial Times and Reuters report that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called on Iran to play a role in ensuring peace in the Middle East, as he began a two-day visit to the country to ease tensions between Iran and the US. Abe’s visit to Iran is the first by a Japanese premier since the Islamic revolution in 1979 and the first by a G7 leader since Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal.

The Guardian, Telegraph and Reuters report that Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of orchestrating a late-night cruise missile attack by Houthi rebel fighters on a Saudi international airport that injured 26 people. The Saudi Foreign Ministry has stated that the Command of Joint Forces of the Saudi-led coalition “will take urgent and timely measures to deter these Iranian-backed terrorist Houthi militias”.

Reuters reports that the Palestinian leadership has urged Egypt and Jordan to reconsider their attendance at a US-led conference in Bahrain on 25-26 June, voicing concern it would weaken any Arab opposition to Washington’s coming peace plan. The Palestinians leaders, who are boycotting the meeting, say the still unpublished plan falls short of their goal of statehood.

The Independent reports that Boris Johnson pushed for UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia in the midst of a bombing campaign in Yemen blamed for the deaths of dozens of civilians. Backing for the sale of components to Riyadh to make Paveway bombs came days after a food factory was bombed and weeks after Human Rights Watch found that Saudi-led coalition airstrikes had targeted civilian warehouses, a farm and two power stations. Correspondence from the summer of 2016 shows the then-Foreign Secretary recommended allowing the sale of the weapons, with an email from the government’s arms export policy team on 27 July citing “increased confidence in the pre-planned and dynamic targeting processes” of the Saudi-led coalition.

In The Independent, Bel Trew examines whether the ultra-Orthodox parties are Israel’s new kingmakers, arguing that the battle between secular forces within Israel’s Right and the ultra-Orthodox will likely dominate the forthcoming snap election.

The Financial Times and Reuters reports that Clarke Cooper, assistant secretary at the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs at the State Department, has claimed that the threat from Iran has made it necessary for the Trump administration to bypass Congress and activate emergency powers to proceed with 22 sales of planned precision bombs worth $8.1bn to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, despite bipartisan opposition from legislators. The State Department’s manoeuvre has added to the growing anger among legislators regarding the Trump administration’s staunch support for Saudi Arabia, even in the wake of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s killing.

Reuters reports that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed that Turkey has purchased S-400 defence systems from Russia and hopes they will be delivered in July, an announcement likely to ratchet up tensions with the US. Turkey and the US have sparred publicly for months over Ankara’s order for the S-400 system, which are not compatible with NATO’s systems. “Turkey has already bought S-400 defence systems. It is a done deal. I hope these systems will be delivered to our country next month,” Erdogan said.

In the Israeli media Yediot Ahronoth, Maariv and Haaretz discuss the war of succession in the Labour Party. Avi Gabbay announced last night that he was not standing again for party leader or for the next Knesset. He wrote on Facebook that the Labour Party was in great crisis and that he did not absolve himself of responsibility. Labor MK Itzik Shmuli announced he would run in the leadership contest, saying: “It’s time to take the reins in hand. This is our time to restore the faith that many lost along the way, to strengthen the values we grew up with, to fashion new partnerships and together to breach the borders of the camp to increase the chance for change for the country.” The Tel Aviv District Court ruled that Labour must conduct a referendum among its 60,000 registered members on whether to hold primaries for the party leadership and Knesset list, or to leave these decisions to the 3,000-member party convention.

Yediot Ahronoth and Israel Hayom focus on tensions within the right-wing camp. Yesterday MK Motti Yogev (United Right) exchanged verbal blows with Naftali Bennett (New Right). Speaking in a radio interview, Yogev described Bennett’s decision to leave the Jewish Home as treason and said that he would oppose Bennett’s return. “A national unity government with Blue and White is just as bad as cooperating with someone who betrayed us, abandoned the ship and took the money.” In response, Bennett wrote a post on Facebook in which he said that Yogev and his extremist friends had hijacked the Jewish Home, and added: “All of your and other people’s comments only remind me of why I struck out on my own … you and the others in and outside the faction hijacked the Jewish Home onto a path that is far from what I and many others, including people in the party, believe in.”

Haaretz reports that Issawi Frej and Mossi Raz are to run together for the position of Meretz leader. The joint candidacy will require a change to the party’s constitution to allow two people to jointly run. The party’s leadership primary is scheduled for 27 June, two weeks before elections for the party’s Knesset list. Frej said: “The Israeli left needs hope in the form of a true Jewish-Arab partnership. The Arab public showed confidence in Meretz during the last election and now we must enhance the partnership in the form of a strong and influential Arab-Jewish left.” Raz added: “Meretz, with us at the helm, will be good news for Israel’s Arab and Jewish citizens. There’s a large public that’s eager for this partnership, a public that could strengthen Meretz and the entire Israeli Left.”

Haaretz also reports that the four Arab parties in the Knesset – Hadash, Taal, Balad and United Arab List – are expected to announce within the next couple of weeks a joint list in Israel’s 17 September election. The parties have accelerated their negotiations in recent days, in the hope of thwarting any new Arab political initiatives. Party representatives held discussions on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, with the aim of wrapping up negotiations within days.

Maariv reports on talks between the Blue and White party and the ultra-Orthodox parties. Ben Caspit writes that: “In complete silence, beneath the radar and at low levels, a political shift has been in the works that, if successful, will probably be defined as ‘historic’. The thick layer of ice that separated Blue and White and United Torah Judaism is gradually cracking at a pace that is reminiscent of the polar icebergs cracking because of global warming. The Haredi website, Kav Laitonut, reported on Tuesday about a ‘contingency plan’ that is being formulated by Blue and White to reach an agreement in principle with the Haredim about the military conscription bill and about maintaining the status quo, with the goal of laying the groundwork for cooperation that will liberate UTJ from Netanyahu’s bear hug.” The report also quotes sources from Yesh Atid saying: “These elections are going to be about religion and state … the Haredim know that the public is fed up with how things have played out and are looking for new options, but we need to focus on one thing only: winning in September. Only victory will bring the Haredim on board. We mustn’t blink until then.”

Maariv reports that the Likud activist who petitioned for a leadership primary within the party claims to have been subjected to pressure. “Officials in the Likud have been applying heavy pressure on me and my colleagues to withdraw the petition that I filed to the Likud court [asking it] to force a primary election for the party leadership,” said Uri Peretz. The petition was filed in response to the Likud Directorate’s decision not to hold an election for the party leadership and to use the same list from the April elections in the next elections.

Maariv and Haaretz report that Israel has put a maritime blockade on Gaza in response to the continuation of incendiary balloons that have caused multiple fires. Kan Radio News reports that the Israel Air Force attacked an underground Hamas facility in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire at the Eshkol Regional Council. The Iron Dome system intercepted the rocket and no injuries or damage were reported.

Kan Radio News reports that the State Attorney’s Office rejected the assertion that was made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s lawyer, Amit Hadad, that the investigation material that had been given him was incomplete. They also rejected his arguments regarding the date for the hearing.