The Financial Times, The Independent, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Sky News, BBC News, Reuters and the Associated Press report that US forces have carried out air strikes in Iraq against what the Pentagon described as five weapons storage sites run by an Iranian-back militia, in retaliation for a rocket attack which killed two American and one British soldier near Baghdad. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab described the response as ‘swift, decisive and proportionate’.

The Telegraph, The Independent, the Financial Times and the Associated Press report that Iran has asked the International Monetary Fund for financial assistance for the first time since 1962 to help it fight the coronavirus pandemic. The Guardian and The Times report that satellite images of mass graves in the city of Qom suggest Iran’s coronavirus epidemic is even more serious than the authorities are admitting. The Guardian reports that a British-Iranian political prisoner being held in Tehran on spying charges has sent a recorded message saying that the jail he is in was in chaos because of coronavirus and appealing for the UK government to do more to help secure his temporary release. Reuters reports that Bahrain accused Iran of “biological aggression” on Thursday, asserting Iran was covering up the spread of the coronavirus and failing to stamp Bahraini travellers’ passports.

Reuters and the Associated Press report that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday ordered most schools in the country to close as a precaution against coronavirus, and called for the formation of an emergency national unity government.

The Times reports that thousands of migrants held in camps on Greece’s islands are to be offered €2,000 each to return to their home countries.

The Times reports that Turkey has said that thousands of its troops will remain in Syria under a deal with Russia, warning they stood ready to “hurt” anyone who attacked them.

The Telegraph reports that British businesses could gain access to massive economic development and reconstruction projects if Boris Johnson’s government takes a more active role in ending the war in Libya, the country’s embattled UN-backed government has suggested.

The Financial Times reports that Lebanese tycoons have begun to buy up property as government defaults on foreign debt, as investors seeking safe havens for cash are driving a real estate boom.

In The Independent, Kim Sengupta writes that Iranian yearning to avenge Qasem Soleimani’s death remains strong, as the attack on the Iraqi airbase shows, but could be slowed by the coronavirus.

In The Spectator, John R. Bradley asserts that Russia and Saudi Arabia are at war over oil prices, as the ‘game of chicken’ being played by the two petroleum giants has hit financial markets almost as hard as coronavirus has.

The Economist argues that the low price of oil will test governments in the Middle East and Africa, as ‘with less cash to bribe the people some strongmen may resort to repression’.

The Economist says that restructuring the Lebanese economy will be difficult, as Lebanon defaulted on its debt for the first time, although assuaging the country’s rentier economy will be even harder.

The Israeli media is dominated by news and analysis of the coronavirus. In Yediot Ahronot, Nahum Barnea writes that: “Israel has a universal healthcare system that knows how to take responsibility for all its citizens and residents. The healthcare system is one of the important assets that the state’s founding fathers, members of the Labour movement, bequeathed to us.  A third advantage is the experience that the Israelis have accumulated in coping with emergencies. This great advantage has one limitation: the Israelis have a short fuse. After a few weeks they get fed up. Perhaps that is the reason that Netanyahu needs Gantz in his government.”

David Grossman also writes in Yediot Ahronot that: “Gantz is showing impressive determination at this time to include the Joint List in the government. This new determination attests to a way of thinking—and action— towards the Arab sector in Israel the likes of which we have not seen for decades….Gantz, it’s good that you have identified the crucial importance of the state of affairs tonight. It’s good that you have called upon the Israeli Arabs to come inside, into the Israeli home. Don’t stop there: call upon them wholeheartedly to be citizens with equal rights and obligations in the national home of the Jewish people. Their inclusion in the emergency government acknowledges the fact that in the face of an existential threat, it suddenly becomes very clear to what extent their fate and the fate of the Jewish majority are intertwined and mutually dependent.”

Yossi Verter in Haaretz writes: “Benjamin Netanyahu is squeezing every ounce of political and propaganda benefit out of the coronavirus at a time of uncertainty and anxiety about the future. This is his big moment. He is managing matters with a confident hand while everyone else is consumed with petty politics and talking with “supporters of terror.”  Nearly every evening the prime minister holds a joint press conference with the health minister and his director general, as well as the head of the National Security Council. Bibi’s messages are artfully crafted: sowing fear that stops a centimetre short of fuelling panic; presenting draconian measures that reflect his responsibility and concern for the health of his subjects; and highlighting his international standing (“I spoke with my friend, Indian President Narendra Modi”) and proven success in managing Israel’s economy (“Our economy is going into this crisis in good shape, in very good shape”).”

The Times of Israel reports that a delegation from Palestinian Islamic Jihad, led by their secretary-general, Ziad Nakhaleh, met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday in Moscow.  They thanked him for Russia’s critical view of the US plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Russia’s foreign minister has hosted several other senior Palestinian groups in recent weeks, including Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Fatah Central Committee member Hussein al-Sheikh and Palestinian National Initiative secretary-general Mustafa Barghouti.