The BBC, Financial Times, Telegraph, the Guardian and The Times report that the US has launched air strikes against an Iran-backed militia on the Iraq-Syria border. Sunday’s strikes hit “operational and weapons storage facilities”, in response to drone attacks on US forces, the Pentagon said in a statement. President Joe Biden “will act to protect US personnel” it added. The Pentagon did not provide any information on casualties, but the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said five militants were killed and several more were wounded in Syria.

Reuters reports that Israel’s new foreign minister, Yair Lapid, told his American counterpart that Israel has serious reservations about the Iran nuclear deal being put together in Vienna, as he pledged to fix “the mistakes made” in US-Israeli relations in recent years.

The Telegraph writes about an Iranian Kurd, who goes by the name “Poirot” and is among a wave of vigilante archaeologists leading illegal digs through royal graves. Poirot claims to be an expert treasure hunter, capitalising on a wave of illegal excavations fuelled by an economic crisis brought on by US sanctions. A major exhibition in London is currently showcasing dazzling artefacts from sites like Persepolis and Isfahan, just the kind of loot being sought by these treasure hunters. But while the Victoria and Albert Museum highlights 5,000 years of Persian art and culture, Iran’s archaeological heritage is under threat at home, the paper warns.

The Guardian looks at the growing crisis in Lebanon, writing that as the country suffers from hyperinflation and shortages of fuel and medical supplies, pressure is growing at home and abroad to address its governance quagmire.

The Independent reports that Syria’s physicians are struggling to contain a new COVID outbreak as the country continues to suffer from the trappings of civil war.

In the Israeli media, all the papers report on yesterday’s first meeting of the newly-formed coronavirus cabinet. Kan News reports that the coronavirus cabinet decided not to impose any new restrictions on the public. Instead, the goal is to provide maximum protection to Israel’s citizens against the spread of the Delta variant without affecting, as far as possible, day-to-day life. The cabinet also decided to build mechanisms to locate variants and to draft a plan to enforce quarantine, particularly on Israelis returning from overseas. The public information campaign to encourage vaccination will also continue, focusing in particular on young people. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is quoted by Maariv as having said: “This past week there has been a rise in the number of people testing positive in Israel, but there hasn’t been a complementary rise in the number of people hospitalised. But we need to know, the Delta variant does infect vaccinated people. Therefore, our attitude is simple: maximum protection for the citizens of Israel with minimum damage to routine [normal life] and the Israeli economy. Masks instead of restrictions. Vaccines instead of lockdowns.” Health Ministry Director General Hezi Levi resigned last night and will return to his previous position as the director of Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon. Prof. Levi said he would stay on until a replacement was appointed.

Maariv writes about Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s meeting in Rome with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani and Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio. In his public statements, Lapid reflected the Israeli government’s tactic to use a different tone and style from the previous government. Lapid said: “There is no relationship more important to Israel than the United States of America. There is no friend more loyal to the United States than Israel. In the past few years mistakes were made. Israel’s bi-partisan standing was hurt. We will fix those mistakes together.” Israel Hayom follows comments made by Foreign Minister Lapid after his meeting with al-Zayani: “We discussed at length the process of normalisation in the Middle East and the need to expand it to more cooperation with additional countries. Peace with Bahrain needs to serve as an example for the right process that needs to happen in our region.”

Kan Radio reports that an Israeli security delegation will leave this week for Egypt to discuss a long-term truce arrangement with Hamas. Ahead of the talks, Israel agreed to Egypt’s request to reinstate some relief measures in the Gaza Strip, including expanding the fishing zone, the resumption of postal services, and the transport of fuel supplies to the power plant. Citing Palestinian sources, the Lebanese-based Al-Akhbar reports this morning that the Egyptians relayed a message to Hamas that Israel would reopen the border crossings by the end of the week quiet were to be maintained. Haaretz reports that Israel is permitting the entrance of fuel from Qatar to the Gaza Strip.  The decision was made “after assessing the security situation” and with the “approval of political leadership,” according to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. However, both sides denied that they had reached any broader understanding.

Yediot Ahronot writes about the unique circumstances that allowed for Evyatar, an illegal settlement outpost in the northern West Bank, to grow to its current dimensions, citing a combination of the IDF’s preoccupation with Operation Guardian of the Walls and the political twilight as the Netanyahu government was in its final days in power. “For the sake of comparison, in every other case of outpost settlement in the last few years in Judea and Samaria, the removal occurred in tandem with the settlers’ moving in. Within hours, two days at most, troops would arrive to isolate the spot and then remove it. Evyatar is an exceptional case. Great effort was put into its establishment and growth, and a number of different groups enlisted to help that happen. The security establishment was taken by surprise and now finds itself facing a complicated task, having to remove 50 families, something that hasn’t been done since February 2017, when the Amona outpost was removed.” Channel 12 News reported last night that senior government figures are promoting a compromise to prevent the razing of Evyatar so that at least some parts of the settlement remain in place.

Israel Hayom follows comments made by United Arab List Chairman Mansour Abbas to Al-Quds Al-Arabi on the political considerations that led him join the coalition. Abbas said: “This is a strategy that has been adopted by Wasati Islam (the school of Islamic thought to which Abbas and the members of the [southern chapter of the] Islamic Movement in Israel belong), which is a moderate and pragmatic school of thought that is opposed to violence and serves for all of us as a source of inspiration in light of our understanding of the special circumstances in which the Arabs in Israel live, who were already  described in the past by the movement’s founder, Sheikh Abdullah Nimer Darwish, as living in the belly of a whale.” Abbas added that by joining the coalition, he “set a peace process in motion on the issue of renewing the negotiations and the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians,” but refused to go into any detail, citing “sensitive political issues”.

President Reuven Rivlin landed in the US yesterday as part of his farewell visit. Speaking at a meeting in New York with the leaders of the Jewish community, Rivlin referred to the presidential elections in Iran and said that the election of a tyrant who was responsible for the deaths of thousands was further proof of the terrible danger posed by the Iranian regime to Israel and to the entire world. He said that he would discuss this with President Joe Biden in their meeting today. Rivlin went on to say: “We may have disagreements, but we will discuss them the way friends do.”