The aftermath of last week’s reported air strike on one or more Syrian targets, apparently aimed at preventing advanced weapons from reaching Hezbollah, continues to make headlines. The Times, Metro, Evening Standard and the online edition of the Independent report on comments made by Israel’s Defence Minister Ehud Barak at a security conference in Germany, which appeared to imply Israeli involvement in the air operation. Meanwhile, the Telegraph and BBC online cover the first public acknowledgement of the air strike by Syrian President Assad, who claimed that it was an attempt by Israel to “destabilise” Syria. The Independent online reports that Syrian TV broadcast pictures of the supposed aftermath of the air strike with the accompanying caption, “consequences of the Israeli aggression.” Meanwhile, the Financial Times online provides an analysis of the situation.

The online editions of the Guardian and Times report that the Russian and Iranian foreign ministers met for the first time with a senior Syrian opposition leader yesterday on the sidelines of a security conference in Germany. Russia and Iran are President Assad’s most significant international allies. The Guardian online and Telegraph online both cover an apparent agreement by the Iranian government to meet with representatives of the P5+1 powers (US, UK, China, Russia, France and Germany) who are leading the international effort to resolve concerns over Iran’s nuclear development, in Kazakhstan on 25 February. Three previous rounds of talks between the two parties have seen little progress.

The Guardian online reports that new US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with Israeli and Palestinian leaders over the weekend, stressing that he is “very interested in the peace process.” There is speculation that Kerry will soon visit the region. Meanwhile, the Guardian print edition includes an article on a new academic study which indicates that although textbooks in Palestinian and Israeli schools often include maps which omit the existence of the other side’s territory, they rarely incite hate.

The online edition of the Financial Times reports on the commencement of coalition negotiations in Israel. The article highlight Benjamin Netanyahu’s desire to form a broad “national unity” government, but also details the difficulties in bridging significant differences between various factions, in particular between Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid and ultra-Orthodox parties over military enlistment.

The first day of coalition negotiations is the main item in this morning’s Israeli media. Most reports agree that the opening day of talks between Likud-Beitenu, Yesh Atid, Jewish Home and Shas exposed large gaps between these parties on the issue of a universal military draft. Israel Hayom refers to “toughening positions,” while Yediot Ahronot and Haaretz highlight Yair Lapid’s claim that he will happily sit in opposition if the demands of his Yesh Atid party are not met and believes that in opposition he would be able to topple the resulting government within eighteen months. Maariv and Makor Rishon report that Lapid and Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett have reached an agreement to either enter the coalition or remain in opposition together. They reportedly believe that such a pact will reduce the Likud-Beitenu leverage over them during negotiations.

The other major story in Israel this morning is a major malfunction in the mobile phone network last night, which left around three million customers without mobile or text services for close to five hours. Yediot Ahronot, Maariv, Haaretz, Israel Hayom and Makor Rishon all report that security services are checking the incident over suspicions that it may have been the result of a cyber attack.

Meanwhile, Yediot Ahronot and Haaretz cover Defence Minister Barak’s comments in Germany which implied Israeli involvement in last week’s air strike in Syria. Maariv and Israel Radio News cover reports of an explosion at an electronic facility in the south Lebanese city of Tyre. However, Hezbollah-affiliated media outlets have denied that it was the result of Israeli air attack.