The Guardian online this morning reports another suicide bomb in the Lebanese capital Beirut yesterday. The explosion wounded at least four people at a hotel near the Saudi Arabian embassy. It is the third such attack in Beirut during the last week. Earlier this week, a suicide car bomb exploded in a Shi’ite area in the south of the city, wounding 19 people. Such attacks have taken place with some regularity in Lebanon, usually as a spill-over from the fighting in Syria, especially given the close support provided to Syria’s President Assad by Shi’ite organisation Hezbollah.

The online editions of the Telegraph, Independent and Financial Times all report that Iraq’s President Nouri al-Maliki has publicly rejected calls by the United States and others to establish a national unity government. The recent military gains made by the Sunni Jihadist group ISIS in Iraq have prompted international concern at the fractious nature of Iraq and the potential breakdown of government authority there. The Telegraph online reports that ISIS has consolidated its strength as the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front, a rival Jihadist group in Syria, has pledged loyalty to ISIS.

The Guardian online includes a profile of one of the British recruits who recently appeared in an ISIS promotional video. The article outlines his transformation from suburban life in Cardiff to Jihadist fighter in Iraq.

The Financial Times describes the violence and uncertainty in Iraq as a proxy in the battle for regional supremacy between Iran and Saudi Arabia and by extension the Shi’ite and Sunni communities.

In the Israeli media, the top story in Yediot Ahronot, Maariv and Makor Rishon is a huge fire which broke out yesterday in the forests surrounding Jerusalem. The blaze prompted authorities to evacuate some homes in the Ein Kerem and Kiryat Hayovel neighbourhoods of Jerusalem and to close roads in the area. No major injuries were reported although some homes were damaged in the seven-hour blaze. The fire is also a major item in Israel Hayom, which along with Maariv suggests that the fire could have been caused by arson.

Israel Radio news, Makor Rishon and Israel Hayom all report that the security cabinet met yesterday to discuss the operation to locate the three teenagers kidnapped from the West Bank almost two weeks ago. The security cabinet resolved to continue the operation and to crack down on payments made by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to Palestinians convicted of terror-related offences and are currently in Israeli prisons. Maariv highlights comments made by the mother of one of the abducted boys, who said that past agreements to release Palestinian prisoners had been a “grave error.”

Meanwhile, the top item in Israel Hayom and a prominent story in Yediot Ahronot is the decision announced yesterday by a committee headed by Health Minister Yael German, that private health services will no longer be permitted at government hospitals. The decision is viewed as an attempt to boost public health care.

Yediot Ahronot also covers a speech delivered yesterday in Jerusalem by President-elect Reuven Rivlin. He said that coexistence is the destiny of the Middle East and that he would be prepared to meet with PA President Mahmoud Abbas.