Media Summary
04/08/2014
The Guardian, Times, Telegraph, Daily Mail, Sun and Mirror all report the political row between Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour leader Ed Miliband over Gaza. The Telegraph reports that Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has accused Mr Miliband of undermining peace efforts by being “ultra-critical” of Israel, and the Mail also quotes a Downing Street spokesman accusing Mr Miliband of “playing politics” with the conflict. The Guardian covers new remarks by Mr Miliband last night on Channel 4, saying he has “intensified” his criticism of the Government for being insufficiently critical of Israel. The Guardian also quotes an anonymous Conservative former minister as saying that Mr Cameron wants to avoid a backlash from pro-Israel Conservative members.
The FT covers the IDF redeployment out of the major population centres in Gaza as the tunnel-destruction phase of the operation comes to an end. It quotes Lt Col Peter Lerner saying that the IDF is “down-scaling while remaining present on the ground.” All papers mention the strong criticism of the strike near a United Nations-operated school in Gaza which killed at least 10 people. The Guardian reports that the US called the attack “disgraceful” while UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called it a “criminal act”, noting that “those responsible [must be] held accountable.” The Mirror claims that the school was hit by an Israeli strike.
The Independent i and Telegraph report on the funeral of Hadar Goldin, the IDF officer who was previously believed to have been captured by Hamas. The Telegraph reports that Lt Goldin’s body was not recovered and that some of his remains are believed to be possessed by Hamas. The Times cites a US Embassy source claiming that diplomats felt “misled” by the initial reports that Lt Goldin had been captured.
The Guardian cites a report in Der Spiegel that Israel eavesdropped on some of John Kerry’s unencrypted phone conversations during the most recent round of peace negotiations. The Independent features a long piece based on the reports of activist group Breaking the Silence, a group made up of former IDF soldiers who are critical of the army’s approach in past conflicts.
The Sunday Times printed a comment piece by Jewish Leadership Council Chair Mick Davis. Mr Davis empathised with the civilian casualties during the current operation, but stressed that he supported Israel in its war on Hamas.
The Times includes three letters from people complaining that protesters shut down an Israeli show at the Edinburgh Festival, while the Daily Mail and Mirror report that actor John Voight criticised celebrities Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem for their public attack on Israel’s operation in Gaza.
Israeli media reports on the talks between Palestinian factions in Cairo. Maariv reports that a draft agreement has been reached between the Palestinian groups, and that the USA and Egypt are pressuring Israel to send a delegation to Cairo to join talks.
Yediot Ahronot reports that large amounts of weapons and motorcycles were discovered in Hamas’s attack tunnels. Both Yediot and Maariv printed critical analysis pieces suggesting that the Government was erring by pulling out of Gaza too early.
After press deadlines, Israel Radio reports this morning that the IDF has declared a seven-hour humanitarian ceasefire, from 10am to 5pm, and has recommended that some displaced people should return home. Also reported was the overnight killing of senior Islamic Jihad commander Danyal Mansour.