The Guardian, City AM and the online edition of the Times all report that the 72-hour ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hamas is holding for the time being as it enters its second day. All say that the truce has allowed Gazans to return to their homes and to think about beginning the re-building process. The Guardian includes a feature on the effects of the conflict on Gaza’s children, describing them as a traumatised generation.

At the same time, the Times, Evening Standard and Independent all cover what each refer to as “last chance” talks for a long-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which are being mediated in Cairo. The Times says that little progress has been made with both sides entrenched in opposing positions, although the Independent suggests that Hamas may drop its demands to build ports in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the Independent reports that the Palestinian leadership is moving closer towards joining the International Criminal Court (ICC), with potential American opposition the only reported barrier to such a move. The Independent and the online edition of the Telegraph say that the Turkish group IHH, which is closely affiliated to the country’s ruling party, is considering sending an aid convoy to Gaza, in what would be viewed as a highly provocative measure bound to exacerbate Israel-Turkey tensions. In 2010, nine people were killed on board an IHH flotilla after Israeli commandos attempted to halt its voyage.

An editorial in the Telegraph says that it is time to recall Parliament in order to discuss the unrest and violence in several parts of the Middle East, as “the geopolitical plates are moving.” Meanwhile, the Sun’s editorial calls on the “paralyzed” leadership of the Western world to act over the divisions in the Middle East.

Writing in the Guardian, Karma Nabulsi says that “Israel has lost” the conflict in Gaza and that “we are all Palestinians” following Israel’s “brutal colonial war.”

Both Hugo Rifkind in the Times and Vanessa Feltz in the Daily Express warn over the grave danger of hostility towards Israel morphing into anti-Semitism in the UK. In the Evening Standard, Ed Husain calls on UK Muslims to reject the “ugly politics” which have created a threatening atmosphere for Jews in Britain.

In other regional news, both the Times and Metro say that Iran’s President Rouhani has told internal opponents of Iran’s talks with Western powers over Tehran’s nuclear programme to go “to hell.”

In the Israeli media, the top story is the ongoing long-term ceasefire talks in Cairo. Both Maariv and Haaretz claim that there is agreement between the Israeli and Hamas delegations on most issues, with the possibility of Gaza sea and air ports and Hamas’s demilitarization the outstanding issues. Yediot Ahronot reports that Israel has agreed to ease restrictions on access in and out of Gaza, while Israel Radio news says that Israel is keen to see Palestinian Authority forces take control of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

Israel Hayom leads with the announcement yesterday by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that Canadian jurist William Schabas will lead a commission of inquiry into Operation Protective Edge. Schabas is considered an outspoken critic of Israel, prompting Israel Hayom to call the commission “a rigged game” against Israel.

Both Yediot Ahronot and Makor Rishon say that in the wake of the Gaza operation, a new IDF tunnel detection system is in its final stage of operational testing. Hamas has constructed a complex network of tunnels in Gaza over several years, which it has used to launch attacks on Israel. Writing in Yediot Ahronot, Alex Fishman says that the detection system has already been tested on Tel Aviv’s sewage system and could be installed within a year.