The i and the online edition of the Daily Mail both report that a spokesman for Turkey’s President Erdogan has said that a reconciliation agreement with Israel will not be finalized without resolving the issue of aid and access to Gaza. Israeli and Turkish officials have held several meetings, most recently in London last week, to negotiate the re-establishment of ties following a six-year hiatus. Another sticking point is reportedly Israel’s insistence that Turkey end Hamas’ presence in the country.

The Daily Mail online covers comments made by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said yesterday that Israel has carried out “dozens” of strikes to prevent weapons transfers to Hezbollah in Syria. Although such operations during the Syrian Civil War have been widely reported, Netanyahu’s comments are a rare open admission.

Meanwhile, the Times says that Israeli defence companies have developed a “kamikaze” drone, which is capable of launching itself at enemy targets, rather than firing missiles.

The online editions of the Guardian and Daily Mail both report that the Israel Tax Authority has altered its regulations, widening the definition of tax generated in Israel to encompass online companies such as Google and Facebook, which will now be liable to the same VAT and income tax as Israeli companies. The Daily Mail online also reports that Chinese company Fosun is to purchase the Israeli cosmetics company Ahava for £54 million.

The Guardian and the online editions of the Independent and Daily Mail both report anger in Egypt at President al-Sisi after it was announced that Egypt had agreed to return control of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia after sixty years. Tiran and Sanafir are strategically located at the entrance to the Red Sea, overseeing access to ports including Israel’s southern city of Eilat. The two islands were under Israeli control between the Six Day War of 1967 and 1982, when Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt as part of the peace treaty between the two countries.

The Daily Mail online covers comments by an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, who said that Russia has sent the first part of the advanced S-300 air defence system, which many believe would complicate any future attempt to militarily disrupt Iran’s nuclear programme.

In the Israeli media, the top story in both Maariv and Israel Hayom is Prime Minister Netanyahu’s candid admission yesterday that Israel has carried out dozens of air strikes in Syria to prevent Hezbollah from obtaining advanced weapons. Reflecting in Maariv, Yossi Melman says that Netanyahu has taken a “great risk” in publicly exposing Hezbollah and the Assad regime’s weakness, as the revelation could upset the “fragile balance of terror and deterrence” which exists with them.

The main story in Haaretz, which is also covered prominently in Yediot Ahronot, Maariv, Israel Hayom and Israel Radio, is the likelihood that opposition leader, Zionist Union head Isaac Herzog will be questioned by police under caution. He has been accused of corruption involving campaign funding linked to his successful run for the Labour Party leadership in 2013. Israel Radio news says that Herzog has reiterated his willingness to fully cooperate with the investigation, which he says is an attempt at defamation by political opponents.

Israel Radio news says that more than 200 former senior security officials have signed a letter in support of Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon and IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot. Both have been criticised in some quarters over their support for the military investigation into a soldier who shot dead a wounded Palestinian terrorist in Hebron, who had stabbed two Israeli troops. The signatories say that the case is being handled in the most professional and responsible manner possible.