The Guardian online reports that Israel’s Transport Minister Yisrael Katz is pushing the cabinet for approval over his plan to establish an artificial island off the coast of the Gaza Strip. Katz published animated plans for the initiative earlier this week, which would facilitate greater entry and export of goods to and from Gaza, while allowing Israel to maintain security via a three-mile bridge to the Gaza shore. Katz has emphasised that Israel has no interest in imposing restrictions on the Gaza population. However, the project relies on significant international investment.

The Times says that an historic Israeli tank, which Russia returned to Israel earlier this month, after having been displayed in a Moscow museum, is not in fact the tank it was said to be. The tank was thought to have been captured during the First Lebanon War during the Battle of Sultan Yacoub. The tank was never recovered by Israeli forces and its three-man crew has been missing ever since. However, it now transpires that the tank returned by Russia does not have the serial number of the missing tank.

The online editions of the Telegraph and Independent both report that footage from Russia Today, which was subsequently edited out of a report, shows that Russian jets in Syria were equipped with incendiary weapons. The report, which covered a visit by Russia’s Defence Minister to a Syrian air base, appears to be a further indication that Russia has been using illicit weapons during air strikes in or near civilian areas in Syria.

The i says that Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Zarif is in Paris for a series of meetings intended on building bilateral ties and creating momentum regarding Iran’s global position, almost a year on from a deal with the P5+1 powers (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

In the Israeli media, the top story in both Haaretz and Israel Hayom is today’s EU referendum in the UK. The Haaretz headline says that Europe is “tense” ahead of the vote, while Israel Hayom’s front page poetically declares “Britain and Europe: To Be or Not To Be.” The story is also covered prominently in Maariv and Yediot Ahronot, which calls it “Judgment Day.”

However, the top story in Yediot Ahronot, which is also a major item in Maariv is the unveiling yesterday of the first F-35 stealth fighter jet, which has been purchased by Israel from the United States. Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman was at the roll-out ceremony in Texas yesterday and declared that the state of the art aircraft will both increase Israel’s deterrence and operational capabilities. He also said that the fact that Israel is the first country to receive the F-35 is indicative of the strength of US-Israel relations. Israel Radio news reports that the first two jets in a fleet of 33 aircraft, will arrive in Britain within the next six months.

The top item in Maariv is a report by Channel Ten, which revealed that seven government ministers are currently being investigated. The so-called “MKs document” was leaked to the media, resulting in a lengthy meeting between Israel Police chief Roni Alsheich and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, following suspicions that the police are accumulating information on politicians to use as potential pressure tactics in the future. According to Israel Radio news, Alsheich denied the insinuation and said that the document “was drawn up for internal oversight purposes to aid in police work.”