The shooting attack on a Jewish School in the French city of Toulouse is broadly covered in all the UK media outlets today. A father and his two young sons aged six and three were shot dead, another child, aged nine, was also killed, and a 17-year-old girl was left seriously injured. The Times notes that Foreign Secretary William Hague denounced the shooting as an “act of calculated cruelty” and said he was horrified. The paper also runs an opinion piece on how race has become a frontline topic in the upcoming French Presidential elections. The London Evening Standard quotes Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor who told BBC radio that if Iran succeeded in building a bomb it could spark a regional nuclear arms race. Israel’s defence minister, Ehud Barak, is quoted by the Independent as saying Israel views the threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran with more urgency than the rest of the world, and repeated its assessment that Tehran’s nuclear programme was close to becoming immune to military strikes. Reuters reports that Syrian rebels fought gun battles with government forces in Damascus, in the most violent clashes Syria’s capital has seen since the start of the year-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. BBC online reports that Syria is facing increasing pressure from Russia to allow daily humanitarian ceasefires and international aid into the areas worst affected by fighting. The Independent also notes a report by an international non-government organisation published today, which criticises the Israeli military’s treatment of Palestinian minors.  The paper also notes that an archive of personal letters written by Albert Einstein also refers to the challenge of Israeli-Arab relations. The Guardian reviews a guidebook on walks around the West Bank written by a Dutch diplomat.

All Israeli media outlets are dominated by the attack yesterday on the Jewish school in France. Israel Hayom includes an opinion piece by the French Ambassador to Israel in which he refers to the attack as a ‘national tragedy’. In addition the paper quotes Israel’s most senior leaders condemning the attack. Yediot Ahronot reveals the association made between Toulouse and Gaza by EU foreign affairs representative under the headline ‘Infuriating Comparison’. Several papers report on a phone call yesterday between President Obama and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. President Obama praised the efforts of the King of Jordan to promote direct negotiations. He apparently also asked Abbas to soften or withdraw any ultimatum addressed to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Israel radio this morning reported a mortar shell was fired into Israel from Gaza this morning. No one was injured and no damage caused.