BBC News, the Guardian, Telegraph, Times, Independent and Reuters report that Iran has sentenced a British-Iranian dual national to 10 years in prison for allegedly spying for Mossad. Anousheh Ashouri was also handed a two-year term for illicitly acquiring money and fined $36,600 (£29,850). The Foreign Office confirmed it had been supporting the family of a British-Iranian man detained in Iran. The incident has prompted the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe to accuse the UK government of shirking its responsibility towards detained dual nationals.

BBC News and Reuters report that suicide bombers have attacked two police checkpoints in Gaza, killing three Palestinian officers. The attacks follow a recent operation by Hamas against militants linked to IS. The Hamas-run interior ministry has declared a state of emergency while spokesman Eyad Al-Bozom said security forces were making progress in their pursuit of those behind the explosions. Hamas has faced periodic internal opposition from more hardline Islamist militants – including those affiliated with IS – and it recently released members of extremist factions as a gesture of goodwill.

The Telegraph and Reuters report that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told Hassan Nasrallah to “calm down” after he said Hezbollah was preparing a response within days to Israeli strikes. Netanyahu warned the secretary general of the Lebanese Shia group to “be careful” with their words. “I want to say to him and the Lebanese state, which is hosting this organisation that aims to destroy us […] Be careful about your words, and even more cautious about your actions.” Israel has been accused of carrying out a drone attack on a Hezbollah facility in Beirut on Sunday and of striking an armed Palestinian faction in eastern Lebanon, with Lebanese sources reporting that Hezbollah is preparing a “calculated strike” in response.

BBC News, the Guardian, Independent, Financial Times and Reuters report that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has urged the US to take the first step towards dialogue by lifting sanctions against Iran. “Without this step, this lock will not be unlocked,” Rouhani said. He spoke after US President Donald Trump said he was open to a meeting if the circumstances were right. In a televised speech, Rouhani said he was always ready for talks, but that ” the US should act by lifting all illegal, unjust and unfair sanctions imposed on Iran”. He added: “If the US does not lift the sanctions and does not reject the wrong path that it has chosen, we will not witness any positive developments. The key for positive developments is in the hands of Washington.”

BBC News and Reuters report that the Kurdish-led authorities in north-eastern Syria say a US-backed Kurdish militia has begun withdrawing from territory along the border with Turkey. The “first practical steps” came on the weekend, when the People’s Protection Units (YPG) pulled out some fighters and weaponry from two areas. The move is part of a deal with Turkey and the US, which has forces there. Turkey has threatened to launch an assault unless the YPG pulls back from the border and a “safe zone” is set up.

Reuters reports that Syrian rebels have launched a wide-scale attack against a Syrian army campaign aiming to take back the opposition’s last major bastion. The rebel counter-attack sought to abort a push north from Khan Sheikhoun, which Syria’s Russia-backed army seized with the help of Russian ground troops last week, towards the rebel-held city of Maarat al-Numan. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov acknowledged that Russia had military personnel on the ground in Idlib province despite initially downplaying its direct military role in the campaign.

The Financial Times and Reuters report that Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a tour of Russia’s annual air show, where Moscow’s new SU-57 stealth fighter was exhibited. Ties between Russia and Turkey have deepened significantly, reflected in Ankara’s decision to purchase the S-400 defence system despite Washington’s threat that it would result in the suspension of Turkey’s order for F-35 fighter jets. In another step that could further strain ties with the US, Turkey has taken delivery of a second batch of Russian S-400 air defence equipment. President Erdogan stated that Turkey wants to continue defence cooperation with Russia.

In the Financial Times, Chloe Cornish writes that “the relationship between Beirut’s banks and its finance ministry is under threat”: “’Any marriage is a complicated relationship, and there is a marriage between the government and the banks”.

In the Times, Anshel Pfeffer claims that Israel and Lebanon “stand on the brink of war”: “Like two old boxers, anxious to end their bout without suffering too much injury, Mr Netanyahu and Mr Nasrallah find themselves at a point they have been in the past, trying to look tough while grappling on the brink of war, trying to make sure neither of them drags the other down and out for the count”.

All the Israeli media are reporting that three Hamas policemen were killed yesterday in two separate suicide bombing attacks targeting police checkpoints in the Gaza Strip, according to multiple reports in the Israeli and Palestinian media. Hamas blamed Salafist and Islamic State groups inside Gaza for the attacks, with its security forces reported this morning to have arrested a large number of suspects. According to Kan Radio, while such attacks are rare they are not unprecedented: a Salafist suicide bomber targeted Hamas forces in southern Gaza in August 2017.

Channel 12 reported last night that Moshe Filber, the former director general of the Communications Ministry, has provided testimony to prosecutors that Prime Minister (and then-Communications Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu told him to fix prices and push through a merger to help the Bezeq telecoms company. Bezeq is owned by Shaul Alovitch, a close Netanyahu friend alleged to have traded regulatory breaks in return for positive coverage of the Prime Minister in Walla news, a media company he owns. Filber became a state witness against Netanyahu and Channel 12 reported the leaked transcripts of his testimony to police. The Attorney General will make a final decision whether or not to indict Netanyahu on bribery charges in this case, referred to as “Case 4000”, after a pre-trial hearing in October. The Attorney General announced in February he intended to indict the Prime Minister for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, pending a hearing.

Ynet has reported a dramatic increase in Israeli civilians from the Gaza border region seeking emergency and mental health support in the last seven months. According to official data, more than 3000 new cases were reported during this time frame, with the majority of Israelis coming from the town of Sderot, often a target for Palestinian rocket attacks.