BBC News reports on how “Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech was hailed as historic, powerful and moving by his supporters in Israel and derided as absurd and cynical by some of his critics.“ Many hostage families had travelled to the US to protest against him. The Independent and BBC News cover boycotts and protests amid Netanyahu’s speech. Eli Clifton writes for The Guardian arguing that Netanyahu is presiding over a decline in the US’s pro-Israel consensus as “about half of Democrats in Congress boycotted the PM’s speech as thousands of protesters rallied outside the Capitol”.

The Financial Times reports that the IDF has seized a plot of Palestinian land at the heart of an archaeological site deep in the occupied West Bank, where Israel’s heritage ministry confirmed its plans to raise a “gigantic flagpole”.

The Guardian reports: “The Israeli government took extraordinary measures to frustrate a high-stakes US lawsuit that threatened to reveal closely guarded secrets about one of the world’s most notorious hacking tools, leaked files suggest. Israeli officials seized documents about Pegasus spyware from its manufacturer, NSO Group, in an effort to prevent the company from being able to comply with demands made by WhatsApp in a US court to hand over information about the invasive technology.”

The Telegraph reports on Israel warning of Iran-backed plots to target athletes at the Olympics in Paris.

The Telegraph looks at the future of the war and the geopolitical issues surrounding the Olympic Games in Paris.

The Telegraph reports on Israel-India relations, looking at how the Hamas assault on October 7 sparked a visceral outpouring of support from a nation that saw echoes of the 2008 strike on Mumbai.

The Economist reports on Houthi attacks on Israel: “most have been intercepted over the Red Sea by America and its allies, or shot down by Israel’s air defences. A handful reached southern Israel but did little damage. On July 19th, though, the Houthis hit an apartment building in Tel Aviv, killing one person and wounding at least eight others.”

The Times reports that PM Keir Starmer is likely to drop the UK’s case against an arrest warrant being issued against PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the ICC.

The Times also publishes a piece by Col. Iain Smailes, who argues that Israel needs to change tactics against Hamas in order to win the war.

The Times reports Cambridge University has promised to review its investments in arms ­companies supplying Israel if students close a pro-Palestinian protest camp. Demonstrators, inspired by camps at colleges across the United States, raised tents and marquees two months ago at King’s College.

Haaretz features an investigation into the failure of the IDF’s plans to flood Hamas’s tunnel network underneath the Gaza Strip. Branding the initiative “a predictable military failure which no one stopped until it was too late”, Yaniv Kubovich reveals that “nobody in the army can say what benefit, if any, was gained from this expensive project” and “that it was activated while possibly endangering Israelis who were alive when abducted to the Strip”. Kubovich writes that the project was accelerated by the head of Southern Command, Major General Yaron Finkelman, and “that it was activated while possibly endangering Israelis who were alive when abducted to the Strip”.

Haaretz and Yediot Ahronot report on the death of an IDF reservist fighting in the Gaza Strip. Corporal Moti Rave of Shani, a combat engineer attached to the Givati Brigade, was 37 when he was killed. He is the 688^th IDF fatality since 7^th October, 328 of whom fell since the ground incursion into the Gaza Strip began. Yediot Ahronot also reports the death of another soldier, Staff Sergeant Noam Douek, of Kiryat Motzkin. He was 20 when he died, a member of the 401st Armored Corps Brigade, and killed after a power generator leaked toxic gases.

Writing for Haaretz, Jonathan Lis reports that Israel is “deeply disappointed by the new UK government’s decision to drop the previous government’s reservations on the International Criminal Court’s request for arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant”. While yet to formally withdraw its reservations, the UK is expected to do so imminently in the first potential rift between Israel and the new Labour government.

Ynet offers further details about the recent IDF mission in Khan Younis which recovered the remains of five Israelis who were killed on 7^th October, with their remains being taken to the Gaza Strip. It publishes a photo taken by Shin Bet showing a handcuffed Palestinian prisoner wearing an IDF uniform, helmet, and body armour, who reportedly accompanied and guided troops on the mission.

Haaretz and Yediot Ahronot both carry obituaries of former US Ambassador to Israel, veteran diplomat, and foreign relations expert, Martin Indyk, who has died aged 73. Writing in Haaretz, Ofer Aderet offers an overview of his career while quoting tributes paid to him by friends and colleagues including Ambassador Dennis Ross and President Barack Obama. Yediot Ahronot focuses on Indyk’s “key role in Middle East peace efforts”, and post-government retirement work as a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute.

Maariv and Israel Hayom both report on terror threats against the Israeli Olympic delegation currently competing in Paris. While Maariv focuses more on the opening ceremony, Shirit Avitan Cohen of Israel Hayom instead leads with “Israel’s growing concern over intelligence assessments suggesting that Iranian operatives and other terrorist organizations intend to launch attacks against Israeli Olympians and “visitors during the Games”. She reports that just 24 hours before the games began, Israeli Foreign Minister Katz reached out to his French counterpart to warn him of this threat. Haaretz also reports that the Israel National Cyber Directorate and Culture and Sports Ministry said that Iran is behind the publication of Israeli Olympic delegation members’ personal information.

Writing for Israel Hayom, Elie Klutstein describes how the Syrian Assad regime is attempting to regain international and regional legitimacy. Klutstein argues that the failure of attempts to isolate President Assad have now led to the Arab world instead embracing him, partially to resolve the challenges of refugees and the flow of synthetic drugs “causing havoc throughout the Middle East”.