Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
Paper Talk: Israeli soldiers told to ‘annihilate Hamas’
Most of Friday’s newspapers lead with the latest from the ongoing crisis in the Middle East as aid is expected to start reaching those inside Gaza on Friday.
Elsewhere, the Covid inquiry is another top story for the front pages.
Israel-Hamas conflict
The Daily Mail says Israel’s ground assault on Gaza could be imminent. The paper says Yoav Gallant – the Israeli defence minister – had “banged the drum of war” with his words to soldiers.
The Daily Telegraph says diplomats have suggested that now that high-profile delegations – from Britain and the US – have left, Israel will feel free to move into Gaza.
The paper also notes the US has issued a rare worldwide terror alert, urging its citizens to be cautious, as anti-Israeli and anti-western protests spread across the Arab world.
The Daily Express repeats calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Hamas-Israel conflict. The paper reflects calls being made by aid charities. The paper quotes rescue workers who fear up to 600 infants could be buried under rubble in Gaza.
The paper notes that lorries of aid are expected to reach Gaza – via the Egypt border – on Friday. But aid agencies insist only a proper ceasefire would allow them to establish safe routes by which to deliver enough food water and medicines.
According to the Guardian, aid agencies have warned that the aid due to arrive in Gaza today may be “too little too late.” They’re quoted as saying that delays, in allowing the small convoy of lorries in, have almost certainly cost the lives of Palestinians. The WHO says aid now needs to be coming in every day.
The FT leads on rising tensions on Israel’s northern border. The paper says US, Britain and Germany have all urged their citizens to leave Lebanon. Shelling between northern Israel and southern Lebanon – a stronghold of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah – is rising, increasing fears of a conflict wider than just between Israel and Hamas.
Rishi Sunak’s visit to Riyadh leads the Times. His direct appeal to the Crown Prince to use his leadership in the region to ensure stability. The paper says Britain’s tole as an “interlocutor” with Saudi is significant given the deterioration of the kingdom’s relationship with the US.
‘Reckless and Callous’
The Daily Mirror leads on the Covid inquiry, with the headline “Reckless and Callous”. The paper says this is what some victims’ families felt about Rishi Sunak’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme after the inquiry was told there had been no scientific consultation before it was implemented. One woman, whose mother died of the disease in 2021, told the paper she thought the scheme might have contributed to thousands of deaths.
The Sun focuses on a memorial to Paul O’Grady who died earlier this year. It says that his partner told those gathered in memory of the TV star, that he had “passed away peacefully” as the pair smoked cannabis together at home.
Meanwhile, the Daily Star leads on the arrest of a man who is accused of pretending to be a mannequin in a shop and “then stealing gems after staff went home”.