Al-Quds al-Arabi (London): Tel Aviv admits to superiority of Hamas fighters – Three Israeli soldiers were killed yesterday in battles between occupation troops and Palestinian resistance along the Gaza-Israel border, which Israeli sources said were very difficult, and soldiers admitted Hamas fighters were very fierce. A Palestinian ambush and the killing of the soldiers shocked the Israeli army, which launched missile strikes that martyred at least 18 Palestinians, including a news cameraman and three children.

Al-Hayat (London): Forceful Iranian campaign against Qatari government – Iranian officials launched fierce criticism against the Qatari government after its senior officials received Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Doha. The Iranians accused Qatar of providing to Israel a passage to other Arab countries, with the aim of planting disparity with Tehran.

Al-Rayah (Qatar): Americans killed; police and army commanders dismissed in Basra – Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki yesterday said he is determined to defeat terrorism after a series of attacks that killed more than 77 people, while six Iraqis were killed in a U.S. air strike in Basra, and two American soldiers were also killed in attacks. Meanwhile, the Iraqi authorities replaced the police and army commanders in Basra after their failure to overcome al-Mahdi Army militia.

Al-Ittihad (United Arab Emirates): Four Yemeni soldiers killed by bomb in Mareb – Four Yemeni soldiers were killed and three others injured yesterday by a bomb blast in the historic city of Mareb, northeast of the capital. Eyewitnesses said an explosive device exploded during a routine police patrol in a main street in Mareb, and that the car turned into a pile of metal.

Al-Qabas (Kuwait): Suleiman's retirement is alarm for Lebanon – Lebanese sources close to presidential candidate and army chief General Michel Suleiman said his retirement from the army in August constitutes "alarm bells" to all the political rivals before the crisis deteriorates further. The sources said the general's decision is aimed at pressuring the Lebanese parties to arrive at a solution to the presidential crisis and before creating a vacuum in the military leadership.