Trump: U.S. watching Iran closely and will intervene if it 'starts killing people'
Live Updates
January 09, 2026
January 09, 2026
RECAP: Israeli forces raid West Bank wedding, detaining dozens
Here are Friday's updates on Gaza, the West Bank and the Middle East:
■ Israeli strikes across Gaza have killed 13 since Thursday, medical officials said. The IDF said six militants were killed in what it termed retaliation for a failed rocket launch.
■ Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across Lebanon, saying it was "in response to Hezbollah's continued violations of the cease-fire."
■ Palestinians reported that Israeli forces raided a wedding in the West Bank's Al-Eizariya, detaining dozens and using tear gas and stun grenades on the crowd.
■ Supreme Leader Khamenei blamed the U.S. for the violence at Iran's nationwide protests, where 62 people were killed. French, British and German leaders condemned the killings, and Washington repeated warnings that it would intervene.
■ Hundreds of Israelis, including freed hostages, held a service calling for the return of the final hostage remaining in Gaza, Ran Gvili.
■ Nickolay Mladenov, the former UN envoy expected to join Trump's so-called Board of Peace for Gaza, will not be its director general as Netanyahu described him Friday, Haaretz has learned.
■ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told The Economist that Israel aims to forgo American military aid in the next 10 years.
'Will do the best I can for ordinary citizens': Hostage mother Einav Zangauker announces she's entering politics
Einav Zangauker at a protest calling for the release of the hostages, in 2024. Credit: Olivier Fitoussi
Einav Zangauker at a protest calling for the release of the hostages, in 2024. Credit: Olivier Fitoussi
Einav Zangauker, mother of freed hostage Matan Zangauker, announced that she will be entering politics and that the Likud party is an "option."
"I will do the best I can for the ordinary citizens of Israel," Zangauker told media personality Ophira Assayag on her Channel 12 weekly news program.
"It's clear we need a system-wide transformation," she said. "The state bodies and the government are non-functional. On October 7, no one was there for the citizens, those who had to evacuate their homes, those who had to bury their loved ones. Everything's terrible, Ophira," she said, adding that state-related affairs will be first on her agenda.
Likud responded to Channel 12's Mako news outlet that "the Prime Minister or his representatives did not contact, and do not intend on contacting Einav Zangauker to invite her to Likud. We wish her luck and health, to her and her son."
Sources to Haaretz: Envoy tapped for Trump's Gaza board will not be CEO, despite PM statement
Nickolay Mladenov, the former UN envoy expected to join Donald Trump's so-called Board of Peace for Gaza, will be the board's "high representative," not its director general as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described him Friday, Haaretz has learned.
The title of "high representative" is similar to the official name of the European Union foreign minister's office. Mladenov will lead the board's Executive Committee, which will manage the Gaza Strip. As reported previously, the board's chair will be U.S. President Donald Trump.
Mladenov left Israel on Friday evening after visiting Jerusalem and Ramallah, where he met with Palestinian and Israeli administrative and defense officials. Washington is aiming to announce the board next week, but the exact date remains unclear and there may be delays.
Iran tells UN that U.S. is responsible for violent protests on its soil
The United States is to blame for "the transformation of peaceful protests into violent, subversive acts and widespread vandalism" in Iran, the country's United Nations ambassador told the Security Council on Friday.
Iran condemns "the ongoing, unlawful, and irresponsible conduct of the United States of America, in coordination with the Israeli regime, in interfering in Iran's internal affairs through threats, incitement, and the deliberate encouragement of instability and violence," Iran's U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani wrote in a letter, seen by Reuters.
He accused Washington of "destabilizing practices" that undermine the founding U.N. Charter, violate fundamental principles of international law, and threaten the foundations of international peace and security.
France, Britain, Germany condemn killing of protesters in Iran, Macron's office says
French, British and German leaders on Friday condemned the killing of protesters in Iran and urged the Iranian authorities to restrain violence, in a joint statement released by French President Emmanuel Macron's office.
"The Iranian authorities have the responsibility to protect its own population and must allow for the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear of reprisal," the joint statement said.
IDF says it killed six Hamas militants in Thursday strikes which officials say killed 13, including children
The Israeli army said that during strikes in Gaza conducted on Thursday in retaliation for a failed rocket launch, at least six Hamas militants were killed. According to health officials, 13 people were killed in the strikes, including women and children.
The IDF named two of the militants it struck – Kamal Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Awad, who the army said served as the head of Hamas' anti-tank missile array, and Ahmad Thabet, who according to the IDF, was the "head of a workshop within a Hamas department, and as a key source of knowledge in the field of weapons manufacturing and production that were used to be launched toward the State of Israel."
The army also killed four other militants who it alleged "were planning to carry out an imminent terror attack against IDF forces operating in the northern Gaza Strip."
The IDF also said it targeted a "Nukhba terrorist" who took part in the October 7 attack, including the Nova festival massacre, named Ahmad Abd al-Fattah Saeed Maghdalawi. It said it is still investigating the results of the strike.
Netanyahu says he aims to end Israeli reliance on U.S. military aid in next ten years
Speaking with the Economist's Editor-in-Chief Zanny Minton Beddoes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he aims to "taper off" American military aid to Israel within the next ten years.
Netanyahu had previously addressed Israel's longstanding reliance on American security assistance during a security cabinet meeting in March, saying, "We receive close to $4 billion for weapons. I think we'll reach a point where we wean ourselves off it, just as we weaned ourselves off economic aid."
Under the current U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding, American military aid is $3.8 billion annually, about 15% of Israel's defense budget, through 2028.
Since October 7, emergency support has surged: the U.S. has provided roughly $23 billion in just the first year of the war, covering an estimated 70% of Israel's war-related military spending. This unprecedented funding has allowed Israel to sustain a multi-front campaign without major domestic debate over Gaza or a political resolution.
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