LiveLive Updates June 17, 2026Share to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeJune 17, 2026UpdatesRECAP: Trump threatens to resume Iran war; Israeli settlers set West Bank mosque ablazeHere are Wednesday's latest updates from the U.S.-Iran peace process and Israel's war with Hezbollah:■ U.S ‌President Donald Trump said on ‌Wednesday that the Iran memorandum of understanding was not final, ⁠and that he could resume bombing if he did not like it.■ Iran has launched drones toward commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz every night since Sunday's digital signing of a memorandum of understanding with the U.S., NBC reported, citing an official American source.■ Israeli settlers vandalized a mosque and set it ablaze in the Palestinian village of Jaljilya in the West Bank, according to local reports and footage from the building.■ Israeli drones struck three villages in southern Lebanon, causing casualties, Lebanese state media reported without providing details on the number of casualties and their condition.■ Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel will deepen its cooperation with Somaliland, a breakaway state in the Horn of Africa recently recognized by Israel, while the unrecognized country's officials denied reports that the IDF is building a base in it.■ Police officers used stun grenades and batons against ultra-Orthodox protesters who blocked a major highway near Tel Aviv's Haredi suburb of Bnei Brak over the arrest of IDF draft evaders.■ Federal authorities alleged the plot to target Sunday's UFC cage-fighting show at the White House was at least partially intended to target pro-Israel lawmakers attending the event.Haredi radio executive says ultra-Orthodox protesters will raid police stationsA digital media executive at an ultra-Orthodox radio station said Haredi protesters will begin raiding police stations following the Wednesday crackdown on an ultra-Orthodox demonstration in central Israel.Police in central Israel "operate through likes on social media," Meni Shwartz, the deputy director of digital media at Radio Kol Chai, wrote on X. "After criticism from a few tweeters, out come the batons, the grenades, and even indecent acts against protesters, because it's permissible to abuse the ultra-Orthodox," he added.Earlier on Wednesday, police used stun grenades and batons to disperse ultra-Orthodox protesters who blocked a major highway near the Haredi-majority city of Bnei Brak over the arrest of IDF draft evaders. Footage from the crackdown shows an officer ripping a protester's pants while dragging him across the road."No worries, everything is filmed, documented, and will be addressed," Shwartz added. "And no, police violence will not stop us. All of us, all the ultra-Orthodox, will go out – and soon also head to the police stations."Trump says if he doesn't 'like' Iran deal 'we will go back to dropping bombs'U.S ‌President Donald Trump said on ‌Wednesday that the memorandum of understanding ⁠on Iran was not final, ⁠and that he could resume a bombing campaign if he did not like it."It's a ‌memorandum of understanding. And if ‌I don't like it, we'll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs on their head. If I don't like it, if they don't behave, we'll go right back to ⁠dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their ‌head, OK?" said ⁠Trump, at the ‌G7 summit in France.Trump said the Iran memorandum of understanding ⁠did not include immediate sanctions relief for Iran, while adding he would talk about this ‌matter later.Read the full articleGaza: 11,000 still missing after war, Health Ministry saysIsraeli attacks killed 72,966 people in the Gaza Strip and 1,180 others in the West Bank since the beginning of the war, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, adding that 11,000 are still missing in Gaza.According to the ministry, 20,413 of the fatalities in Gaza are children. Since Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire in October, the Israeli military has killed 1,003 people in Gaza, including 121 women and 253 children. Most were killed by Israeli missile strikes, others fatally shot by soldiers, killed by artillery shelling or struck by drones.Around 3 million Palestinians have been displaced since 1948, the ministry said, adding that around 2 million were displaced in the Gaza war, most of them in Gaza and 40,000 in the West Bank. Around 42 percent of the Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza are refugees from the 1947-49 Nakba and six-day war in 1967, the ministry said.4 hours agoKatz says Israel to deepen Somaliland ties, country denies that IDF builds baseDefense Minister Israel Katz and Israeli military officials meet with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi and other officials visiting Israel, on Wednesday. Credit: Ariel Hermony/Defense MinistryDefense Minister Israel Katz and Israeli military officials meet with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi and other officials visiting Israel, on Wednesday. Credit: Ariel Hermony/Defense MinistryDefense Minister Israel Katz said Israel will deepen its cooperation with Somaliland, a breakaway state in the Horn of Africa recently recognized by Israel, while the unrecognized country's officials denied reports that the IDF is building a base in it.Katz met with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi and several other officials currently visiting Israel, saying that Israel and Somaliland have had significant security ties and cooperation for years, some of which were conducted in secret.Somaliland Defense Minister Mohamed Yusef told Reuters that Israel only trains the country's army and police, denying the presence of Israeli troops in Somaliland and ⁠calling reports that Israel was in negotiations ‌to establish ⁠a military ‌base in Somaliland "rumors."Read the full articleReport: Hezbollah strikes IDF troops advancing in LebanonHezbollah fired a rocket barrage at Israeli forces advancing near Lebanon's Kfar Tebnit near Nabatieh, Al Jazeera reported.The village is located 2.5 kilometers (about 2 miles) beyond the IDF's Yellow Line in southern Lebanon and a similar distance from the major city of Nabatieh, the administrative center of Lebanon's Nabatieh District.Israeli drone strikes, casualties reported in southern LebanonIsraeli drones struck three villages in southern Lebanon, causing casualties, Lebanese state media reported.The report did not specify how many casualties there were or what condition they were in.The strikes were reported in Mansouri and Aaziyyeh along Lebanon's southern coast, alongside the village of Braachit, located near Israeli-occupied areas of the country but outside the Yellow Line.Netanyahu leaves trial hearing, cites ongoing 'diplomatic push'Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left his corruption trial hearing, explaining that he will have to leave again due to ongoing talks."We're in the middle of a diplomatic push," Netanyahu told the judges. "At 2 P.M., I'll need to step out for 15 minutes." Netanyahu added that "They asked me to do it from the Kirya," referring to the IDF and Defense Ministry Headquarters in Tel Aviv, "but I'll do it from here."He added, "At 3 P.M. there's a 10-minute call, and I absolutely have to leave at 2:45 P.M."Netanyahu trial hearing to be paused for 'diplomatic call'Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a sealed envelope, saying he will exit the Wednesday hearing of his ongoing corruption trial at 11:45 A.M. for a diplomatic call."I don't know how long it'll take," Netanyahu said, adding that "there are other developments."Netanyahu briefly exited the hearing shortly after receiving the envelope.In the NewsNew York's Jewish Federation Returns to Meet Pope Leo XIVSomaliland, Israel Deny Reports of IDF Base in Region During Israel VisitTrump Threatens Resumption in Bombing Campaign if Iran Deal Falls ShortEisenkot's Poll Surge Makes Merger With Bennett and Lapid All the Less LikelyGerman Embrace, French Cold Shoulder for Israel's Arms IndustryRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIHumiliated by Trump on the Iran Front, Netanyahu May Set the Middle East AblazeTrump Just Dropped a Megaton Bomb on Netanyahu's Re-election Campaign'Once-in-a-lifetime Discovery': 1,700-year-old Roman Busts Found in IsraelTrump and Netanyahu Hurtling Toward a Rupture That Could Shock U.S.-Israel TiesWhy Does the Jewish State Keep Deporting Diaspora Jews?The Fake Gaza Charity Linked to the Anti-left Disinformation Campaign in France