TEL AVIV, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Saturday that this week's Trump administration announcement on the composition of a Gaza executive board was not coordinated with Israel and ran counter to government policy.

It said Foreign Minister Gideon Saar would raise the issue with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The statement did not specify what part of the board's composition contradicted Israeli policy. An Israeli government spokesperson declined to comment.

Israel said on Saturday it objected to the line-up of a Gaza panel that will operate under US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, which oversees post-war governance in the Palestinian territory.

The panel, known as the Gaza executive board, notably includes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and a Qatari official and was announced by the White House on Friday.

The Board of Peace began to take shape on Saturday as the leaders of Egypt, Turkey, Argentina and Canada were asked to join.

Iran's supreme leader said Saturday that authorities "must break the back of the seditionists", whom he accused of killing thousands during the wave of protests that were brutally repressed in the country.

The demonstrations were sparked by anger over economic hardship that exploded into the biggest protests against the Islamic republic in more than three years.

But demonstrations have subsided after the crackdown that rights groups say left thousands of people dead under an internet blackout that has lasted more than a week.

DEIR HAFER, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Syrian troops swept through dozens of towns and villages in the country's north on Saturday after Kurdish fighters withdrew under an agreement that aimed to avoid a bloody showdown between the rival forces.

For days, Syrian troops had amassed around a cluster of villages that lie just west of the winding Euphrates River and had called on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces stationed there to redeploy their forces on the opposite bank of the river.

Syria's army has seized swathes of the country's north, dislodging Kurdish forces from territory over which they held effective autonomy for more than a decade.

The government appeared to be extending its grip on Kurdish-run areas after President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree declaring Kurdish a "national language" and granting the minority group official recognition.

The Kurds have said Friday's announcement fell short of their aspirations, while the implementation of a March deal -- intended to see Kurdish forces integrated into the state -- has stalled.

One move in the wrong direction and Kiarash would have been dead, he said, as a shooter opened fire on him and other protesters in the Iranian capital during a wave of demonstrations met by a deadly crackdown.

Blood stained the street after a person dressed in a full chador covering shot at a large crowd that had gathered in the north of Tehran on January 10, during anti-government protests sparked by economic strain that exploded in size and intensity on January 8.

CAIRO, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he valued an offer by U.S. President Donald Trump to mediate a dispute over Nile River waters between Egypt and Ethiopia.

In a post on X, Sisi said on Saturday that he addressed Trump's letter by affirming Egypt's position and concerns about the country's water security in regards to Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

(Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Muhammad Al Gebaly; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Argentina's Luciano Benavides won the Dakar Rally bike title by a mere two seconds in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

Second in the 13th and closing stage was enough for the 30-year-old KTM rider to deny Honda's American two-time champion Ricky Brabec and secure his debut Dakar crown.

"I've dreamed of this moment my whole life," said the winner.

Brabec, winner in 2020 and 2024, was on target for a third title but lost time when going the wrong way close to the finish of the 105km ride around Yanbu.

DUBAI, Jan 17 (Reuters) - More than 3,000 people have died in Iran's nationwide protests, rights activists said on Saturday, while a "very slight rise" in internet activity was reported in the country after an eight-day blackout.

The U.S.-based HRANA group said it had verified 3,090 deaths, including 2,885 protesters, after residents said the crackdown appeared to have broadly quelled protests for now and state media reported more arrests.

US President Donald Trump on Friday gave a key role in post-war Gaza to former British prime minister Tony Blair and appointed a US officer to lead a nascent security force.

Trump named members of a board to help supervise Gaza that was dominated by Americans, as he promotes a controversial vision of economic development in a territory that lies in rubble after two-plus years of relentless Israeli bombardment.