Trump turns on Israel over Lebanon war, says Syria could fight Hezbollah better

“Syria can do the job” of fighting Hezbollah better than Israel, Donald Trump has said, in a remarkable rebuke of Tel Aviv’s war in Lebanon and its mounting civilian toll.

Speaking ahead of a bilateral meeting with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at the G7 summit in Evian, Trump said he was “not happy” with Israel’s handling of Lebanon and warned that its offensive was undermining Washington’s efforts to secure a wider regional deal with Iran.

“I’m not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and with Hezbollah,” Trump said. “It just goes on forever, and when that happens, it throws a negative light on the big deal, and that’s the deal with Iran.”

“You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody,” he added, in one of his sharpest public criticisms yet of Israel’s military tactics.

READ: Trump says Israel’s Netanyahu must be ‘more responsible’ on Lebanon

“If Israel can’t do the job, without killing everyone else, he’ll do the job. Syria will do the job,” Trump said.

The US president said he had told Israeli officials that they should let Syria “take care of Hezbollah,” adding: “I think they’d do a better job of doing it.”

The comments underline growing frustration in Washington with Israel’s expanding war in Lebanon, which has become a major obstacle to US efforts to consolidate an agreement with Iran. The US and Iran have reached a framework to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, ease the blockade on Iranian ports and begin a 60-day negotiation period towards a final settlement. The deal is also expected to include a ceasefire across several regional fronts, including Lebanon, where Hezbollah has supported Iran militarily.

However, Israel is accused of undermining the effort with strikes on Lebanon. 

Lebanon has become a key pressure point in the US-Iran negotiations. Tehran backs Hezbollah and has insisted that Israel’s continued presence and attacks in Lebanon must be addressed as part of any wider regional arrangement. 

READ: US pressures Syria to join Israel in war against Hezbollah

Trump’s comments suggest that the White House increasingly views Israel’s Lebanon campaign as a direct threat to its wider regional strategy. The US president had already warned Israel and Hezbollah to “stand down” after an Israeli strike on southern Beirut threatened to complicate the Iran talks.

Israel’s offensive in Lebanon began in March. Since then, Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,800 people, wounded thousands and displaced large numbers of civilians. Israeli ground forces have also occupied hundreds of square kilometres of southern Lebanon.

Israel has insisted that it will not halt its campaign until Hezbollah is defeated. But Trump’s remarks expose a widening rift between Washington and Tel Aviv over the scale, duration and political cost of Israel’s military operations.