President Trump revealed to Axios that he’s pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to limit the bit strikes in Lebanon and to try and be more surgical about it.
Here’s what he said:
President Trump told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel should only take “surgical” military action in Lebanon and avoid a full resumption of the war, Trump told Axios in a phone interview.
“I told Netanyahu he has got to do it more surgically. Not knock down buildings. He can’t do it. It is too terrible and makes Israel look bad,” Trump told Axios.
Trump stressed that he likes Lebanon and its leadership and thinks the country can “make a comeback.”
“Iran ruined Lebanon. Their proxy [Hezbollah] ruined Lebanon. When Iran gets taken out, Hezbollah automatically gets taken out,” Trump claimed.
Trump administration officials deny the U.S.-brokered ceasefire is collapsing. “Hezbollah is not a party to the ceasefire, and is trying to derail it,” a U.S. official said.
“Hezbollah’s strategy is clear: provoke, attack, and then blame Israel in order to kill the negotiations and make the Lebanese government look bad. We cannot feasibly expect Israel to just take the hits. This is not the Biden administration,” the U.S. official said.
But the official said the Trump administration asked Israel to “show restraint” and give space to the new diplomatic process with Lebanon.
“We are going to massively increase our political campaign on Hezbollah and are looking for ways to get the Lebanese Armed Forces to overcome their challenges and intend to do this on a very rapid schedule,” the U.S. official said.