Trump blasts Netanyahu’s campaign, suggests Syria take on Hezbollah

ÉVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE: President Donald Trump has delivered an extraordinary public rebuke of Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon, warning that the operation has dragged on far too long and caused excessive civilian casualties.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 52nd G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, Trump revealed an unexpected, fundamental realignment of American foreign policy by suggesting that Syria’s newly installed government would do a significantly better job confronting and dismantling Hezbollah.

The sharp critique exposes an intensifying rift between Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The friction comes just forty-eight hours after the president privately blasted the Israeli leader over localized airstrikes in Beirut, which the White House claims nearly derailed a historic maritime peace framework with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

By openly pairing three of the region's most volatile geopolitical flashpoints, Trump has aggressively broken with traditional bipartisan messaging to challenge Jerusalem's tactical strategy.

Executive condemns attacks on civilian infrastructure

"I’m not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and Hezbollah," Trump flatly declared, demanding a faster resolution to the three-and-a-half-month war.

The president directly criticized the destruction of residential high-rises, asserting that forces do not need to demolish entire apartment complexes to root out single targets.

Trump warned that the ongoing urban bombardment casts a highly negative light on the broader US-Iran accord.

While Tehran has consistently demanded a full halt to the Lebanon offensive as a core condition for stabilizing regional shipping lanes, Netanyahu defiantly countered that Israeli forces will remain across the northern border for as long as necessary.

Washington courts new Damascus leaders

In a stunning policy shift, Trump revealed he advised Israel to step aside and allow Syria to handle the Iran-backed militant group.

The unconventional proposal serves as an explicit vote of confidence in Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the former rebel commander who successfully overthrew longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The administration’s embrace of al-Sharaa follows a comprehensive normalization campaign that saw Washington permanently lift sweeping economic sanctions.

White House aides confirmed that Trump and the blazer-wearing revolutionary leader have established close contact.

With Turkish media reporting a possible face-to-face summit between Trump and al-Sharaa at next month's NATO meetings in Ankara, the White House is clearly signaling its intent to leverage the post-Assad apparatus to redefine the balance of power across the Levant.