President Donald Trump proposed that Syria, under jihadist president Ahmad al-Sharaa, handle Hezbollah instead of the IDF, saying Syria would be 'better at it.' Quoted by Israeli journalists Moriah Assaf and Doron Kadosh, Trump said Israel has fought Hezbollah too long with too many casualties, and urged Netanyahu to 'act responsibly in Lebanon.'
In his latest remarks on the Lebanon front, President Donald Trump told Prime Minister Netanyahu to 'act responsibly in Lebanon,' citing the high number of Israeli casualties from the prolonged fight against Hezbollah. The comments, reported Tuesday by Israeli journalists Moriah Assaf and Doron Kadosh, also include Trump's renewed proposal that Syria — under what he called its 'jihadist president' Ahmad al-Sharaa — take over the task because 'they will be better at it.' The remarks mark another step in a series of Trump interventions on the northern front.
The thread unfolded rapidly Tuesday. At 12:57 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported Trump telling KAN 11 that Israel should have 'finished' Hezbollah quickly, saying 'it takes them forever.' Within the same hour, he was quoted telling Israel it could 'leave Hezbollah to Syria' and separately criticizing IDF conduct, urging Netanyahu to 'act more responsibly.' A subsequent version added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had assured Trump Iran will not obtain nuclear weapons. Analyst commentary published alongside early reports warned that a Syrian takeover could lead to 'massacres' of Lebanese minorities. In the most recent iteration, Trump explicitly cited casualty figures and framed the proposal as a direct recommendation to Netanyahu. The sequence shows a single loose set of remarks being reported and reshaped as multiple Israeli newsrooms obtained different quotes.
As The Zioneer reported earlier Tuesday, Trump has repeatedly suggested Syria's government — which Israel views as a hostile jihadist actor — should operate against Hezbollah in Lebanon, a notion that runs contrary to Israeli security doctrine, which opposes any armed Syrian presence on its northern border. Separately, on June 14, Trump denounced IDF strikes in Beirut and called for a cessation of attacks on Hezbollah, and in a June 7 NBC interview he endorsed 'more surgical' strikes. Analyst Yair Goldblatt, as cited by The Zioneer on Tuesday, noted that Trump's repeated raising of a Syrian invasion option remains a point Israel strongly opposes.
No official Israeli response to the latest quote has been reported yet. The remarks come from single-source media reports (Assaf and Kadosh) and remain unverified by the White House or other channels. It is also unclear whether Trump's proposal reflects a formal policy suggestion or informal musing.
11 developments
- DevelopingTrump, in NBC Interview, Endorses 'More Surgical' Strikes on Hezbollah and Praises Syrian Leadership
- ConfirmedTrump denounces IDF strikes in Beirut, calls for cessation of attacks on Hezbollah
- StrongGoldblatt: Trump acknowledges Israeli fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon will continue
- StrongTrump says he hopes the Lebanon situation can be resolved, acknowledges Hezbollah
Source and signal
- Internal intake