Trump Rebukes Israel Over Strikes in Lebanon

US President Donald Trump issued a rare public rebuke of Israel’s military tactics in Lebanon on Tuesday, saying it was unnecessary to destroy entire apartment buildings while targeting individual Hezbollah militants.

“Too many people have been killed. You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody, because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses, and they’re not all Hezbollah,” Trump said at the G7 summit in France.

The president has also expressed concern that Israeli strikes on Beirut may have jeopardized the peace agreement with Iran that he was seeking to finalize. He said Israel had been fighting Hezbollah for “too long”.

The remarks came amid growing tensions between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, although the US president continued to describe their relationship as strong. Trump said Netanyahu should be “more responsible” in his approach to Lebanon.

Despite the criticism, the White House has given no indication of a change in US policy toward Israel. An official said Trump maintained a strong relationship with Netanyahu and described the Israel Defense Forces as “incredible partners”.

(reuters, mja)