Netanyahu a ‘madman’ to bomb Syria, US officials say

Donald Trump has not publicly rebuked Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s new attacks on Syrian territory but US officials are understood to be furious at the Israeli intervention.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump. The bombing of Syria ‘could undermine what Trump is trying to do‘. Pictures: AFP

less than 2 min read

4:42PMJuly 21, 2025

Benjamin Netanyahu’s airstrikes on Syria have exasperated White House officials who have privately accused the Israeli Prime Minister of acting like a “madman”.

The Israeli government was warned by US diplomats to cease its military intervention in Syria last week after Israeli jets bombed a convoy of Syrian government tanks, only for Mr Netanyahu to escalate by launching airstrikes on the Ministry of Defence in Damascus, according to reports.

President Donald Trump has not publicly rebuked Mr Netanyahu over the attacks, but US officials were understood to be furious at the Israeli intervention.

“Bibi acted like a madman. He bombs everything all the time,” one White House official told Axios, an American news website. “This could undermine what Trump is trying to do.”

The US President, who lifted sanctions on Syria this year after meeting the country’s president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, has positioned himself as a peacemaker in the Middle East and appears determined to win the Nobel peace prize.

On Sunday, he celebrated six months since his return to the White House by boasting of “ending numerous wars” around the world.

While the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine continue, Mr Trump has claimed credit for bringing peace to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the government and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have agreed a truce, and also pointed to his diplomatic work in ending fighting between India and Pakistan following an outbreak of violence in Kashmir.

In Syria, a US-brokered ceasefire appeared to be holding in Sweida on Sunday. The predominantly Druze city, about 65km from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, has been the epicentre of recent fighting.

Agencies