Trump ‘caught off guard’ by Israeli strikes in Syria, Gaza

White House spokeswoman says president didn’t like seeing attacks on Syrian government sites and shelling that hit Gaza church, and called Netanyahu to “quickly rectify those situations”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hands over a letter to US President Donald Trump in the White House on July 7. Picture: AFP

President Donald Trump was “caught off guard” by Israeli strikes in Syria and the deadly shelling that struck a church in Gaza, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Monday (local time), adding that he discussed the issues with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel had launched strikes on the capital Damascus and the southern Druze-majority city of Sweida, saying it aimed to put pressure on the Syrian government to withdraw its troops from the region amid ongoing clashes there.

Trump “was caught off guard by the bombing in Syria and also the bombing of a Catholic church in Gaza,” Leavitt told reporters at a press briefing.

“In both accounts, the president quickly called the prime minister to rectify those situations,” she continued.

Leavitt also said Trump has not liked seeing reports in recent days of Palestinians killed while trying to obtain humanitarian aid in Gaza. Asked by reporters about the latest mass-casualty incident involving Gazans seeking aid on Sunday, which Hamas authorities claim killed 79 Palestinians, Leavitt responded, “The president never likes to see that. He wants the killing to end, and he wants to negotiate a ceasefire in this region.”

“He wants to see all of the hostages released from Gaza. That has been a top priority for this president,” she added.

Leavitt said Trump wanted aid to be distributed “in a peaceful manner where more lives are not being lost,” while also ensuring that the assistance cannot reach Hamas. The president “hated seeing the pictures of starvation of women and children who desperately need that aid,” she added.

Leavitt’s willingness to highlight Trump’s displeasure pointed to continued reports of the White House’s discomfort with Israeli policy in Syria and Gaza. Over the weekend, several US officials were anonymously quoted by the Axios news site expressing their frustration with Netanyahu, arguing that Israeli strikes on Syrian government forces risk toppling the fledgling leadership that Washington is trying to support to stabilise the country. One official described Netanyahu as a “madman”.

“The president enjoys a good working relationship with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, and stays in, you know, frequent communication with him,” Leavitt said. “When it came to Syria, we saw a de-escalation there.”

Israel and Syria on Friday entered a US-brokered ceasefire.

On Monday, US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack criticised Israel’s recent military intervention in Syria, saying that it was poorly timed and complicated efforts to stabilise the region.

On Friday, Netanyahu called Pope Leo to express regret at the strike on the Catholic church in Gaza, blaming a “stray missile.” In May, Trump met with Syria’s Islamist president Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia shortly after lifting many longstanding US sanctions against Damascus.

Trump later praised the leader, who led a major armed group that was once aligned with al-Qaeda and toppled the Syrian government in December.

The United States removed a bounty on Sharaa’s head after he came to power.

AFP