United States President Donald Trump was caught by surprise last week after Israeli strikes in Gaza and Syria, and called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to rectify the situation. Israel attacked Syria’s capital of Damascus last week along with the southern city of Dweiza. It also attacked the only Catholic church in Gaza last Thursday which drew immediate condemnation from Trump.
“The president enjoys a good working relationship with Bibi Netanyahu, and stays in frequent communication with him. He was caught off guard by the bombing in Syria and also the bombing of a Catholic Church in Gaza,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House on Monday.
“In both accounts, the president quickly called the prime minister to rectify those situations,” she added.
Israel has claimed that it is pressuring the Ahmad al-Sharaa government to withdraw its troops from the region amid the ongoing clashes. The Trump administration has backed the Sharaa government by easing the sanctions that were placed.
Trump and Netanyahu had appeared to converge on issues especially after the latter’s visit to Washington earlier this month. Ahead of the visit, the US President had earlier claimed that a ceasefire between Gaza and Israel would be reached within a week but Netanyahu departed the country without a deal being announced.
Leavitt claimed that “The president’s message on this conflict we’ve seen in the Middle East taking place for far too long, that has become quite brutal, especially in recent days, you’ve seen reports of more people dying. I think the president never likes to see that. He wants the killing to end,” CNN reported.
The conflict has garnered even more criticism after the health ministry in Gaza said that more than 1,000 people have been killed seeking humanitarian relief there since late May.
