Trump aides slam Netanyahu as ‘Madman’ over Syria strikes, Gaza church bombing
Washington D.C.: The White House has sharply criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for recent military actions in Syria and Gaza, with multiple US officials expressing outrage over what they called reckless and destabilising moves by Israel.
According to a report by Axios, senior aides to President Donald Trump were particularly incensed by Israel’s bombing of a Syrian army tank convoy near Suwayda, and a separate strike on the only Catholic church in Gaza. These acts reportedly occurred despite a US-brokered ceasefire in the region.
One unnamed White House official, quoted in the Axios report, said, “Bibi acted like a madman, he is bombing everything all the time.” Another senior official compared Netanyahu’s behavior to that of an unruly child: “Netanyahu is sometimes like a child who just won’t behave.”
The tank convoy targeted by Israeli airstrikes was reportedly en route to Suwayda in southern Syria in response to clashes between Druze militia and Bedouin tribal fighters, which have already claimed more than 700 lives. Israel justified the strike, claiming the Syrian convoy had entered a demilitarized zone it considers off-limits.
Meanwhile, the attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza has drawn even sharper criticism. During a Friday press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Trump called Prime Minister Netanyahu to express deep disapproval of the incident.
“It was not a positive reaction,” Leavitt said. “The President called Prime Minister Netanyahu this morning to address the strike on the church in Gaza. The Prime Minister acknowledged that the bombing was a mistake and agreed to issue a public statement.”
Following the call, Netanyahu’s office released a statement expressing “deep regret” over the attack. “Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza’s Holy Family Church. Every innocent life lost is a tragedy. We share the grief of the families and the faithful,” the statement read. It also acknowledged gratitude toward Pope Leo for his message of comfort and pledged to investigate the incident thoroughly.
Despite Israel's expression of regret, White House officials remain alarmed. Six officials told Axios that Netanyahu's increasingly unpredictable behavior risks undermining President Trump’s peace efforts in the region.
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
