Trump berates Netanyahu as 'completely crazy' over Lebanon escalation, then brokers fragile truce

A volcanic phone call

The long-standing alliance between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu ruptured into open acrimony on Monday, according to multiple sources cited by Axios. During a telephone conversation, the US president accused the Israeli prime minister of ingratitude and recklessness over the escalating offensive in Lebanon.

You're completely crazy. Without me you'd be in prison. I'm saving your skin. Everyone hates you. Everyone hates Israel because of this.

Trump was reportedly aware that Hezbollah had attacked Israel and that Israel had a right to defend itself, but believed Netanyahu had escalated disproportionately in recent days. One source told Axios the president was disturbed by the number of civilian casualties in Lebanon and by Israel demolishing buildings to eliminate single Hezbollah commanders.

Why Trump's anger boiled over

The immediate trigger for Trump's fury was the threat Netanyahu's expanded operations posed to the US administration's parallel diplomatic track with Iran. Tehran had earlier warned it would suspend its own peace negotiations with Washington in retaliation for the Israeli strikes on Lebanese territory.

I asked him not to launch a large-scale raid on Beirut, and he agreed to turn his troops back.

Trump confirmed on Truth Social that talks with the Islamic Republic of Iran were continuing "at a rapid pace." The president's outburst also referenced his past support for Netanyahu during the Israeli leader's 2019 indictment for corruption, fraud and breach of trust, which Trump had previously denounced as a political witch hunt.

The battlefield: Israel's deepest push since 2000

Despite the diplomatic flurry, fighting continued overnight. The Israeli military announced it had intercepted two projectiles entering its territory from Lebanon, while a suspicious aerial target landed on the Israeli side of the border without causing injuries. Hezbollah claimed new attacks against Israeli targets in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli army is conducting its deepest military incursion into Lebanon since its withdrawal in 2000 after 18 years of occupation. It had threatened to strike Hezbollah in its stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs, triggering a mass exodus of residents. Prime Minister Netanyahu cited repeated ceasefire violations by Hezbollah and attacks against Israel as justification.

A ceasefire brokered in the chaos

In a striking diplomatic pivot, Trump announced that both Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to halt their attacks. The Lebanese presidency confirmed that Hezbollah had accepted a US proposal under which Israeli strikes on Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern periphery, would cease in exchange for Hezbollah refraining from launching attacks against Israel.

Negotiations are the only way to end the war.

The Lebanese president denounced what he called a "ferocious aggression" by Israel. A fourth round of indirect talks between Israeli and Lebanese emissaries, who do not maintain diplomatic relations, was scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington. Hezbollah opposes those negotiations.

Fragile calm and open threats

Trump struck a cautious note on his social network: "Let's see how long it holds, hopefully FOREVER." Netanyahu, however, warned on social media that Israel would resume its offensive in Beirut if it received any attack from the Shiite group. Iran's Revolutionary Guards had earlier threatened to open new fronts in the war and to strike Gulf countries again.

The episode marks the most public breakdown in the Trump-Netanyahu relationship since the two leaders aligned their war aims against Iran, exposing a growing divergence between Washington's diplomatic priorities and Israel's military strategy.