Reports of a phone call on Monday night, during which US president Donald Trump was said to have ordered Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu to call off Israel’s planned attack on Beirut’s Dahiyeh quarter, suggested a strained bilateral relationship.
Leaks in US media outlets of the reported conversation pointed to Trump’s growing frustration with the Israeli leader as he continues efforts to end the Gulf war while Netanyahu clearly has a different agenda.
According to Axios, Trump swore at Netanyahu and said: “You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.”
The report has been contested in Israeli media.
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Just a few weeks ago Netanyahu was boasting of unprecedented military co-ordination between the two countries during the conflict with Iran and reminding the Israeli public, repeatedly, of the special bond he has nurtured over the years with Trump.
But the picture in Washington is different. Many, including in the Trump-supporting Maga camp, blame Netanyahu for dragging the US into a costly war that has failed to achieve any of the aims declared at the outset, including regime change and removing the Iranian nuclear threat.
At the same time support for Israel in the US has reached an all-time low. Sixty per cent of adults have an unfavourable view of Israel and 59 per cent have little or no confidence in Netanyahu’s handling of world affairs. Anti-Israel attitudes are particularly prevalent among young adults.
Trump’s veto on the Beirut attack was not the first time he forced Netanyahu to call off a strike at the last minute. In June 2025 he ordered Israeli jets to turn back from a planned retaliatory strike on Iran, halting an escalation at the end of the 12-day conflict.
Thursday night’s U-turn was described as a humiliation from across the political spectrum in Israel, including Netanyahu’s closest allies.
Gadi Eisenkot, the leader of the centrist Yashar party, a key rival to Netanyahu’s Likud in the upcoming election, accused him of harming Israel’s national interests from a place of weakness. “There has never been a prime minister in Israel who capitulated to such a demand, one that is blatantly unreasonable,” he said.
Far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Netanyahu has stated that a strong leader must be able to say no to a US president. “This is the time to tell our friend President Trump ‘no’. Now is the time to do what is required and restore security to the north.”
[ Trump declares ceasfire in Lebanon as planned Israeli attack is haltedOpens in new window ]
