Trump ‘shouted and cursed Netanyahu over threat to resume Beirut bombing’

US President Donald Trump reportedly engaged in a heated confrontation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, shouting and cursing at him over Israel's threats to resume airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs. The intense phone call, which occurred on Monday, was detailed by Axios, a US website known for reporting on high-level discussions between the leaders.

According to a US official summarizing Trump's remarks, the US president told Netanyahu, "What the fuck are you doing?" and "You're fucking crazy. 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."

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What the fuck are you doing?

The call followed Netanyahu's order for the Israeli military to bomb the southern Dahiya area of Beirut, targeting Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia that had launched drone strikes into Israel. This prompted the Israel Defense Forces to instruct Lebanese civilians to evacuate southern Beirut, causing thousands to flee.

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You're fucking crazy. 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.

In response to the ongoing campaign in southern Lebanon, Iran announced it would suspend peace talks with the US. Tehran insisted that Lebanon should be covered by a ceasefire agreement intended to facilitate negotiations on opening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting a US blockade of Iranian ports. Trump had previously claimed negotiators had reached a preliminary deal.

However, prominent Israeli news network Channel 12 contested the details of the Axios report. Amit Segal, the network's chief political analyst, stated that Trump did not personally attack Netanyahu. Instead, Segal reported that the two leaders reached an agreement where Trump would refrain from attacking Beirut's suburbs if Hezbollah ceased its attacks on Israel. The relationship between Trump and Netanyahu has been strained, despite Israel being a key US ally in the region.

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Trump had not attacked Netanyahu personally and that the two had come to an agreement that he would refrain from attacking the Beirut suburbs if Hezbollah ceased its attacks on Israel.