Trump Calls Netanyahu “Crazy” During Lebanon Escalation, Says No Troops to Beirut

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump made a roughly 15-minute phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Lebanon escalation, with ABC News reporting that Trump was angered by Israel's escalation in Lebanon and its potential to imperil the administration's ongoing negotiations with Iran.

ABC News said Trump accused Netanyahu of being ungrateful and called him "crazy," and at one point asked Netanyahu, "What the f--- are you doing?" during the tense call.

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After the call, Netanyahu released a statement saying, "if Hezbollah does not stop attacking our cities and citizens, Israel will attack terror targets in Beirut," and that the IDF would continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon.

Later on Monday, Trump posted on social media that he had asked Netanyahu not to go into a major raid of Beirut, Lebanon, and that Netanyahu had turned his Troops around.

Al Jazeera then reported that Trump said Israel and Hezbollah agreed to stop fighting, writing that there would be "no Troops going to Beirut" and that "all shooting will stop" after calls with Netanyahu and Hezbollah.

While Trump declared a halt to fighting, Al Jazeera reported that Lebanon’s state news agency said Israeli airstrikes were continuing across southern Lebanon despite his ceasefire announcement, which Al Jazeera said it was unable to immediately verify.

In the same reporting cycle, Al Jazeera quoted Israel Katz saying there would be "no calm in Beirut" if Hezbollah attacks continued, and that the Israeli army would work to turn the Litani area into a zone under security control.

ABC News

Axios, as cited by ABC News and also described by Ammon News, said Trump’s call included expletive-laden language, with Ammon News summarizing a U.S. official’s account as: "You're fucking crazy. You'd be in prison if it weren't for me."

Ammon News also reported that Trump put the brakes on Israel's plan to strike Beirut and that one U.S. official said Trump told Netanyahu that following through on threats to bomb the Lebanese capital would further isolate Israel around the world.

Euronews similarly described the exchange as a clash over Lebanon escalation, quoting a U.S. official as saying Trump told Netanyahu, "What the f*** are you doing?" and that he was "pissed".

Al Jazeera reported that the ceasefire arrangement was intended to be expanded to cover all of Lebanon, with the office of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun saying Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs would cease in exchange for Hezbollah refraining from attacks against Israel.

Al Jazeera also described how people fled the Dahiyeh suburb in the south of the Lebanese capital after Israel’s government ordered strikes, and it quoted Zeina Khodr saying that at approximately 07:00 GMT people started packing and leaving because "There are not many places left to go as government-run shelters are already full".

NBC News reported that even after Trump’s promise of de-escalation, Israel launched deadly new strikes in Lebanon on Tuesday after accusing Hezbollah of launching attacks overnight.

NBC News said the Lebanese Civil Defense reported six people had been killed in an Israeli strike Monday night in the village of Marwaniyeh in southern Lebanon, and it added that one of its centers in Nabatieh in southern Lebanon was subject to "direct targeting as a result of a hostile Israeli airstrike."

NBC News further reported that the Lebanese Embassy in Washington said Hezbollah accepted the terms of a U.S. proposal for a "mutual cessation of attacks," which would also block Israel from attacking Beirut, while clashes continued Tuesday morning.