Trump Told Netanyahu To "Rectify" Situation After Syria Attack: White House
US President Donald Trump was not kept in the loop about Israeli strikes on Syria and had to call Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu to rectify the situation, the White House said on Monday (local time). Israel last week attacked Syria's capital, Damascus, and the southern Druze-majority city of Sweida, hitting near the presidential palace and destroying part of the nation's defence ministry.
Israel has claimed it aimed to pressure the Ahmad al-Sharaa government in the Middle Eastern country to withdraw its troops from the region amid ongoing clashes there.
President Trump "was caught off guard by the bombing in Syria and also the bombing of a Catholic church in Gaza. In both accounts, the president quickly called the prime minister to rectify those situations," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a press briefing.
"In both accounts, the president quickly called the prime minister to rectify those situations," she continued.
Israeli Prime Minister enjoys a close bond with President Trump and has visited the White House earlier this month, his third trip since the Republican returned to power on January 20.
"The president enjoys a good working relationship with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, and stays in, you know, frequent communication with him," Leavitt said.
"When it came to Syria, we saw a de-escalation there," she added. Israel and Syria on Friday entered a US-brokered ceasefire.
Also on Friday, PM Netanyahu called Pope Leo to express regret at the strike on the Catholic church in Gaza, blaming a "stray missile."
US-Syria Relations
In May, Trump met with Syria's Islamist president Al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia shortly after lifting many longstanding US sanctions against Damascus.
Trump later praised the leader, who led a major armed group that was once aligned with Al Qaeda and toppled the Syrian government in December. The United States has also removed a bounty on Sharaa's head after he came to power.
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