US President Donald Trump said that Washington must keep Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a little bit sane” on Lebanon.
While describing their relationship as “good,” Trump, in excerpts from an Axios interview posted on Friday, asserted he can control Israeli military actions in Lebanon because officials there “do as I say.”
He emphasized American military superiority, saying that the US provides “the guns” and “B-2 bombers,” and claimed that without his intervention, Israel would have been “eviscerated,” echoing his remarks earlier this week asserting: “Without the United States, there would be no Israel.”
Earlier this week, the US president said he advised Netanyahu to use a “softer touch” in Lebanon, saying Israel does not have to “knock down a building every time somebody walks into it that’s from Hezbollah,” referring to frequent Israeli bombing of Lebanon, including many residential areas.
Trump’s latest remarks coincide with the announcement of a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that took effect at 4 pm local time (1300GMT) Friday.
The truce follows an escalation that killed 47 people in southern Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers since early Friday.
According to official figures, Israel’s military offensive in Lebanon since March 2 has killed 3,912 people, injured 11,873 others, and displaced more than one million residents.
Israel continues to occupy areas in southern Lebanon, some for decades and others since the latest conflict. During its recent military campaign, Israeli forces advanced more than 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Lebanese territory.
