File Photo: US President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa, at the White House in Washington. AP
Praising Sharaa as doing an "amazing job", Trump said at a G7 summit: "If Israel can't do the job (against Hezbollah) without killing everyone else, then he (Sharaa) will do the job. Syria will do the job."
Sharaa "is very good with Hezbollah, does not like them", Trump said, adding that the Syrian leader, an ex-jihadist who came to power after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, is "no boy scout".
Trump's framed the widespread loss of life in Lebanon not as a humanitarian catastrophe but as an obstacle to achieving Israel's objective more efficiently.
Israel "is fighting Hezbollah too long and too many people are being killed," he added, ireferring to Israel's killing of more than 3,600 Lebanese since 2 March and over 331 other people across the country in violations of the ceasefire that took effect in November 2024.
"I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah as, to be honest with you, I think they would do a better job," said Trump.
Following reports that his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in decline, Trump said "Bibi (Netanyahu) has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon."
Rather than condemning the scale of the killing or the continued attacks on Lebanon, Trump's criticism centered on the duration. "I am not happy with the way Israel had handled themselves with Lebanon and Hezbollah. They should have been able to do the job faster," Trump said.
He however said that there “would be no Israel” without him, marking some of his most pointed criticism toward the Tel Aviv amid its ongoing attacks on Lebanon.
“Without the US, there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel because no other president was willing to do what I did. I have had a great relationship with Bibi. Now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon,” Trump said.
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