President Donald Trump sharply criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Group of Seven summit on Tuesday, accusing Israel of causing excessive civilian casualties in Lebanon and dragging out its campaign against Hezbollah.
Trump urges Syria to handle Hezbollah
Speaking during bilateral meetings with Qatar’s delegation, including Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Trump said Israel had taken too long in its fight with the Iran-backed militant group. “Israel is fighting Hezbollah too long, and too many people are being killed,” Trump told reporters. “They should have been able to do the job faster.”
Trump praises controversial ally al-Sharaa
He also condemned the scale of Israeli strikes in densely populated areas. “You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody,” Trump said. “There are a lot of people in those apartment houses, and they’re not all Hezbollah.”
Israel excluded from G7 talks
Israel is not a member of the G7, nor was it invited to join the delegation. However, other Gulf partners who are not officially members of the G7, including Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, were invited to attend the summit. Trump, Vance, and Iranian officials signed the MOU on Sunday to begin a 60-day negotiation period to hash out specifics on how to end the Iran war, a senior administration official told the Daily Mail on Monday. The senior official did not mention whether Israel had signed onto the agreement, but they did note that under the MOU, Israel will be allowed to respond to Lebanese attacks without violating the agreement.
