WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call last Thursday that Israel should redeploy its forces out of Syria and Lebanon, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing US and Israeli officials.
According to the report, Trump told Netanyahu during a phone call that the continued presence of Israeli troops inside Syrian territory was fuelling regional tensions and risked further escalation.
“They don’t want you there. You should redeploy,” Trump told Netanyahu, according to a US official cited by Axios.
The report said Trump made a similar request regarding Lebanon, where Israeli forces remain deployed in parts of the country’s south. According to Axios, Netanyahu argued that Israel required security zones along its borders to protect Israeli communities from future attacks.
Scoop: Trump tells Netanyahu to move forces out of Syria and Lebanon https://t.co/1UECA8GBnz
— Axios (@axios) July 14, 2026
The reported conversation came days after Trump met Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkiye.
Trump criticises Israeli operations
The reported exchange follows a series of public remarks in which Trump expressed frustration over Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon.
Speaking to reporters during the G7 summit on June 17, Trump said he had urged Netanyahu to adopt “a little softer touch” in dealing with Hezbollah. “We have a little dispute over Lebanon,” Trump said.
“I say, ‘You can do a little softer touch, Bibi. You don’t have to knock down a building every time somebody walks into it that’s from Hezbollah.'”
Trump added that Netanyahu “gets a little excited sometimes”.
“I’m not saying they shouldn’t protect themselves,” he said. “I’m saying when two drones are shot into the desert and drop harmlessly, you don’t have to knock down buildings in Beirut.”
The US President also expressed sympathy for Lebanon, saying the country had suffered decades of instability and conflict.
“I feel very bad for Lebanon,” Trump said, describing the country as once having one of the strongest cultures in the Middle East.
Lebanon-Israel negotiations continue
Meanwhile, Lebanon and Israel resumed indirect talks in Rome under US mediation aimed at implementing a framework agreement intended to end hostilities along their border.
Reuters reported that the discussions are focused on Israeli military withdrawals, the deployment of Lebanese armed forces in southern Lebanon and the disarmament of armed groups, including Hezbollah.
Lebanese officials, cited by Reuters, said that expectations for rapid progress remained limited despite continued US diplomatic efforts.
The talks follow a framework agreement reached in Washington on June 26 calling for an end to the conflict, the deployment of Lebanese troops to southern Lebanon and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces.
However, Israeli military operations have continued and Hezbollah has rejected both the agreement and demands that it disarm.
Israel has said its troops will remain in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah no longer poses a security threat.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday that implementing the framework agreement remained “the only way forward”.
Speaking in Tel Aviv, Saar said Israel was prepared to proceed with two “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon where Hezbollah would be disarmed, Israeli troops would withdraw and Lebanese forces would deploy.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, meanwhile, said he had instructed his country’s delegation to seek the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from the proposed pilot zones before discussing other issues.
A US official told Reuters last week that the first pilot zone could be launched within days and that US Central Command was coordinating implementation with both Lebanon and Israel.
