Israel was surprised by US President Donald Trump’s announcement that the IDF is “prohibited” from continuing strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to a Saturday Axios report.
The report noted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “personally stunned and alarmed” by the post, and that Israeli officials sought clarification from the White House.
This comes after Trump posted on Truth Social that Israel was prohibited from “bombing Lebanon any longer,” and that the US will work with Lebanon separately and “deal with the Hezbollah situation in an appropriate manner.”
The language implied that Trump was directly issuing an order to Israel, which would be unimaginable under other presidential administrations, Axios noted.
Notably, according to the ceasefire agreement, Israel still has the right to take military action during the ceasefire, “in self-defense, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.”
Israel confused, shocked by Trump's orders on Lebanon ceasefire
However, because of the terminology Trump used, aides, including Israel’s Ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, began investigating when and how Trump had changed course. The Israeli aides also stressed that Trump’s language appeared to contradict the ceasefire agreement.
In response to Axios, a US official said that “the president’s ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel clearly states that Israel will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets but preserves its right to self-defense against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.”
Later, in a separate interview with Axios, Trump said that he wanted the IDF to stop striking Lebanon.
“Israel has to stop. They can’t continue to blow buildings up. I am not gonna allow it,” he said.
On Friday, Netanyahu said that a ceasefire was underway following an initial announcement on Thursday, and called it “an opportunity to make a historic peace agreement with Lebanon.”
He later said that the agreement was accepted at Trump’s request, adding that Israel will “provide an opportunity to advance an integrated diplomatic and military solution with the Lebanese government.”