Trump Warning on Lebanon Bombing Sows Confusion as Middle East Tensions Escalate

Israeli defense officials were caught off guard after U.S. President Donald Trump said Israel was “PROHIBITED” from bombing Lebanon, contradicting military preparations for a prolonged presence in southern Lebanon.

IDF officials reportedly argued in closed discussions that the military has met its objectives in Lebanon, but that these gains can only be secured through diplomacy between Jerusalem and Beirut. (Photo: Megaphone, Wikimedia Commons)

In a recent Truth Social post, Trump’s statement surprised the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and appeared to conflict with directives issued to troops on the ground, officials told Haaretz.

On Saturday, the IDF said it carried out strikes against “terrorists” posing an immediate threat to troops in southern Lebanon, in violation of the ceasefire agreement.

It added that “terrorist infrastructure sites used to facilitate attacks were struck.”

Israeli defense officials have warned against overestimating the damage inflicted on Hezbollah.

However, sources told Haaretz that senior IDF officials argued in closed discussions that the military has met its objectives in Lebanon, but that these gains can only be secured through diplomacy between Jerusalem and Beirut.

Israeli intelligence officials said uncertainty on the ground has been exacerbated by discrepancies between measures the Lebanese Army has taken to disarm Hezbollah and those it had committed to.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said that “everything suggests” Hezbollah was responsible for an attack on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon that killed one French soldier and wounded three others.

He added that France “demands that the Lebanese authorities immediately arrest the perpetrators and assume their responsibilities alongside UNIFIL.”