US President Donald Trump asks Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu To Pull Back On Lebanon Strikes

Washington DC: US President Donald Trump on Thursday confirmed that he had urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back Israel’s barrage of strikes in Lebanon, warning that the operation risks undermining a fragile US–Iran ceasefire.

“I spoke with Bibi and he’s going to low-key it. I just think we have to be sort of a little more low-key,” Trump said, as reported by NBC.

Iran has indicated that a two-week ceasefire deal with the US, announced on Tuesday, includes a halt to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. However, Israel carried out its largest attack of the current offensive on Wednesday, striking around 100 targets in just 10 minutes, prompting Iran to respond by closing the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier on Wednesday, President Trump agreed with Netanyahu that Lebanon was not included in the ceasefire, contradicting the understanding of Iran and Pakistan, which has emerged as a key mediator in the truce.

Meanwhile, Israel has responded with fury to Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif's statement, denouncing Islamabad's mediation pitch and vowing to defend itself against "terrorists" who want Tel Aviv's destruction.

In a strongly worded response, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar rebuked Pakistan over its Defence Minister's statement, calling the Jewish state "cancerous", which Sa'ar said is "calling for Israel's annihilation."

"Israel views very gravely these blatant antisemitic blood libels from a government claiming to "mediate peace". Calling the Jewish state "cancerous" is effectively calling for its annihilation. Israel will defend itself against terrorists who vow its destruction," Sa'ar said in a post on X.