The Trump administration is voicing concern that Israel’s repeated strikes inside Syria risk destabilizing the country and undermining hopes for an Israel-Syria security agreement, two senior US officials told Barak Ravid of Axios on Monday.
“We are trying to tell Bibi he has to stop this because if it continues, he will self-destruct,” one official said, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Supporting Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s efforts to stabilize Syria and encouraging him to engage in a peace process with Israel are central to the Trump administration’s Middle East strategy.
The Axios report noted that President Trump and his team have repeatedly sided with Syria’s government in disputes with Israel - the only country in the region for which that is the case.
On Monday, Trump posted on Truth Social that it was “very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous State.”
The post followed the Israeli raids in Syrian territory on Friday, in which suspected terrorists were arrested. Six Israeli soldiers were injured after coming under fire. The IDF responded with airstrikes.
“The Syrians were going nuts. Their own constituents demanded retaliation because Syrian civilians were killed,” a US official said to Axios of the Israeli raid. Syrian anger grew after the strikes, which took place beyond the territory Israel has occupied since the fall of the Assad regime last December.
US officials said the White House received no prior notice of the operation, and that Israel did not warn Syria through military channels as in past cases. Israeli officials pointed out that the suspects were linked to Hamas and Hezbollah and had planned attacks against Israel, adding that intelligence channels were used to inform Syria.
According to the Axios report, US officials have for months criticized Netanyahu’s “shoot first, ask questions later” approach. “Syria doesn’t want problems with Israel. This isn’t Lebanon. But Bibi is seeing ghosts everywhere,” one official said. Another warned, “If it continues he will self-destruct - miss a huge diplomatic opportunity and turn the new Syrian government to an enemy.”
The report also noted that Trump’s embrace of al-Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda commander, has unsettled Israel. Officials were shocked by Trump’s meeting with him in Saudi Arabia last May and uncomfortable with their Oval Office meeting in November. Israel also opposed Trump’s decision to lift US sanctions on Syria.