Faltering relations: Trump criticises Israel at G7 summit
U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron attend a working session with G7 leaders and outreach partners on promoting economic growth, during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 17, 2026.
At the G7 summit on the 17th of June, US President Donald Trump publicly criticised the military conduct of Israel in Lebanon as the attacks continue for “longer than necessary”, as reported by The New Arab plus agencies.
While at the summit in Evian, France, Trump stressed that too many people have been killed in Lebanon, and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to act “more responsibly”.
Trump focused on the airstrikes on Lebanon, emphasising that, “you don’t have to destroy an apartment building every time you’re looking for someone, because there are a lot of people in those apartment buildings, and they’re not all Hezbollah.” The Israel-Lebanon conflict of 2026 erupted after Hezbollah’s missile attacks on Israel in support of Iran, and the fighting has reportedly claimed over 2,290 lives, displacing over one million residents.
Trump went so far as to declare that, “Without us, without the United States, there would be no Israel. And without me, there would be no Israel, because no other president was willing to do what I did.”
This outward frustration comes with Trump’s recent memorandum of understanding with Iran, which has been challenging in its development due to Iran’s emphasis on Israel’s war in southern Lebanon.
In striking any peace deal or ceasefire, Iran has always included Hezbollah, and the recent draft agreement shown by CNN calls for an “immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon,” preventing parties from future hostilities while negotiations continue for a broader settlement, as reported by The New Arab. Although Lebanon has not been informed on details of this agreement, Iran’s deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi confirmed the inclusion of Lebanon in ending the war.
The pressure of Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz seems to have pushed Trump to his public criticisms of Israel’s conduct in Lebanon, as Israeli media and officials have adamantly opposed this condition in the US-Iran memorandum of understanding.
The continued attacks on Lebanon have fostered tensions between Trump and Netanyahu, potentially undermining the US-brokered deal with Iran with the strikes on Beirut threatening any agreement with Tehran. Israeli media has stated that this deal ruptures relations between Washington and Tel Aviv, with some outlets claiming Israel was side-lined by this deal, frustrated with the US for pressing an end to the Lebanon conflict without Israeli involvement.
The Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated that Israel would not be withdrawing from southern Lebanon before or after the signing of the memorandum, set to happen on the 19th of June, and Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz have both claimed that military presence in Gaza, Syria, and southern Lebanon would continue for as long as they deemed necessary.
The New Arab plus agencies, Maghrebi.org
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