‘Do what you have to do': Trump reportedly tells Netanyahu

WASHINGTON

Former US President Donald Trump voiced support for Israel’s offensives against Hamas and Hezbollah in a telephone call with the Israeli prime minister, the Washington Post reported Friday.

"Do what you have to do," Trump told Benjamin Netanyahu in one call earlier this month, according to the Post, citing six people familiar with the conversation.

Trump previously said he spoke with Netanyahu at least twice in October.

US Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was on a call this month with Trump and Netanyahu, said: "He didn’t tell him what to do militarily, but he expressed that he was impressed by the pagers," in reference to electronic devices that exploded simultaneously across Lebanon last month. "He expressed his awe for their military operations and what they have done," Graham was quoted.

An adviser to Netanyahu declined to comment on the calls, according to the report.

Since the outbreak of the conflict in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has recorded 765 soldier fatalities and 5,087 injuries, according to military data released by the Israeli army. In response to a Hamas attack last year, Israel launched a severe military offensive in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of more than 42,800 people --predominantly women and children -- and injuring over 100,500 others.

The conflict has spread to Lebanon, with Israel launching deadly strikes across that country, which have killed more than 2,600 people and injured in excess of 12,200 since last October.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching a ground invasion into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.