White House: Trump was caught off guard by Syria bombing

White House: Trump was caught off guard by Syria bombing

The Trump administration was caught off guard by Israel's recent bombing campaign in Syria, according to reports from several White House officials. The bombing, which occurred despite President Trump's efforts to thaw relations with Syria and its new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has raised concerns among top US officials.

The bombing in Syria caught the president and the White House by surprise. The president doesn't like turning on the television and seeing bombs dropped in a country he is seeking peace in and made a monumental announcement to help rebuild," an official told Axios [1].

The bombing of a Syrian envoy's convoy, headed toward Suwayda to address the bloodshed between armed Bedouin tribesmen and the Druze militia, was authorized by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel claimed the convoy crossed into a zone of southern Syria it demands be demilitarized, and that the Syrian military was participating in attacks on the Druze minority, which Syria denies.

The US Special Envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, urged the Israelis to stand down from the attack, and they agreed to do so. However, after a brief break, Israel continued bombing Syria, including near the presidential palace. This escalation led to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding that Israel stop the attacks on Syria on Wednesday, which led to a ceasefire that's still in effect [1].

The bombing in Syria is not the only issue causing friction between the Trump administration and Israel. Another flashpoint was a recent deadly attack on the sole Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, in which three people were killed and 10 injured. Trump called Netanyahu directly after that strike and pressed him for an explanation. Israel has since put out a statement expressing remorse for the attack [1].

Despite the reported issues with Netanyahu behind the scenes, the Trump administration has refrained from knocking him publicly. The White House did not comment on a Post request for comment [1].

The tensions over Syria came just days after Netanyahu's visit to D.C., in which he met Trump twice and the two leaders seemed closer than ever in the afterglow of the war with Iran. In addition to Syria and the attack on the church in Gaza, the murder of Palestinian American Saif Mussallet by a mob of Israeli settlers last weekend also sparked pushback from the Trump administration toward Netanyahu's stridently pro-settler government [1].

References:
[1] https://nypost.com/2025/07/20/us-news/trump-officials-fume-over-trigger-happy-madman-netanyahu/
[2] https://www.axios.com/2025/07/20/israel-syria-strikes-trump-netanyahu-divide