U.S. President Donald Trump has pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to begin withdrawing Israeli troops from Syria and Lebanon, arguing that the continued military presence risks escalating regional tensions, Axios reported citing U.S. and Israeli officials.
The July 9 phone call came one day after Trump met with Syrian transitional leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara. Netanyahu, however, raised the need for security zones along Israel's borders during the conversation, his office said in a statement. The Trump administration has sought for months to broker a new security agreement between Israel and Syria.
Israeli forces entered southern Syria in December 2024 following the fall of the Assad regime and have occupied parts of southern Lebanon since spring 2026. Separately, U.S. mediators met in Rome with Israeli and Lebanese diplomats to discuss implementation of a framework agreement between the two countries.