White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says President Donald Trump was “caught off guard” by recent Israeli military operations. An Israeli strike last week hit a Catholic church in Gaza, and Israel has also bombarded Syria during sectarian violence there. Leavitt told reporters Monday that Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have “a good working relationship” but that Trump called him to “rectify those situations." The president has been pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza and trying to support the new Syrian government as the country emerges from years of civil war.
