Trump ‘caught off guard’ by recent Israeli strikes, White House says

By CHRIS MEGERIAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was “caught off guard” by the recent Israeli strikes in Syria and on a Catholic church in Gaza, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday.

Her comments were a rare suggestion of daylight between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who have often been aligned on politics and foreign policy, particularly with the recent attacks on Iran’s nuclear program.

However, Trump is pushing for an end to the war in Gaza and trying to support the new Syrian government as the country emerges from years of civil war, and Israeli military operations have threatened to complicate those initiatives.

An Israeli attack last week hit the Gaza Strip’s only Catholic church, killing three people and stirring outrage. In addition, Israel intervened during the latest outbreak of sectarian violence in Syria, even bombing the capital, Damascus.

Leavitt told reporters that Trump has “a good working relationship” with Netanyahu but “he was caught off guard by the bombing in Syria and also the bombing of a Catholic church in Gaza.”

“In both accounts, the president quickly called the prime minister to rectify those situations,” Leavitt said.

Trump’s special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, told The Associated Press that Israel’s intervention in Syria “creates another very confusing chapter” and “came at a very bad time.”