Tensions between the United States and Israel have reached a new low after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu defied repeated warnings from the Biden administration and escalated Israeli military strikes inside Syria, targeting the Ministry of Defence in Damascus. According to The Times UK, senior White House officials have privately described Netanyahu as a “madman” whose actions threaten to unravel months of fragile diplomatic progress in the region.
The U.S. had warned Israel to cease operations following an earlier airstrike on a convoy of Syrian government tanks. However, Netanyahu proceeded with a dramatic bombing campaign that targeted key Syrian military infrastructure in the capital. The strikes have further destabilised southern Syria, particularly the city of Sweida, where a U.S.-brokered ceasefire was only beginning to take hold.
“This could undermine what Trump is trying to do,” one U.S. official told Axios, referencing the president’s efforts to rebrand himself as a Middle East peacemaker. The official accused Netanyahu of reckless aggression, adding: “Bibi acts like a madman. He bombs everything all the time.”
U.S. Diplomacy Undermined
President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House in January after a dramatic political comeback, has staked much of his legacy on foreign policy achievements. He recently claimed credit for bringing peace to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and brokering de-escalation between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. His administration also lifted sanctions on Syria earlier this year following a summit with President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, a former jihadist commander who has pledged to unite Syria’s fractured ethnic landscape.
Trump has not publicly criticised Netanyahu over the latest escalation, but sources within the White House say the relationship is becoming strained. “Every day there is something new,” one senior official said, pointing to recent Israeli attacks, including the controversial shelling of a Catholic church in Gaza that killed three civilians. “What the f***?”
Syria on the Brink
The latest Israeli strikes come amid renewed sectarian conflict in Sweida, a Druze-majority city near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The fighting, which erupted between Druze militias and Sunni Muslim and Bedouin clans, has killed more than 1,000 people in the past week alone, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Residents described scenes of horror. “The smell of corpses is spread throughout the national hospital,” one man told Reuters. Photos from AFP showed bodies strewn outside Sweida’s main medical centre. The UN has been unable to verify the death toll, citing limited access and the difficulty of confirming reports from war-torn areas.
Allegations have also surfaced that Syrian government troops, dispatched by Sharaa to restore order, were themselves responsible for atrocities against the Druze population—accusations that could complicate Washington’s support for the Syrian president.
Israel’s Justification
Netanyahu has defended the airstrikes as necessary to protect the region’s Druze population—an ethnic and religious minority with a significant presence in Israel. Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime last year, Israel sent troops into southern Syria to establish a “buffer zone.” Netanyahu, 75, has consistently framed his actions as part of a broader strategy to shield vulnerable communities and prevent Iranian-backed forces from gaining ground.
However, critics see this narrative as increasingly cynical. “Netanyahu is sometimes like a child who just won’t behave,” a U.S. official said. The sentiment is shared even among staunch Israel supporters. Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel and a longtime evangelical ally of Netanyahu, has recently issued uncharacteristically sharp rebukes.
Following the killing of a Palestinian-American in the West Bank last week, Huckabee demanded accountability. He also condemned a weekend arson attack on a Byzantine-era church in the Christian town of Taybeh. “To desecrate a place of worship is an act of terror,” he said. “There should be consequences.”
Sharaa and the Crisis of the ‘New Syria’
For Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the crisis threatens to undermine his carefully cultivated image as a unifier capable of ending years of civil war. His efforts to balance control over Sunni, Druze, Alawite and Christian regions are increasingly under strain. The latest violence, coupled with Israeli intervention and suspicions of internal government atrocities, have left international partners questioning whether Syria’s fragile peace is already breaking.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has urged Sharaa to act swiftly. In a statement on Sunday, Rubio condemned “horrifying and dangerous developments” in southern Syria and demanded that all perpetrators of war crimes—including Syrian military personnel—be held accountable.
“The rape and slaughter of innocent people must end,” Rubio posted on X. “If authorities in Damascus want to preserve any chance of achieving a unified, inclusive and peaceful Syria free of Isis and of Iranian control, they must help end this calamity.”
What Comes Next?
As Netanyahu reportedly recovers from a bout of food poisoning, Israel’s military posture remains unchanged. Meanwhile, Washington is facing increasing pressure to intervene diplomatically and salvage what remains of its Middle East peace strategy.
In Jerusalem, there is little sign that Netanyahu intends to back down. In Washington, frustration with Israel’s unilateralism is growing by the day. As reported by The Times UK, the current U.S. administration is grappling with a volatile situation in which even its closest allies are beginning to behave unpredictably—and with potentially devastating consequences.
