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US President Donald Trump urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call last week to begin withdrawing Israeli troops from southern Syria and Lebanon, Barak Ravid of Channel 12 and Axios reported Tuesday, citing American and Israeli officials.According to the report on the Thursday call, Trump warned that Israel’s military presence in Syrian territory is creating tensions that could lead to an escalation, telling Netanyahu, “They don’t want you there. You should redeploy.” He reportedly made a similar request regarding Lebanon......Netanyahu was said to push back, citing Israel’s security needs.

US-Saudi relations have significantly deteriorated in recent months amid anger in Riyadh over Washington’s decision to launch a war against Iran that has caused massive blowback for the rest of the region, a Middle Eastern intelligence official tells The Times of Israel, confirming a Wall Street Journal report. Saudi Arabia refused to allow the US to use its bases in order to conduct Project Freedom, which was aimed at breaking Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz by escorting stuck ships out of the channel. Saudi bases and airspace were critical to the operation and Riyadh’s refusal to cooperate forced...

Recognizing Iran’s ability to influence Hezbollah in ways that Lebanon can’t, US and Qatar broker truce through Tehran, rather than Beirut, after 47 Lebanese killed in response to killing of 4 troops Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire on Friday afternoon, a US official said, after another flare-up in southern Lebanon that saw four Israeli soldiers and dozens of Lebanese casualties. The renewed truce appeared as fragile as ever, as it didn’t see Israel pull out of the large buffer zone it established in southern Lebanon — one that Hezbollah has used to justify continued attacks on troops stationed...

US President Donald Trump reportedly lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call earlier today, calling him “fucking crazy” as he demanded that Israel agree to a ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and claimed the premier owes him for keeping him out of jail. Axios cites a US official summarizing Trump’s message to Netanyahu as follows: “You’re fucking crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.”

Vance will be joined by US President Donald Trump’s top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing. Iran has accused Israel of targeting one of its oil refineries, while Gulf countries reported coming under Iranian drone and missile fire throughout much of Wednesday after Israel was targeted in numerous missile attacks overnight. And while Pakistani mediators in announcing the ceasefire said that it covered Lebanon, the US and Israel have insisted otherwise and IDF strikes targeting Hezbollah reached levels on Wednesday not seen since the beginning of the war. Vance claimed a...

The UN Security Council will convene an emergency session on Monday to discuss Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, with members slated to condemn Jerusalem’s move. Israel announced the step on Friday, days before Somalia is slated to take over the presidency of the Security Council. In the announcement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the recognition was “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords,” and that the countries would cooperate in “economic fields, on agriculture, [and] in the fields of social development.” The decision was met with anger from several regional powers who accused Israel of undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity...

The Trump administration confirms that US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff will travel to Muscat on Sunday for the sixth round of nuclear talks with Iran. Talks will be both direct and indirect, as in previous rounds, says a statement to reporters attributed to a source familiar.

US intelligence assessments before Israel escalated its conflict against the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group in September said that such a move risked sparking an all-out war in which hundreds — if not thousands — of Israelis would be killed, three US officials and one Israeli official told The Times of Israel... ...the US officials said, acknowledging that both countries’ assessments proved wildly inaccurate within days, as the IDF methodically took out much of Hezbollah’s missile and drone capabilities, dismantled its military infrastructure in southern Lebanon, picked off almost every member of its senior leadership and killed or wounded thousands of...

Move represents about-face by US, which had said it wouldn't open its own probe into death of reporter who Israel says was likely shot by IDF in error; Gantz: We won't cooperate The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is launching an investigation into the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, apparently by an Israeli soldier, officials said Monday, with Israel immediately rejecting cooperation with the probe. US officials updated their Israeli counterparts earlier this month about the decision, an official familiar with the matter tokld The Times Of Israel on Monday, confirming a Channel 14 news report....