Israeli officials said Wednesday evening they are deeply concerned that U.S. President Donald Trump could order an immediate evacuation of IDF troops from Lebanon, according to Channel 13. In response, Jerusalem is working to advance a scaled-back deployment plan that would allow the army to remain in strategic positions inside Lebanese territory.
Earlier, at the end of the G7 summit in France, Trump addressed Lebanon and said he supports Israel’s right to defend itself, while adding that it should act with restraint. He also criticized the IDF’s conduct in Lebanon and said he had already raised the issue with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump said, "Netanyahu gets a little excited sometimes. We have a disagreement about Lebanon, I told him you don't need to knock down a building every time."
The concern comes amid continued fighting on the border. On Wednesday morning, five soldiers were wounded by explosive drones launched by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. One was seriously injured, two were moderately injured, and two were lightly hurt.
According to an initial military inquiry, a second explosive drone struck a medical evacuation vehicle minutes after the first attack, as forces on the ground were preparing to evacuate the wounded. On Sunday, before the U.S.-Iran agreement was reached, two IDF soldiers were wounded, one moderately and one lightly, when Hezbollah fired rockets at forces in southern Lebanon. Last Thursday, a female soldier was moderately wounded by an explosive drone in southern Lebanon, hours after reports that an officer was seriously injured and a reservist lightly hurt in an explosion during an operation in Jenin in the northern West Bank.
