Benjamin Netanyahu faces backlash after Donald Trump call

{"text":[[{"start":8.85,"text":"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under fire from both allies and opponents after failing to follow through on threats to bomb Hizbollah targets in Beirut, as a result of heavy pressure from US President Donald Trump."}],[{"start":22.75,"text":"Netanyahu said on Monday morning that he had ordered the military to bomb targets in the Lebanese capital in retaliation for Hizbollah’s drone attacks on northern Israel, piling further strain on a disintegrating ceasefire between the two sides that was announced by Trump in April."}],[{"start":41.5,"text":"But after a call between Trump and Netanyahu on Monday evening, during which the US president said he demanded Israel abandon plans for a “major raid”, the Israeli military did not carry out Netanyahu’s threats. Trump subsequently claimed Netanyahu had “turned his Troops around”."}],[{"start":58,"text":"“[Hizbollah] agreed to stop shooting at Israel and its soldiers. Likewise, Israel agreed to stop shooting at them,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Let’s see how long that lasts — Hopefully it will be for ETERNITY!”"}],[{"start":71.85,"text":"Oil prices fell on Tuesday on hopes of a de-escalation of hostilities, with Brent crude, the international benchmark, down 1.4 per cent at $93.70 a barrel. US oil prices also fell 1.4 per cent, to $90.90 a barrel."}],[{"start":89.1,"text":"Netanyahu’s climbdown — which came amid mounting frustration in Israel at the failure to defang Hizbollah, with polls suggesting most Israelis favour more aggressive action against the militant group — drew criticism from across the political spectrum."}],[{"start":104.55,"text":"Naftali Bennett, the right-wing former prime minister widely regarded as one of Netanyahu’s main rivals in Israel’s looming election, accused him of “losing control over Israeli sovereignty”."}],[{"start":116.2,"text":"Yair Lapid, head of the biggest opposition party Yesh Atid, assailed Netanyahu for presiding over a “vassal state”, while Gadi Eisenkot, head of the centrist Yashar party, wrote on X: “There has never been a prime minister in Israel who accepted such a humiliating demand.”"}],[{"start":133.4,"text":"There was also criticism from within the ranks of Netanyahu’s far-right coalition, with national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urging him to ignore Trump’s demands and ratchet up the campaign against Hizbollah."}],[{"start":146.1,"text":"“You said that a strong prime minister tells the President of the United States — ‘yes’ when possible, and ‘no’ — when necessary. This is the time to tell our friend, President Trump — ‘no’,” Ben-Gvir wrote on X. "}],[{"start":159.65,"text":"“Now is the time to do what is required and necessary to strike Hizbollah, to unleash the hands of our fighters, and to restore security to the north,” he added."}],[{"start":168.95000000000002,"text":"Trump’s intervention came after state-affiliated Iranian media said on Monday that Tehran was suspending negotiations with the US over extending a separate ceasefire between Washington and Iran due to Israel’s escalating campaigns in Lebanon and Gaza."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":185.15,"text":"Iran has repeatedly insisted that it will only agree to an extension of its ceasefire with the US if the agreement also includes a truce between Israel and Hizbollah, which is Tehran’s most important regional proxy."}],[{"start":197.55,"text":"Recent days have seen the most intense fighting between Israel and Hizbollah since the nominal ceasefire between the two sides was announced by the US on April 16. "}],[{"start":208.05,"text":"Over the past week, the Israeli army has advanced deeper into Lebanon, declared much of its neighbour’s south a “combat zone” and ordered hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians to leave their homes."}],[{"start":220.65,"text":"Meanwhile, Hizbollah has launched repeated salvos of rockets and drones at Israel, prompting Israel to limit educational activities and gatherings in Israel’s northern communities."}],[{"start":231.3,"text":"Israel carried out multiple air strikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday morning, including on the towns of Jebchit and Ansar, according to Lebanon’s state news agency. "}],[{"start":241.65,"text":"Lebanon’s state-run civil defence said on Tuesday morning that an Israeli air strike had directly hit its centre in the town of Kfar Sir in the Nabatieh district, damaging the building. "}],[{"start":252.25,"text":"Meanwhile, Hizbollah has not claimed any attacks on Israeli territory since Trump’s announcement, but it did say it had targeted Israeli forces trying to advance into the Lebanese village of Hadatha late Monday night. "}],[{"start":264.65,"text":"In further media posts after his intervention on Lebanon, Trump said talks with Iran were “continuing, at a rapid pace”. He later told ABC News that he thought he would have an agreement with Tehran to extend the ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz “over the next week”."}],[{"start":281.29999999999995,"text":"Additional reporting by Malaika Kanaaneh Tapper in Beirut"}],[{"start":293.09999999999997,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780396693_4448.mp3"}