President Donald Trump has claimed Israel would have been “eviscerated” without American support and insisted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “will do as I say” when it comes to military operations.Speaking to Axios, the US President said the Israeli leader had “a lot of respect” for him and suggested he was able to influence Israel’s military decisions.”Yeah. They have a lot of respect for me and do as I say,” Mr Trump said.He also revealed he has to keep Mr Netanyahu “a little bit sane” as tensions continue to simmer across the Middle East.However, US intelligence officials have reportedly warned that the Israeli Prime Minister is likely to attempt to “undermine” Mr Trump’s diplomatic efforts, according to The Washington Post.The remarks came after a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah collapsed almost immediately after coming into force.Under a memorandum of understanding agreed three days earlier, both sides were expected to halt fighting in Lebanon.But before the ceasefire began, Mr Netanyahu ordered strikes on around 150 targets across Lebanon, with Lebanese officials reporting at least 47 people were killed and a further 97 injured.The US President said the Israeli leader had ‘a lot of respect’ for him | GETTYThe Israeli operation followed overnight Hezbollah drone attacks that killed four Israeli soldiers.Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also made inflammatory remarks ahead of the truce, declaring: “For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep. All of Lebanon must burn.”Despite the ceasefire taking effect at 4pm local time, fighting resumed almost immediately.Lebanese media reported around a dozen Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah drones triggered warning sirens in northern Israel.
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Lebanese media reported around a dozen Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon | GETTYAccording to Lebanese sources, Israeli airstrikes continued for around an hour after the truce was due to begin before eventually subsiding.A senior US official later told Reuters that both sides had entered into a ceasefire, while a Hezbollah representative said: “As soon as we got word of the ceasefire, we applied it from our end.”Mr Trump subsequently told NBC News he had contacted Israel to urge an end to the strikes, although he declined to confirm whether he had spoken directly to Mr Netanyahu.The Israeli Prime Minister was excluded from negotiations over the US-Iran agreement and has refused to sign it. The Israeli Prime Minister was excluded from negotiations over the US-Iran agreement and has refused to sign it | REUTERSMr Netanyahu has also vowed Israeli forces will remain indefinitely inside the “security zone” beyond Lebanon’s border.Meanwhile, Tehran cancelled planned diplomatic talks, blaming the renewed violence in Lebanon.Iran had reportedly been pressing Mr Trump to rein in Mr Netanyahu, warning that continued Israeli military action risked derailing wider efforts to secure regional peace.It comes just days after the US President issued a stern warning to his Israeli counterpart after Israel and Iran exchanged strikes prior to the signing of the peace agreement. Mr Trump warned that if strikes between the two countries were to resume, Israel could be left without US military support.In a phone interview, Mr Trump told Axios: “I said, ‘Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon’.”