U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly strongly reprimanded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the expansion of airstrikes in Lebanon during a recent phone call.

The American internet media outlet Axios reported on the 1st (local time) that President Trump spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu on the 28th of last month and furiously asked, "What the hell are you doing?" According to sources, President Trump reportedly targeted Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is facing trial on corruption charges, saying, "If it weren't for me, you would be in prison." The outlet reported that the conversation included expressions like "crazy" and "ungrateful," along with profanity. In response, Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly replied to the effect of asking him to "manage the situation well." One official said this was the most heated atmosphere in a phone call between the two leaders since President Trump's return to power.

The background to President Trump's strong dissatisfaction is Israel's expansion of military operations against the pro-Iranian armed faction Hezbollah in Lebanon. This has raised concerns that the momentum for negotiations between the U.S. and Iran could be weakened. Iran stated that it views Israel's attacks on Lebanon as a violation of the ceasefire agreement and has halted the exchange of messages for negotiating an end-of-war agreement with the U.S.

While acknowledging Hezbollah's attacks against Israel, President Trump appears to have judged that Prime Minister Netanyahu is raising the level of military response excessively. In particular, he reportedly expressed concern over the fact that entire buildings were bombed to eliminate Hezbollah commanders, resulting in civilian casualties. President Trump reportedly expressed his anger, saying, "Everyone is going to hate Israel because of this."

Since then, Israel has reportedly withdrawn its airstrike plans against Hezbollah targets within Beirut. President Trump posted on his social media that he had a "productive call" with Prime Minister Netanyahu, writing to the effect that "there will be no attack on Beirut." However, Prime Minister Netanyahu maintained his previous stance in a statement, saying, "If Hezbollah does not stop its attacks, we will strike targets within Beirut."