Trump ‘caught off guard’ by Israel’s actions in Gaza and Syria last week as skepticism of Netanyahu grows inside White House
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Trump ‘caught off guard’ by Israeli strikes in Syria and Gaza church attack, says White House
US president ‘caught off guard’ by Israeli military action in Syria and Gaza. Calls for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address both incidents. Israel has imposed a complete blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2 March. More than 59,000 people have been killed in the conflict since it began in mid-2011. The UN has warned of a humanitarian crisis in the region if the blockade is not lifted soon. The U.N. Security Council has also called for an end to the conflict in Syria.
“The president was caught off guard by the bombing in Syria and also the bombing of the Catholic church in Gaza,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters, as cited by Bernama-Anadolu. “In both accounts, the president quickly called the prime minister to rectify those situations.”
Tensions in southern Syria flared on 13 July following clashes between Bedouin Arab tribes and armed Druze factions in Suwayda. The situation escalated further on 16 July when the Israeli military launched airstrikes near the Syrian presidential palace and struck the General Staff headquarters and Defence Ministry.
In Gaza, Israel targeted the Church of the Holy Family last Thursday, killing three people and injuring ten others, including the parish priest. The attack has added to mounting criticism of Israel’s ongoing campaign in the enclave.
Reports by the US-based Axios outlet suggest the strikes have triggered “growing scepticism inside the Trump administration” about Netanyahu, with concerns that his policies in the region are “too disruptive.”
Leavitt added that the president is increasingly concerned by the scale of violence in Gaza. “The conflict has been going on far too long and has become quite brutal in recent days. The president never likes to see that,” she said. “He wants the killing to end, and he wants to negotiate a ceasefire in this region, and he wants to see all of the hostages released from Gaza.”
Since 2 March, Israel has imposed a complete blockade on Gaza, restricting the entry of food, medicine, and humanitarian supplies. International aid agencies have issued dire warnings of a looming famine, though no easing of the siege appears imminent.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, launched following the events of 7 October 2023, has drawn global condemnation. According to Palestinian authorities, more than 59,000 people — mostly women and children — have been killed since the offensive began. – July 22, 2025
Pueblo Police make arrest of suspect in repeated burglary and property damage of downtown bar
Pueblo Police arrested a man who allegedly participated in two separate burglaries of The Downton Bar. Police identified the male as 36-year-old Kevin Dixon, who officials say had two warrants for his arrest. Dixon was booked into the Pueblo County Detention Center (PCDC) on his outstanding warrants. However, he was not booked on the burglary and criminal mischief charges, as the identity of the suspect was unknown at the time.
Police say that on the morning of July 9 and July 11, officers responded to two separate burglaries of The Downton Bar in Pueblo.
A video of a male suspect was provided to officers, which enabled them to identify a male matching the suspect’s description in the video on July 16.
Police identified the male as 36-year-old Kevin Dixon, who officials say had two warrants for his arrest for the alleged fugitive of justice and failure to appear for the original charges of trespass II and littering with a total PR Bond of $300.00, says Pueblo Police.
Police say Dixon was booked into the Pueblo County Detention Center (PCDC) on his outstanding warrants; however, he was not booked on the burglary and criminal mischief charges, as the identity of the suspect who broke into the bar was unknown at the time.
Police say that Dixon was released from the PCDC within three and a half hours.
According to police, once the warrants in connection with the burglary and property damage were obtained, Pueblo Police officers immediately began searching for Dixon.
At approximately 2:30 a.m. on the morning of July 18, 2025, officers re-located Dixon in the 100 block of East Abriendo Avenue, says police.
Dixon was arrested and booked into the PCDC for the alleged felony charges of two counts of 2nd degree burglary and two counts of criminal mischief, says police.
According to the Pueblo Police, the estimated damage is $7,000, with a $5,000 cash-only bail.
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UN Gaza aid chief says new distribution centres ‘sadistic death trap’
Philippe Lazzarini is the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) UNRWA was criticized by Israel for allegedly employing members from the Hamas Islamist movement which attacked southern Israel in October 2023. An Israeli and UN-backed rival aid group called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has been operating in the coastal strip in recent times.
Philippe Lazzarini is the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which was criticized by Israel for allegedly employing members from the Hamas Islamist movement which attacked southern Israel in October 2023.
An Israeli and UN-backed rival aid group called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has been operating in the coastal strip in recent times, but there have been widespread Palestinian media reports of Israeli attacks on those waiting in line for help.
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GHF distribution centres are also guarded by private US security firms.
“Snipers open fire randomly on crowds as if they are given a licence to kill. A massive hunt of people, in total impunity,” Lazzarini wrote on X on Monday.
“This cannot be our new norm, humanitarian assistance is not the job of mercenaries.”
The foundation has repeatedly denied the reports but according to the UN, hundreds of deaths have already occurred at GHF distribution stations since the end of May.
Israel introduced the new distribution mechanism, claiming it was to prevent the Hamas from diverting aid supplies.
Previously, the UN operated around 400 distribution stations for the approximately 2 million Palestinians in the region. These stations are now barely functioning, as Israel has almost entirely blocked their resupply.
Britain’s Lammy calls Israeli aid system for Gaza ‘inhumane’
Britain and more than 20 other countries called on Monday for an immediate end to the war in Gaza. Israel rejected the statement “as it is disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas” The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people. The Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed over 59,000 Palestinians.
:: July 21, 2025
:: London, England
:: David Lammy, British Foreign Minister
“The new Israeli aid system is inhumane. It’s dangerous and it deprives Gazans of human dignity. It contradicts long-established humanitarian principles. It creates disorder Hamas is now exploiting with distribution points reduced from 400 to just four. It forces desperate civilians, children among them, to scramble unsafely for the essentials of life. It’s a grotesque spectacle, racking a terrible human cost. Almost a thousand civilians have been killed since May seeking aid, including a hundred, Mr. Deputy Speaker, this weekend alone.”
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“Netanyahu should listen to the Israeli people, 82% of whom desperately want a ceasefire and to the hostage families because they know it offers the best chance to bring their loved ones home. Those hostages may be hidden in cramped tunnels under the ruins of Gaza, but we will not forget them or Hamas’s despicable actions. And we will continue to demand their unconditional release.”
Britain and more than 20 other countries called on Monday for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and criticized the Israeli government’s aid delivery model after hundreds of Palestinians were killed near sites distributing food. Israel rejected the statement “as it is disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas.”
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
The Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed over 59,000 Palestinians, according to health officials, displaced almost the entire population, and caused a humanitarian crisis.
Trump ‘caught off guard’ by recent Israeli strikes, White House says
President Obama’s spokesman says the White House was “caught off guard” by the attacks. The president is pushing for an end to the conflict in Syria. The attack on a Catholic church in the Gaza Strip was the latest in a series of attacks on the country. The U.S. is also trying to stop the flow of weapons into Syria.
Her comments were a rare suggestion of daylight between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who have often been aligned on politics and foreign policy, particularly with the recent attacks on Iran’s nuclear program.
However, Trump is pushing for an end to the war in Gaza and trying to support the new Syrian government as the country emerges from years of civil war, and Israeli military operations have threatened to complicate those initiatives.
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An Israeli attack last week hit the Gaza Strip’s only Catholic church, killing three people and stirring outrage. In addition, Israel intervened during the latest outbreak of sectarian violence in Syria, even bombing the capital, Damascus.
Leavitt told reporters that Trump has “a good working relationship” with Netanyahu but “he was caught off guard by the bombing in Syria and also the bombing of a Catholic church in Gaza.”
“In both accounts, the president quickly called the prime minister to rectify those situations,” Leavitt said.
Trump’s special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, told The Associated Press that Israel’s intervention in Syria “creates another very confusing chapter” and “came at a very bad time.”