Trump confirms he called Netanyahu 'crazy,' as he says Israel is complicating peace talks with Iran
June 3: Israel was supposed to fully withdraw its troops from Gaza as part of the ceasefire signed in October. Instead of pulling back, Israeli forces are quietly cementing permanent, heavily fortified military posts across the besieged enclave, according to satellite imagery analysed by Al Jazeera.
An investigation by Al Jazeera's Open Source Unit, analysing satellite data up to May 2026, has identified 40 distinct Israeli military outposts entrenched within Gaza. Crucially, the analysis proves that eight of these bases were constructed entirely from scratch after the October 2025 truce went into effect, with one site still undergoing active construction.
Israeli forces have pulled back to the "Yellow Line", which refers to the buffer and military zones comprising some 60 percent of the enclave's territory.
"We are currently squeezing Hamas; we now control 60 percent of the territory," Netanyahu stated, before addressing a crowd member who shouted for complete annexation: "Let's go step by step. First of all, 70. Let's start with that."
The satellite analysis exposes a systematic effort to build a sustainable, long-term military infrastructure rather than temporary observation posts.
The newly established installations are strategically dispersed: Two in northern Gaza, two in the central region, one east of the Netzarim Corridor, and three in the southern city of Khan Younis.
In one of the most glaring examples of this spatial takeover, Israeli forces established a new military base directly atop the ruins of the Eastern Cemetery in Khan Younis.
AP adds, President Donald Trump in an interview released Wednesday confirmed an earlier report that he criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as "crazy" in a Monday phone call, saying he was "a little bit perturbed" that Israel's fighting of Hezbollah in Lebanon was holding back peace talks with Iran. But even as the U.S. president acknowledged the tensions, he insisted that his relationship with Netanyahu was solid and they connected, in part, because they're both "wartime" leaders.
"We've worked very well together. I like Bibi a lot. And I work very well with him," Trump told The New York Post's "Pod Force One."
The president's acknowledgement of the tense call with Netanyahu that involved expletives is a sign of the growing pressure he faces to resolve the Iran war, as higher energy prices and economic uncertainty are harming Republicans going into midterm elections and hampering global commerce.
"I don't know. I mean, I think it could be (closed through Labor Day), but I think it's unlikely. I think that we'll have it. I think this will resolve itself fairly quickly," Trump said. The U.S. president added that Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his late father, is "involved" in peace talks for ending the war.
"They have a lot of respect for him," Trump said in the interview with "Pod Force One."
Trump said that Khamenei is not doing well due to injuries sustained in an airstrike, but "they say he's giving approval because that's the way it has been for a long, long time." Khamenei's father was killed as part of airstrikes when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran at the end of March.
Still, the path toward a durable ceasefire remained unclear as hostilities continued in Lebanon.
An Israeli strike Wednesday hit a car on a busy highway just south of Beirut, hours before the second day of talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington are set to take place.
The strike in Khaldeh came without warning, and it was not immediately clear if the person targeted was killed. Israel usually says it targets members of the Hezbollah militant group in these drone strikes. �"AGENCIES
