EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France — President Trump acknowledged Tuesday that he was displeased with Israel over its weekend strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, which came as he was finalizing a peace deal with Iran, before suggesting that Syria’s new leaders “take care of” the Iran-backed terror group.

“I’m not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and Hezbollah,” the president told reporters on the sidelines of the G7 summit. “They should have been able to handle themselves faster.”

“Israel is fighting Hezbollah too long, and too many people are being killed,” Trump also said. “You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody. There are a lot of people in those apartment houses and they’re not all Hezbollah.”

He added the attacks put a “negative light on the big deal” with Iran and warned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.”

“I did not like that, I let them know that,” Trump said of the Sunday strikes, which he called “too much.”

Iran has said Israel ending its attacks in Lebanon is a condition of any agreement to end the three-and-a-half month war. But Netanyahu said Monday that Israeli forces would remain in Lebanese territory “for as long as necessary.”

“I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah,” Trump revealed Tuesday. “To be honest with you, I think they would do a better job.”

“If Israel can’t do the job without killing everyone else, he’ll do the job, Syria will do the job.”

The bizarre suggestion is both a shot at Netanyahu and an expression of admiration for Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who led the overthrow of Damascus dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Al-Sharaa may travel to Turkey next month to meet with Trump on the sidelines of a NATO leaders summit, Turkish media has reported.