The United States envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, described his meeting with the head of the occupation government, Benjamin Netanyahu, as “constructive”. In a post on the X platform, Barrack said that the dialogue with Netanyahu “aims to achieve regional peace and stability”.
For its part, the Hebrew Broadcasting Authority said that the visit was extremely sensitive and reflects, according to diplomatic sources, the impatience of US President Donald Trump over the stalled transition to the next phase of his plan for the Gaza Strip. The authority quoted unnamed Israeli political sources as saying that “Barrack’s visit is not viewed as a routine protocol visit”. According to the authority, “Barrack is tasked with determining whether Netanyahu is a partner that can be relied upon in the coming phase”.
In the same context, the Axios website quoted US officials as saying that the White House sent a strongly worded message to Netanyahu, stressing that the assassination of a senior military commander in Hamas over the weekend constitutes a violation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza. The White House emphasised that it will not allow Netanyahu “to tarnish President Trump’s reputation after he mediated the Gaza agreement”.
The site added that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner are deeply frustrated with Netanyahu. US officials also noted that the White House “is increasingly concerned about settler violence against Palestinians”, warning that “Israeli policies are creating an environment that undermines White House efforts to expand the Abraham Accords, particularly with Saudi Arabia”.
Meanwhile, the Hebrew channel i24 quoted two informed sources as saying that Netanyahu and the US envoy reached shared understandings regarding the Syrian file, following a phase of intensive coordination that led, according to the sources, to mutual clarity regarding what is required from each side.
The channel explained that these understandings include Israel’s continued desire to act inside Syrian territory against what it describes as security threats, alongside agreement to continue negotiations with Syria over a potential security arrangement, within a broader American-Israeli understanding on managing this file. Although Washington has repeatedly expressed concern that repeated Israeli incursions into southern Syria undermine efforts to stabilise the Syrian state, the occupation state continues to view the new Damascus government as incapable, and even unwilling, to prevent threats along Syria’s borders, which, from Tel Aviv’s perspective, justifies the continuation of so-called “preventive operations”.
At a time when Hebrew media described Tom Barrack’s visit to Israel in grand terms such as “sensitive and laden with implications”, it remains, like other visits by US officials to the occupation state, aimed at assessment rather than imposition. It also shows that the Trump administration no longer views Gaza, Lebanon, or Syria as separate files, but deals with them as a single system within a broader regional vision that is not limited to resolving the Gaza issue alone, but extends to reordering the entire security landscape of West Asia.
This serves to weaken what Washington considers parties hostile to the United States. From this standpoint, any progress in Gaza toward entrenching a settlement and launching the second phase of the ceasefire plan, as well as stabilising the situation in Lebanon in a manner that avoids uncontrolled escalation, and paving the way for the US desired settlement between Syria and Israel, are all integral parts of a broad American regional aspiration.
Officials, led by Barrack, recognise that dismantling Hamas or Hezbollah militarily under current conditions is not realistic. Against this backdrop, the focus has shifted from removing weapons to preventing their use. This formula, even if it appears vague, acknowledges the complexities of reality and seeks to build strict deterrence and monitoring mechanisms that limit the ability to use weapons in both arenas.
An official in the Israeli occupation state considered the proposal to freeze Hamas’s weapons to be “pure fantasy”, stressing that Israel will not accept it. The official said in statements to Foreign Policy magazine that “Hamas must be disarmed, and this will happen, just as Gaza will be demilitarised in accordance with what is stipulated in US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan”. He claimed that Israel was committed to Trump’s plan and had supported this position since the beginning of the ceasefire. He added that “Israel will ensure the security of its borders, and that Gaza poses no threat to the Jewish state”.
On a practical level, the Hebrew newspaper Maariv described the visit as preparatory for the Netanyahu-Trump meeting scheduled to take place at the end of the month in Miami. It said that in this sense, Barrack is not coming “to listen”, but to verify the extent of “Israel’s” readiness to move.
Regarding Lebanon and Hezbollah’s weapons, Washington expects tangible steps from Beirut, including strengthening the Lebanese army’s control in the south, limiting Hezbollah’s freedom of movement, and demonstrating readiness to assume security responsibility.
