Israel, backed by the United States, has faced off against Middle Eastern countries but is becoming isolated in the international community. Even the Donald Trump administration, which has been a strong supporter, is distancing itself from Israel while urging a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
On the 26th (local time), The New York Times (NYT) reported, "For months, Israel's strongest allies have been reluctant to join the global wave of condemnation against the war, but now even the Trump administration is increasingly losing patience."
Recently, Western countries have been applying various pressures on Israel, which is continuing the war in the Gaza Strip. On the 20th, the United Kingdom officially announced the suspension of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with Israel, and France is known to be planning to host a meeting next month with Saudi Arabia to recognize Palestine as an official state under the "two-state solution."
Earlier, on the 19th, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Gani, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued a joint statement, saying, "We will not stand by and ignore the heinous acts of the Benjamin Netanyahu government," and noted, "If restrictions on humanitarian aid are not lifted, we will take specific countermeasures."
Adding to this, President Trump has recently begun to distance himself from Israel. Just before boarding Air Force One in New Jersey on the 25th, President Trump told reporters, "We have talked with Israel, and I want to see if we can end this situation as soon as possible." This statement effectively called on Israel to resolve the issues in the Gaza Strip.
The controversy over the 'Israel passing' in the U.S. is also spreading. Although President Trump chose the Middle East as his first foreign visit during his second term, he excluded Israel and held an unplanned summit with Syria, which is in an adversarial relationship with Israel. Hamas released Ethan Alexander, a dual U.S.-Israeli national previously held hostage in Gaza, to coincide with Trump's Middle Eastern visit, and it is known that there was no prior coordination between the U.S. and Israel during this process.
The NYT pointed out that President Trump's current actions contrast sharply with his position at the time of taking office in January this year. At that time, President Trump attributed the responsibility for the ongoing war not to Israel but to Hamas and showed a close relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu. He even chose Prime Minister Netanyahu as the first foreign leader for a White House meeting after taking office.
The U.S. has also positioned itself as a steadfast supporter of Israel. According to the NYT, the U.S. has provided military aid worth billions of dollars to support military operations in the Gaza Strip. Other countries, including the UK and France, have continued military support to Israel since last year.
However, recently, the attitudes of Western countries have subtly changed. The NYT evaluated that "the change in tone of their messages and small restrictive measures against Israel show that Israel's strongest allies are gradually losing patience with Prime Minister Netanyahu."
The number of countries seeking to distance themselves from Israel is gradually increasing. Friedrich Merz, the new Chancellor of Germany, said in a TV interview on the 26th, "Honestly, I do not understand what the Israeli army's actions in the Gaza Strip are aiming for." Meanwhile, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who had previously refrained from strong criticism of Israel, also urged, "Netanyahu must cease the attacks on Gaza."
Voices of concern are also emerging from within Israel. Itamar Eichner, a diplomatic correspondent for the centrist Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, stated, "After 593 days of war, Israel has reached a state of diplomatic isolation," adding, "The most worrying thing is that the U.S., which has always supported Israel, has responded with silence."