Overview
Israel carried out eight airstrikes on the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in northwest Syria early Tuesday, damaging its runway and storage facilities, according to Syrian state media. The attack drew condemnation from Damascus and Ankara and criticism from a US envoy who called it an “unnecessary escalation.”
The Strikes and Immediate Reaction
Syrian state television reported, citing a military source, that the strikes hit the Abu al-Duhur military airport in Idlib province. The attack caused material damage but no casualties, according to Syrian authorities and a resident near the base.
The Israeli military has not officially commented on the reports. However, a senior Israeli official told US media that Israel had notified Washington ahead of the operation and shared what was described as highly sensitive intelligence.
The attack appears to be Israel's first reported strike on Syrian government assets since March and the first reported attack on the Abu al-Duhur base since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's government in December 2024.
The Abu al-Duhur base has been largely out of service since sustaining extensive damage during Syria's 14-year civil war. It has changed hands several times between government and opposition forces.
Netanyahu's Characterisation and Statements
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to assert dominance over Syria by ordering the strikes, which he characterised as a warning to Turkey against expanding its military presence in Syria or helping rebuild the Syrian armed forces.
Netanyahu’s office claimed Israel and Syria had agreed to “a status quo in security matters,” which Damascus was “on the verge of breaching” by permitting Turkish troops to deploy at the airbase near Aleppo.
“Israel repeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel’s security. Syria chose to ignore these warnings,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement issued on Tuesday evening.
The following day, the Israeli leader reframed the strikes as a “message” that he would not tolerate a Turkish military entrenchment in Syria that “advances southward, because it threatens us.”
“We conveyed that message: don’t,” Netanyahu told Israeli Army Radio. “But apparently they didn’t hear it, so we made sure they understood it better.”
Regional and International Condemnation
Syria’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the strikes, describing them as an unjustified act of aggression and a violation of the country’s sovereignty. Damascus called on the UN Security Council to take a firm position against what it described as repeated Israeli violations of Syrian territory.
Turkey condemned the strikes as a violation of international law and urged the international community to take a stronger stance. Jordan accused Israel of an “unjustified act of aggression” and a violation of Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The strikes also drew criticism from Washington. US Ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack described the confirmed Israeli strikes as an “unnecessary escalation” that does not advance regional stability.
Barrack said the interim Syrian government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa had not adopted a hostile posture or maintained proxy forces, and had repeatedly expressed a preference for de-escalation with Israel. He encouraged all parties to prioritize logical discourse over further military incidents.