Israeli airstrikes hit Syrian airbase, drawing Turkish condemnation

Highlights:

• Strikes target runway and storage facilities, Syrian media says
• No casualties reported by military source and civilian living near base
• US envoy Barrack calls strikes unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability
• Turkey calls for international stance against Israel's 'escalating aggression'

Israel bombed an airbase in Syria on Tuesday, Syrian state media said, drawing condemnation from Turkey and criticism from a US envoy who called it an "unnecessary escalation".

Syria's state-run Ekhbariya television, citing a military source, said Israel carried out eight airstrikes on the runway and storage facilities at the Abu al-Duhur base near Aleppo in northwest Syria. A separate military source and a civilian who lives near the base said there were no casualties.

The attack appeared to be Israel's first strike on Syrian government assets since March.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the attacks violated Syria's territorial unity and integrity.

"We call on the international community to take a more decisive stance to end Israel's escalating aggression against Syria," it said in a statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said late Tuesday that Syria was on the "verge" of violating a "status quo agreed with Israel in security matters" by allowing Turkish troops to deploy at the airbase.

"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.

"Israel will not tolerate threats to its security," yet "would welcome a return to the status quo".

Turkey's statement did not say if its troops were at the Syrian base.

Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria and Iraq, said on X that Washington was "deeply concerned that the confirmed Israeli airstrikes on Abu al-Duhur Airbase constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability."

"The United States continues to believe that restraint and engagement offer the more constructive course. We encourage all parties to prioritise logical discourse over further military incidents," he added.

Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shibani called for the attacks to stop, saying Israel should recalculate its position towards Syria because it was confronting not only Damascus, but also Syria's allies.

Israel views Syria's new rulers with deep suspicion

"These attacks don't have security justifications... We will continue in our diplomatic path to dissuade Israel from this policy and to force it to stop its attacks on Syria," he said at a press conference with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi in Damascus.

The base, about 70 km (43.5 miles) east of the Turkish border, has been out of service as a dedicated military airfield since 2013 and changed hands several times during Syria's 14-year civil war between forces loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad and opposition factions.

Israel has repeatedly struck Syrian forces since Assad was ousted in 2024. It has so far attacked mostly government sites in southern and central Syria, most recently in March.

Israel views Syria's new rulers with deep suspicion due to their Islamist militant roots and said it won't tolerate an Islamist presence in its border zone despite President Ahmed al-Sharaa's warm ties with the West.

Sharaa said in July his country has been seeking to reach a security agreement with Israel.

After Assad was toppled, Israel seized territory in southwest Syria and struck much of the Syrian army's heavy weapons and equipment.

Israel also regularly bombed Syria when Assad was in power, aiming to roll back Iranian influence in the country.

Security tensions heightened

The strikes on Tuesday follow worsening security tensions between Israel and Turkey and increasingly sharp rhetoric between the two countries over Syria.

Ankara has accused Israel of trying to destabilise Syria and undermine its new administration. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on 6 August that Israel continued to threaten Syria's security through its repeated attacks, calling for international pressure on Israel to respect Syria's territorial integrity.

Turkey, which has Nato's second-largest army and this month signed a mutual defence pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, has become one of Sharaa's main allies. It has been training Syria's army, helping it rebuild its state institutions and infrastructure and providing military and diplomatic support.

Last year, Turkey and Israel established a line of communication to avoid any incidents in Syria, where both of their militaries are active.