Israel Confirms Syria Strike, Says Turkish Deployment Would Have Violated Security Understanding

The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed Tuesday that Israel carried out the strike on a Syrian military airbase, saying Damascus was preparing to allow Turkish forces to deploy at the site in violation of an agreed security status quo between Israel and Syria.

“Israel and Syria agreed to a status quo in security matters, which Syria was on the verge of breaching by permitting Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in an English-language statement.    

The statement said Israel had repeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israeli security, but that “Syria chose to ignore these warnings.” Israel said it would not tolerate threats to its security and would welcome a return to the previous status quo.

The Prime Minister’s Office did not provide further details about the scope of the attack or the specific targets. Syrian state television earlier reported that eight strikes hit the runway and storage facilities at the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Idlib province. Syrian military and local sources said the attack caused property damage but no casualties.

The strike came shortly after a Turkish military delegation visited the airbase as part of reported plans to rehabilitate the facility. Turkey has emerged as a key backer of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government, helping train Syrian forces and rebuild the country’s military capabilities.

Israel views an expanded Turkish military presence in Syria as a strategic concern. Ankara, meanwhile, has said it does not seek a confrontation with Israel and has held technical talks with Israeli officials aimed at preventing accidental clashes in Syria.

The strike drew criticism from Syria, Turkey and Washington before Israel publicly confirmed responsibility. Syria condemned the attack as a violation of its sovereignty, while Turkey also denounced the strikes. U.S. envoy Tom Barrack called the attack an “unnecessary escalation” and urged restraint and dialogue.

Barrack later said the United States was working to establish a stronger deconfliction mechanism between Israel, Syria and Turkey. He said Turkey had not been warned about the Israeli strike and could have prepared a military response after detecting Israeli aircraft heading north. The situation ultimately did not escalate further.