Israel strikes Abu al-Duhur airbase in Syria, disputes Turkish troop presence

Turkey & Israel On Brink Of Military Clash After Netanyahu Ordered Strikes On Syrian Airbase At a moment of the ongoing Iran conflict, Israel and Turkey are escalating their competing claims and rhetoric over Syria, to the point that full-blown war is being threatened. NBC writes of the irony of two American regional allies on the brink: "A pair of key American allies, an attack on a strategic military base and an intense election campaign: The United States has been scrambling to de-escalate this week after Israel launched strikes that appeared aimed not just at the country’s regional rivals but at its voters," in a Saturday report. The day prior, Turkey issued another arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, citing the prior Israeli military crackdown on the 'Gaza aid flotilla' last May. But the big issue which could draw the two powers into a military confrontation is the Israeli airstrikes on an air base in northwest Syria early Tuesday. Israel had specifically framed the eight strikes on the Abu Al-Duhur airbase in northwest Idlib province as necessary to curtail Turkey's expanding military presence in Syria. A statement indicated the following: 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. One glaring contradiction is that Israel seemed fine with the Turkish military occupation of northern Syria throughout nearly all of the prior proxy war against the Syrian government when Assad was in power. But now Turkey is cozying up to the new Sharaa/Jolani regime, even reportedly sending anti-air defenses to central Syria - and only now is Israel vehemently objecting. Washington has actually been siding with Turkey and Syria, calling the Israeli action an 'unnecessary escalation'. But Israeli leadership responded: "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." South China Morning Post has pointed out that the region is one jet shootdown away from a potential Turkey-Israel clash. "Because Israel gave no advance notice, the sudden appearance of its fighter jets on Turkish air-defense radars near the border could easily have triggered a clash," SCMP writes. For much of the past two years, President Erdogan has been increasingly vocal in condemning Netanyahu for genocide in Gaza and expansionist policies in the region. There has even been rhetoric on both sides which has come close to calling for assassinations of each's leaders. This is the first time I heard the Israeli government refer to 🇹🇷 as an “enemy state” https://t.co/9VXAzOFytG — Sinan Ciddi (@SinanCiddi) August 21, 2026 Turkey is a powerful NATO ally, while Israel is Washington's closes partner in the Middle East. US diplomats are scrambling to contain the rhetoric and creeping escalation. Turkey sees the situation as one where Israel wants to eventually push its occupation of southern Syria all the way to Damascus, while Israel has likewise warned that Turkey must not establish a permanent military presence in Syria. Both are going after the post-Assad spoils and seek to be the dominant voice over Syria matters. Tyler Durden Sun, 08/23/2026 - 07:35

Israelis says Syria air base strike motivated by alleged Turkish plans to deploy forces there Israeli defence minister Israel Katz has said that a strike on northwestern Syria’s Abu Duhur military airport was conducted due to alleged plans by Turkey to deploy troops there. Katz said in a statement that the airbase attack, which was launched overnight on Monday, "came in light of the clear intelligence received regarding Turkey’s intentions to carry out activities there that would endanger the security of the State of Israel". He added that, following discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the military, “it was agreed that before granting approval [for the strike], a direct warning would be issued to the Syrian regime at the highest levels in an attempt to prevent the move, and that is what was done". Both Syria and Turkey have rejected claims that there were plans to deploy Turkish troops to the base or to establish a permanent Turkish presence there. The US envoy for Syria and Iraq, and US ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, described the attack as an "unnecessary escalation", adding that Israel was "baiting" Turkey into a conflict for electoral gain. Katz dismissed the comments as being "full of inaccuracies and positions that contradict the position of US President Trump".

Israeli opinion article says Turkey's Nato protection does not apply to troops in Syria Submitted by MEE staff on Thu, 08/20/2026 - 19:39 The commentary was published in Israel Hayom, which is owned by the same Israeli mega-donor backing US President Donald Trump Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan walks arm in arm alongside US President Donald Trump at Etimesgut Air Base near Ankara, Turkey, on 7 July 2026 (Mustafa Kamaci/Turkish Presidency Press Office handout via AFP) Off An opinion article on Thursday in the right-wing Israeli paper Israel Hayom has suggested that any Turkish troops in Syria would be considered sitting ducks for Israel, because Nato's collective defence pact would not apply outside a member state's borders. The piece comes two days after Israeli air strikes destroyed parts of a disused air force base in northern Syria, close to the Turkish border, where Israel believed Turkish troops were on the cusp of moving in. "Before Turkish troops arrive, the target is infrastructure; once they arrive, striking it also risks Turkish casualties, retaliation, American intervention and confrontation with a NATO member. Those costs alter the calculation, not Israel's authority to decide," Shay Gal, head of government relations and strategy firm Line of State, wrote in the Israel Hayom opinion piece. Israel, he said, "has studied not only how NATO's Article 5 operates, but where it applies. The treaty protects Turkish territory; Turkish troops do not carry that territory with them onto Syrian or occupied Cypriot soil."  Israel Hayom is published by Miriam Adelson, an Israeli American who is the top donor to Trump, and, by the president's own admission, has considerable sway over his policies towards Israel.  Israeli officials have made no secret of perceiving Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government as an enemy that wants to weaken it. But under US President Donald Trump, Washington is growing closer to Ankara than ever. US ambassador to Turkey and envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said Turkey was not warned about the strikes, despite a deconfliction line with Israel in Syria established last year.  Barrack suggested in an interview with Reuters this week that communication had broken down.  "This underscores the need for a deconfliction mechanism involving Israel, Syria and Turkey. That ​is something we are actively working on to establish in order to prevent future miscommunication," he said.  The Israel Hayom article warned that Turkey's close security ties to Damascus are a threat to Israel.  "Turkey's Syrian project has moved beyond political influence," Gal wrote. "Ankara trains Syrian forces and rebuilds military institutions. In 2025 Turkish military teams examined T4, Palmyra, and Hama as sites for Turkish military depth. Israel subsequently struck those facilities." Israel, the article says, "acted before Turkish military depth matured" to become an "occupation" such as that of northern Cyprus.  'Unnecessary escalation' Barrack defended the Syrian government on Tuesday after Israeli air strikes targeted the Abu al-Duhur military air base, calling it an "unnecessary escalation".  "The Al-Sharaa government has neither adopted a predatory posture nor maintained proxy forces. It has, in fact, repeatedly indicated a preference for de-escalation with Israel," he wrote on X.  "We are deeply concerned," he added. "[This] does not advance regional stability."  'Playing with fire': Israel's Syria strike tests Turkey after Mecca defence pact Read More » The Syrian government condemned the attack and said eight strikes hit the runway of the defunct air base in the early Tuesday morning hours, local time.  The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes followed a visit by a Turkish military delegation to the airfield in recent days "as part of efforts to reactivate it".  Since former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia in December 2024, Israel has consistently targeted sites along Syria's western border and its north, focusing on degrading the Syrian air force. It has also sent ground troops into a United Nations-operated buffer zone between the two countries. The Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement late on Tuesday that Israel and Syria had agreed to maintain the security status quo, “which Syria was on the verge of breaching by permitting Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo”. Syrian officials told Middle East Eye that a Turkish technical team had been tasked with repairing the runway and control tower and that there was no military presence at the base. “The last team tasked with reconstructing the base was there two days beforehand,” one official said. The officials added that Turkey had been helping the Syrian army build bases across the country, without any specific plans directed at Israel. Ankara, they said, wants to rebuild a robust Syrian military capable of defending the country. “Turkey doesn’t take over every base,” one official added. Ankara has, in fact, closed many smaller military outposts in northern Syria and already operates several established bases in the area. Syria after Assad News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Israel issues veiled threat to Turkey following airbase strikes in Syria Israel issued a veiled threat against Turkey on Thursday, following Israeli strikes on the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in northern Syria, about 70km from the Turkish border. “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is dragging Turkey into dangerous adventures in Syria,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a social media post. Katz said Israel would not “allow any entity to threaten its security”. He added that Erdogan would be better off curbing his anti-Israel rhetoric rather than “attempting to test Israel’s resolve to defend itself”. Israel accused Syria of being on the verge of violating a security “status quo agreed with Israel” by allowing Turkish troops to deploy at the airbase. Both Turkish and Syrian officials rejected the allegation. Read more: Israel issues veiled threat to Turkey following airbase strikes in Syria

Israel issues veiled threat to Turkey following airbase strikes in Syria Submitted by Ragip Soylu on Thu, 08/20/2026 - 09:56 Katz warns Turkey over its involvement in Syria, but Ankara and Damascus reject claims of military build-up at airbase The flags of (L to R) Israel and Turkey fly behind battle tanks on display at the Yad La-Shiryon Tank Museum in Latrun, west of Jerusalem, on 18 August 2022 (Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP) Off Israel issued a veiled threat against Turkey on Thursday, following Israeli strikes on the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in northern Syria, about 70km from the Turkish border. “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is dragging Turkey into dangerous adventures in Syria,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a social media post. Katz said Israel would not “allow any entity to threaten its security”. He added that Erdogan would be better off curbing his anti-Israel rhetoric rather than “attempting to test Israel’s resolve to defend itself”. Israel accused Syria of being on the verge of violating a security “status quo agreed with Israel” by allowing Turkish troops to deploy at the airbase. Both Turkish and Syrian officials rejected the allegation. The Turkish defence ministry said in a statement that there was no Turkish military presence at the Abu al-Duhur airbase before or during Israel's "unacceptable" attack. "It is essential that Israel ceases such reckless attacks," it added. Syrian officials told Middle East Eye that a Turkish technical team had been tasked with repairing the runway and control tower, but that there was no Turkish military presence at the base. 'We will continue to support Syria’s efforts to build its infrastructure and military capabilities' - Turkish defence ministry “The last team tasked with reconstructing the base was there two days beforehand,” one official said. The officials added that Turkey had been helping the Syrian army build bases across the country, with no specific plans directed against Israel. Ankara, they said, wants to rebuild a robust Syrian military capable of defending the country. "We will continue to support Syria’s efforts to build its infrastructure and military capabilities within the framework of the 'single army' principle," the Turkish defence ministry statement said. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said he had made clear to Israel that there were no plans to establish a Turkish military base and that the site was being rehabilitated for use by the Syrian Air Force. “There was no intention to establish a Turkish base there, nor to establish a permanent Turkish military presence or deploy Turkish forces at the site,” Shaibani said in an interview with Axios on Wednesday. 'They didn't understand the message' The strikes renewed tensions between Turkey and Israel despite extensive talks last year that led to the establishment of a diplomatic hotline intended to prevent accidents. Turkish officials told MEE that Israel did not use the hotline, trying to provoke Ankara. Sources in Ankara believe Washington may have notified Turkey of the impending strikes, giving Turkish officials reassurance about why Israeli jets were approaching the Turkish border.  Why the Mecca Agreement has given the UAE-Israel alliance the jitters Read More » In a statement on Wednesday, the Turkish presidency said Israel’s actions were driven by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign ahead of the general election in October. Netanyahu said Israel had warned Syria before the strike not to allow a Turkish presence at the base. “Our message was very clear: Don’t. I guess they didn’t quite understand the message,” Netanyahu said on Wednesday. Shaibani said Israel had no legitimate justification for the bombing. Tom Barrack, the US special presidential envoy for Syria and Iraq, told Reuters after Tuesday’s strikes that Washington was working to establish a deconfliction mechanism among Israel, Turkey and Syria. Israeli media quoted a Syrian source close to the government as saying that Israeli strikes on Syria would only deepen Turkey’s involvement in the country. “We do not want any foreign forces on our land, but Israel must understand that the more it threatens Syria, the more the Syrian government will align itself with Turkey. The Israeli government is getting the opposite result of what it hopes to achieve,” the source said. Inside Israel News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

'Playing with fire': Israel's Syria strike tests Turkey after Mecca defence pact Submitted by Ragip Soylu on Wed, 08/19/2026 - 12:41 Ankara insiders see the attack as an attempt to undermine the defence pact and send a warning ahead of Erdogan’s planned Damascus visit Anti-government fighters check a Syrian army jet after they took over a military airbase near the central city of Hama, on 6 December 2024 (Omar Haj Kadour/AFP) Off Turkey has sought to downplay Tuesday’s Israeli strikes on the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in northern Syria, about 70km from the Turkish border, viewing them as an election stunt by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu has recently portrayed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani as enemies of Israel in his election campaign materials.  However, the attack - which immediately followed the signing of the Mecca defence agreement between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan - suggests that Israel may be seeking to undermine Ankara's credibility as an ally in Syria. The Syrian government condemned the attack, saying eight strikes hit the runway of the defunct airbase early in the morning. Anonymous Israeli officials initially offered contradictory explanations, first accusing Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa of backing proxy forces before the official rhetoric shifted. The Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement that Israel and Syria had agreed to maintain the security status quo, “which Syria was on the verge of breaching by permitting Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo”. Reports alleged that the strikes occurred as Turkey was preparing to take control of the base and that they were carried out shortly after a Turkish official delegation had left the site. However, Syrian officials told Middle East Eye that a Turkish technical team had been tasked with repairing the runway and control tower and that there was no military presence at the base. “The last team tasked with reconstructing the base was there two days beforehand,” one official said. The officials added that Turkey had been helping the Syrian army build bases across the country, without any specific plans directed at Israel. Ankara, they said, wants to rebuild a robust Syrian military capable of defending the country. “Turkey doesn’t take over every base,” one official added. MEE Osint Track and ACLED data shows 1,722 incidents deduplicated by place and time Ankara has, in fact, closed many smaller military outposts in northern Syria and already operates several established bases in the area. A potential Turkish presence at Abu al-Duhur would not alter the aerial balance, as some Israeli officials have claimed, because the base is already very close to the Turkish border. Turkish officials told MEE that Israel had not used the hotline established between the two countries last year to prevent military accidents, raising the risk of escalation. Thomas Barrack, the US envoy to Turkey and Syria, told an Israeli outlet that the strikes “carried a real risk of rapid escalation into a direct military confrontation between Israel and Turkey as well as Syria”. “Turkish forces were not aware that the Israeli aircraft were en route to that specific Syrian base, nor of their intended purpose, and therefore could potentially have been inclined to scramble their own jets in the belief that they themselves were under attack,” Barrack said on Wednesday. 'Playing with fire' In numerical terms, the strike was entirely consistent with Israel’s broader campaign. Incident data compiled from Telegram reports and independently coded events from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) include 1,722 verified and deduplicated records between January 2025 and 18 August 2026, showing that the campaign has not let up since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad government. Why the Mecca Agreement has given the UAE-Israel alliance the jitters Read More » Turkish officials responded to Israel’s messaging through the Turkish presidency’s communications office, which said Netanyahu intended to continue his expansionist and destabilising regional policies “ahead of elections in Israel”. In two separate interviews, Barrack said a new deconfliction mechanism involving Syria, Israel and Turkey needed to be activated. However, Israel’s failure to use the existing military hotline suggests that it wanted to provoke Turkey rather than proceed cautiously. “It is clear that they wanted to intimidate Ankara,” one Turkish official said on condition of anonymity. “They are playing with fire.” A Turkish source familiar with the operational readiness of the Turkish armed forces said Ankara had radar capabilities that could monitor Israeli aerial activity as far away as Jordan and had not been caught off guard by the strikes. The source speculated that US officials may also have warned Turkey of the impending attack. A message to Erdogan Two Ankara insiders with ties to the Turkish government, speaking anonymously, said they believed that the strikes were intended not only as an election stunt but also to undermine the credibility of Turkish support for Syria. “The Mecca Accords with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which Israel has presented as a new Sunni axis, put Netanyahu in a difficult position domestically,” one of the insiders said. 'It is a way of telling Erdogan that they won’t let him feel comfortable in Syria' - Turkish insider “So Israel is basically saying: We don’t care about the new security architecture being built by Turkey, and we will continue to strike wherever and whenever we want.” The insider added that Israel was also testing the administration of US President Donald Trump, which has backed Sharaa's government. Trump welcomed the Mecca Accords earlier this week. The second insider said Israel had now officially confirmed that it regarded Turkey’s presence in Syria as a threat. “Israel may have elections, but Turkey also has elections in 2028. These tensions could deepen and lead to a repeat of the 2015 incident in which Ankara shot down a Russian fighter jet,” the insider warned. He added that the attack could also have been an attempt to send a direct message to Erdogan. Over the weekend, Erdogan revealed that he was planning to visit Damascus later this year - his first visit since the fall of Assad. “It is a way of telling Erdogan that they won’t let him feel comfortable in Syria,” the insider said. Inside Syria Levent Kemal Ankara News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0