{"id":589139,"date":"2026-08-19T04:52:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T04:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/589139\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T04:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T04:52:14","slug":"israel-confirms-striking-syrian-air-base-saying-turkey-was-planning-to-deploy-forces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/589139\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel confirms striking Syrian air base, saying Turkey was planning to deploy forces"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel confirmed late Tuesday that it was behind overnight airstrikes against a Syrian military airport<\/a>, where it claimed Turkey was planning to deploy forces.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsrael 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,\u201d said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s office in an English-language statement.<\/p>\n

The Prime Minister\u2019s Office said Israel \u201crepeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel\u2019s security.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSyria chose to ignore these warnings,\u201d Netanyahu\u2019s office said, adding that Israel \u201cwill not tolerate threats to its security, and would welcome a return to the status quo.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, Ankara decried \u201cthe frivolous allegations put forward by the Israeli Prime Minister\u2019s Office,\u201d according to a Turkish government statement quoted by the Anadolu state news agency, saying they \u201caim to legitimize Israel\u2019s unlawful airstrikes targeting Syria\u2019s sovereignty and territorial integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

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An unnamed Turkish official also\u00a0denied<\/a> to Axios that Ankara was seeking to establish a military presence at the Abu Duhur air base in Idlib province.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no Turkish presence at the airbase. Israel is inventing pretexts to bomb neighboring countries and destabilize the region,\u201d the official asserted.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tTurkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (2nd L) posing for a photograph next to Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (L), Syrian Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra (2nd R) and Head of Syrian Intelligence Hussein al-Salama during a meeting in Ankara, Turkey, on August 13, 2025. (HANDOUT \/ TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

Deconfliction mechanism<\/p>\n

The attack marked extraordinary defiance by Israel of the United States, which has sought to support Syria\u2019s new government led by a former jihadist allied with Turkey.\u00a0US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack criticized the strikes as an \u201cunnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.\u201d<\/p>\n

An Israeli security source cited by the Kan public broadcaster said Israel had intelligence it shared with the US on Turkish efforts to deploy troops at the base, and that the strikes were only carried out after attempts to dialogue with Syria failed. The report did not specify how the US responded to the Israeli intelligence.<\/p>\n

Barrack, a business friend of US President Donald Trump who is also ambassador to Turkey, later said the United States was working to establish a deconfliction mechanism among Israel, Turkey and Syria.<\/p>\n

According to Barrack, Turkey was not warned about the Israeli strikes, \u201cand consequently observed the aircraft heading north toward its territory and therefore could have reasonably prepared its own response,\u201d referring to possible Turkish military reaction.<\/p>\n

\u201cThankfully, calm heads were able to prevent the situation from deteriorating further,\u201d Barrack told Reuters in a phone interview.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tUS Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks in a panel during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, in Antalya, southern Turkey, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP\/Riza Ozel)<\/p>\n

Turkey, which has NATO\u2019s second-largest army and signed a mutual defense pact this month with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, has become one of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa\u2019s main allies.<\/p>\n

Ankara has been training Syria\u2019s army, helping it rebuild state institutions and infrastructure and providing military and diplomatic support.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s strikes on the Syrian airbase \u201creflected a perception \u2014 whether accurate or misplaced \u2014 that T\u00fcrkiye might in the near future increase its presence at that base,\u201d Barrack said, using the Turkish name for Turkey.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis underscores the need for a deconfliction mechanism involving Israel, Syria and T\u00fcrkiye. That is something we are actively working on to establish in order to prevent future miscommunication,\u201d he said. \u201cThe priority now is to lower tensions and allow space for a more measured approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

The airbase, about 70 kilometers (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\u2019s 14-year civil war between forces loyal to former president Bashar al-Assad and opposition factions.<\/p>\n

Syria\u2019s state-run Ekhbariya television, citing a military source, said on Tuesday that Israel carried out eight airstrikes on the base\u2019s runway and storage facilities. A separate military source and a civilian who lives near the base said there were no casualties.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tA Syrian army checkpoint stands abandoned near the Abu al-Duhur military airport, east of Idlib, after Syrian opposition fighters took control of the area on December 7, 2024. (AP\/Omar Albam)<\/p>\n

Israel has for years struck targets in Syria to curb what it says is Iranian influence and to prevent weapons from reaching Hezbollah in Lebanon.<\/p>\n

Since Assad\u2019s overthrow in 2024, it has also viewed Syria\u2019s new rulers with suspicion and continued military operations in the country, most recently attacking government sites in southern and central Syria in March.<\/p>\n

\u2018Kinetic means of communication\u2019<\/p>\n

Syria and Israel have held several rounds of de-escalation and border discussions since rebel forces under Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa\u2019s command toppled Assad, but no agreement has been reached.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn incident of the kind that occurred this morning demonstrates the need to intensify these efforts and expand the process,\u201d Barrack said.<\/p>\n

The envoy said the US already facilitates an information-sharing and dialogue mechanism among the parties.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is required is a more robust architecture with greater resources committed to it. Investing in such mechanisms is far less costly than relying on kinetic means of communication that can run into the hundreds of millions of dollars,\u201d he said, referring to military force.<\/p>\n

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.<\/p>\n


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