{"id":592648,"date":"2026-08-22T14:36:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T14:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/592648\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T14:36:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T14:36:15","slug":"katz-syria-strike-followed-clear-intelligence-turkey-planned-move-threatening-isra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/592648\/","title":{"rendered":"Katz: Syria strike followed \u2018clear intelligence\u2019 Turkey planned move threatening Isra"},"content":{"rendered":"

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Saturday that Israel struck the Abu al-Duhur airfield deep inside Syria earlier this week after receiving what he described as clear intelligence that Turkey intended to carry out activity there that could threaten Israeli security.<\/p>\n

In an unusual statement issued during Shabbat, Katz said the IDF had repeatedly recommended striking the airfield, which lies dozens of kilometers from the Turkish border. \u201cThe IDF recommended several times carrying out the strike at the Abu al-Duhur airfield in Syria in light of clear intelligence received regarding Turkey\u2019s intentions to conduct activities there that would endanger the security of the State of Israel,\u201d Katz said.<\/p>\n

\"\u05e0\u05ea\u05e0\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5,<\/a>\"\u05e0\u05ea\u05e0\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5,<\/p>\n

Zamir, Netanyahu, Katz <\/p>\n

(Photo: GPO)<\/p>\n

According to the defense minister, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Katz held several discussions with the IDF and other security officials before approving the operation. They decided first to issue a direct warning to senior figures in the Syrian government in an effort to prevent the suspected Turkish move, he said. Katz said the intelligence was also shared with relevant U.S. officials.<\/p>\n

When Damascus failed to respond to the warning, Katz said, Israel authorized the strike, which he described as successful. \u201cErdogan was caught with his hand in the cookie jar and was forced to retreat,\u201d Katz said, referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not allow any actor to endanger the security of the State of Israel and will act against every threat, just as we did today in southern Syria,\u201d he added. \u201cThis is the central lesson from the events of October 7.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katz also rejected claims that the strike was intended to inflame tensions ahead of Israel\u2019s elections. \u201cThe attempt by elements in the opposition and parts of the media to paint the operation in Syria in political colors stems from a combination of ignorance, a lack of understanding of Israel\u2019s security interests and a constant desire to attack the government, and deserves every condemnation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Trump administration envoy to Syria and U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack also raised the possibility that political considerations had played a role in the strike.<\/p>\n

In an interview with content creator Mario Nawfal, Barrack said one theory was that Israel had sought to provoke a Turkish military response. \u201cOne theory is that they [Israel] were just trying to bait Turkey,\u201d Barrack said. \u201cIt\u2019s a very aggressive move, but one that may play well going into the election, that\u2019s one theory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u05d0\u05e8\u05db\u05d9\u05d5\u05df<\/a>\"\u05d0\u05e8\u05db\u05d9\u05d5\u05df<\/p>\n

Syria ignored Israel\u2019s warning, and \u2018Erdogan was caught with his hand in the cookie jar\u2019 <\/p>\n

(Photo: AFP PHOTO \/ TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE \/ HANDOUT)<\/p>\n

US envoy Tom Barrack in an interview<\/p>\n

(Video: X )<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Barrack referred to Turkey\u2019s downing of a Russian military aircraft in 2015 and said that during an election period, \u201cirrational judgment\u201d could come into play.<\/p>\n

Barrack also said that \u201cIsrael occupies the Golan Heights, despite UN resolutions saying that it is Syrian territory,\u201d adding that there was an \u201cinternational consensus\u201d on the issue. The first Trump administration recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights in 2019.<\/p>\n

Katz responded sharply to Barrack on Saturday, saying the envoy\u2019s remarks did not reflect the position of President Donald Trump. \u201cBarrack\u2019s response is full of inaccuracies and positions that contradict Trump\u2019s own position regarding the Golan Heights,\u201d Katz said.<\/p>\n

Earlier Saturday, the IDF carried out another strike in Syria, targeting a vehicle in Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside. Syrian media reported that one person was wounded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe IDF carried out fire in southern Syria against a terrorist who was advancing terror plots at an advanced stage of preparation,\u201d the military said. \u201cThe terrorist\u2019s activity posed an immediate threat to our forces. The IDF will continue to act to remove any threat to IDF troops and the citizens of the State of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

First published: 16:08, 08.22.26 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Defense Minister Israel Katz said Saturday that Israel struck the Abu al-Duhur airfield deep inside Syria earlier this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":592649,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":["post-592648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=592648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592648\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}