Israel Bombs Abu al-Duhur Airport, Netanyahu Links Attack to Turkish Military Base

Israel strikes Abu al-Duhur

Israel took about 20 hours to acknowledge its bombing of Abu al-Dhuhur Airport in Syria, with the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later framing the attack as a response to Turkish influence and the establishment of a military base that “threatens” Israeli national security, which Turkey rejected.

The attack targeted Abu al-Duhur air base in northern Syria, and U.S. special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said it represented an “unnecessary escalation.”

Israeli security systems, as described by Channel 13, were reported to be worried about two main issues related to Turkey, and a senior Israeli army officer was quoted saying, “The last thing we want is a direct war with Turkey. We have enough fronts in the Middle East.”

Channel 13 also reported that Israel tried to avoid direct confrontation with Turkey by carrying out the strike at night, while Israeli analyst Ron Ben Yishai of Yedioth Ahronoth argued the strike aimed to clarify boundaries for Erdogan and the She’ar after the April 2025 strike on the “T-4” airbase.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office later claimed responsibility for the strike about 20 hours after it occurred, alleging Syria was “on the verge of violating an agreement with Israel” by allowing Turkish forces to deploy at an air base near Aleppo.

Washington anger, Turkish denial

American officials told Axios that the Israeli strike on Abu al-Duhur air base angered the White House, and Axios reported that Israel told Washington the strike aimed to “prevent the reinforcement of Turkish military presence at the site.”

Axios also reported that U.S. ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack later revealed on X that Israel was the perpetrator, describing the strike as an “unnecessary escalation that does not serve regional stability.”

A Turkish official denied the Israeli account, asserting, “There was no Turkish presence at the air base. Israel is fabricating pretexts to strike neighboring countries and destabilize the region.”

In parallel, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the strikes as “an unprovoked aggression, a flagrant violation of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a dangerous escalation that threatens security and stability in the region.”

Al-Jazeera Net reported that Barrack said the strike portended a direct military confrontation between Israel and Turkey, quoting him: “We were one step away yesterday from a direct military confrontation between Turkey and Israel.”

Runway damage, next risks

The attack occurred early Tuesday morning and struck at least eight runway slabs and several aircraft hangars at Abu al-Duhur air base, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) from the Turkish border, with no casualties reported, according to American and Israeli sources cited by Axios. Syrian official media and sources cited by AFP said the runway was hit with eight strikes, causing material damage to the airbase infrastructure “without any casualties,” while the airport had been out of service since 2012, according to the same report. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said Syria was about to breach a status quo by allowing Turkish forces to deploy at an air base near Aleppo, and it added that Israel “repeatedly warned” Damascus that such deployment would threaten its security.

Barrack urged all parties to “prioritize rational dialogue over further military incidents,” while Al-Jazeera Net reported that Washington was working on a mechanism to avoid a collision between Israel, Turkey, and Syria after Ankara did not receive prior notice. The dispute also fed into questions about what Abu al-Duhur could become, with Reuters cited in one report saying the site was used after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime as a center to train the new Syrian army, and Turkey working on rehabilitating the base after years of being out of service.