Prime Minister Netanyahu emphasized Israel’s stance against Turkish forces near its borders, asserting that such deployments threaten its security
Photo : AP
Israel on Wednesday told the Trump administration that its recent strike on a Syrian airbase was intended to prevent a Turkish military buildup at the site, according to US and Israeli officials quoted by Axios. The unusual attack has heightened tensions between three countries that are all partners of the United States, as the Trump administration seeks to prevent further escalation in the region.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the strike, asserting that Turkey — a NATO ally of the US that is one of Israel’s top regional adversaries — was intent on deploying forces there. “We will not tolerate a Turkish military buildup that is going down south and threatens us. We clarified that in general,” Netanyahu said in a video released by his Likud party. “Then we saw that there is a Turkish intention to deploy in an air base south of its line, close to Aleppo, and we conveyed a message.”
The strike has also put the US in a difficult position. President Donald Trump has described his approach to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government as a foreign policy achievement and has close ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Israel remains a close US ally, although relations between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have become more strained in recent months.
The attack took place early on Tuesday morning. At least eight bombs hit the runways and several hangars at the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northern Syria, about 45 miles (72km) from the Turkish border, according to US and Israeli officials.
The strike damaged runways that had recently been rebuilt. No casualties were reported. Israel initially did not acknowledge responsibility for the attack. An Israeli military censor also imposed a gag order on reports confirming that the Israel Defense Forces had carried out the strike.
US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who is also the US envoy for Syria, later confirmed Israel was responsible in a post on X. Barrack said the Trump administration was “deeply concerned” about the attack and described it as “an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability”.
The Syrian and Turkish governments also condemned the strike.
About 20 hours after the attack, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office claimed responsibility. It said Syria “was on the verge of breaching” an agreement with Israel to maintain the security status quo “by permitting Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo”.
“Israel repeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel’s security. Syria chose to ignore these warnings. Israel will not tolerate threats to its security, and would welcome a return to the status quo,” the statement said.
A source familiar with the matter told Axios that the Syrian government had been aware of Israel’s concerns about the airbase. It had sent messages to Israeli officials explaining why the runway was being rebuilt and stressing that it did not have hostile intentions, the source said.
A Turkish official rejected Israel’s justification. “There was no Turkish presence at the airbase. Israel is inventing pretexts to bomb neighboring countries and destabilize the region,” the official said.
Israeli officials informed the White House about the planned attack in advance, according to US and Israeli officials. The notification came about three hours before Trump spoke by phone with President Erdoğan. It is not clear whether the airbase was discussed during that conversation.
