A source familiar with the details told The Jerusalem Post that Israel recently provided the US with intelligence on attempts by Syria to build up its military capabilities.
Abu al-Duhur base is seen following reported Israeli strikes, Syria, August 18, 2026(photo credit: REUTERS/STRINGER)ByAVI ASHKENAZI , JERUSALEM POST STAFFAUGUST 18, 2026 10:06Updated: AUGUST 19, 2026 07:53
The Syrian government and US Envoy to Iraq and Syria Tom Barrack accused Israel on Tuesday of carrying out overnight strikes on the Abu al-Duhur military airfield in Idlib province in northwestern Syria, calling the attacks an unnecessary escalation that threatens regional stability.
On Tuesday evening, the Prime Minister’s Office released a statement on X/Twitter appearing to take credit for the strike.
“Israel 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,” the post read.
“Israel repeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel’s security. Syria chose to ignore these warnings,” it continued, adding that “Israel will not tolerate threats to its security, and would welcome a return to the status quo.”
Specifically, Israel made several attempts to reach an understanding with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa via indirect dialogue, a source in Israel’s security establishment told KAN News. Israel only took action against the Syrian base once those talks fell through, the source added.
A diplomatic source in the Syrian Foreign Ministry later denied claims that Israel tried to reach an agreement with Syria, KAN reported, citing Al Jazeera.
A Turkish source told Axios that the country had no military presence on the base.
“Israel is inventing pretexts to bomb neighboring countries and destabilize the region,” they told the outlet.
A source familiar with the details told The Jerusalem Post that Israel recently provided the US with intelligence on attempts by Syria to build up its military capabilities.
“The Syrian Arab Republic condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli airstrikes targeting Abu al-Duhur Military Airbase in Idlib Governorate, and considers them an unjustified act of aggression, a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a dangerous escalation that threatens security and stability in the region,” a statement from the Syrian Foreign Ministry read.
The strikes demonstrate Israel’s “attempts to undermine these efforts and drag the region toward further tension and instability,” it added.
Barrack echoed the Syrian statement, and noted that the US is “deeply concerned” about the airstrikes in a post to X/Twitter.
He added that the strikes “constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability,” and that Syrian President Ahmed al-Shaara’s government has “neither adopted a predatory posture nor maintained proxy forces. It has, in fact, repeatedly indicated a preference for de-escalation with Israel.”
“Enduring de-escalation agreements are built through sustained dialogues with all concerned nations and principals.”
“The United States continues to believe that restraint and engagement offer the more constructive course. We encourage all parties to prioritize logical discourse over further military incidents,” he wrote.
Some US officials believe the strike was carried out in part due to Israel’s upcoming elections, Axios reported on Tuesday.
Strikes reportedly target Syrian base’s runway
Earlier in the day, Arab media reported that four aircraft carried out the strikes, which took place about 70 km. from the Turkish border.
A correspondent for the Qatari Al Jazeera network reported that the four strikes targeted the runway of the military base, located in the eastern Idlib countryside.
The network’s correspondent in Damascus said that information about the incident remained scarce and that Syrian authorities had not issued an official response. Other Arab media outlets also reported that the strikes were carried out by “unidentified fighter jets.”
Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen network suggested that Israel was behind the attack, though the IDF has not addressed any recent strikes in Syria, and other reports in the region did not determine that the Israeli Air Force had carried out the strikes.
The Abu al-Duhur airfield is located east of the city of Idlib and dozens of kilometers from the Turkish border.
The military base changed hands several times during the Syrian civil war. In 2015, rebel forces captured it following a prolonged siege, and in early 2018 it returned to the control of forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad’s regime. In November 2024, rebel forces recaptured it during the offensive that ultimately led to the collapse of the Assad regime.
Since Assad’s fall, the area has been under the control of Syria’s new government, led by Sharaa.
As of Tuesday morning, there have been no reports of casualties from the strikes or of the extent of damage to the runway and facilities at the airfield.
Turkish FM claims Israeli strikes in Syria are a threat to stability
Turkey, on Tuesday, strongly condemned Israeli air strikes on the Abu al-Duhur air base in northwestern Syria, and called on the international community to ensure Israel is held accountable for actions which it said violated international laws.
In an August 6 joint news conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan claimed that Israel’s attacks against Syria are one of the greatest destabilizing factors for the country.
“Israel’s attacks targeting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are among the greatest threats to the country’s stability,” he said, adding that Syria’s stability was a shared responsibility for all the countries in the region.
“We call on the international community to take a more decisive stance to end Israel’s escalating aggression against Syria,” Turkey’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
At the time, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar had pushed back against Fidan’s statements on Israeli action in Syria, accusing Turkey of spending decades “violating the sovereignty of Syria while cynically lecturing others on international law.”
According to Sa’ar, Turkey occupies 5% of Syria and intends to use the space to undermine Israeli security, while Israel only holds “one-tenth of one percent of Syrian territory” in the form of a buffer zone to protect itself from terror attacks.
Amichai Stein, Tzvi Jasper, and Eli Leon contributed to this report.
