Aircraft targeted the Abu al-Duhur airport in Idlib province early on Tuesday [Getty]
Israeli warplanes struck a military airport in northwestern Syria early on Tuesday, hours after a Turkish military delegation visited the site to begin preparations to rehabilitate its runways, in an attack that appeared to send a message to Ankara over its role in rebuilding Syria’s military capabilities.
The strikes on Abu al-Duhur military airport, in the eastern countryside of Syria’s Idlib province, drew condemnation from Damascus and a rare public rebuke from Washington, with US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack describing the attack as an “unnecessary escalation” that did not serve regional stability.
The attack marked the first on the site since the fall of the Assad regime and the first Israeli airstrike in Syria since March.
A source in the Syrian Ministry of Defence told The New Arab that Israeli aircraft carried out the attack. Israel has not claimed responsibility.
The source said two strikes hit the airport’s runway at around 2:50 AM local time, causing damage but no injuries or fatalities.
Syrian state-run Al-Ekhbariya, citing a military source, reported that warplanes carried out a total of eight strikes on the airport, damaging its runways. Al Jazeera separately reported four strikes on the runway.
Abu al-Duhur is the second-largest military airport in northern Syria. The sprawling facility covers around eight square kilometres and has 22 runways.
The timing of the attack, coming just hours after Turkish military officials inspected the site, has raised questions over whether Israel was seeking to warn Ankara against helping Syria rebuild its air force.
Informed sources told The New Arab that a Turkish military delegation had visited the airport on Monday as part of initial plans to rehabilitate its runways, stressing that the project remained in its early stages.
Several Turkish vehicles were still on the airport premises at the time, the sources said, while a reconnaissance aircraft was also operating in the area.
Following the Turkish delegation’s visit on Monday, an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft flew over the military airport later that evening and into the early hours of Tuesday, according to the sources. The strikes followed around dawn.
The sequence suggests Israel had been closely monitoring activity at the airport ahead of the attack, with the timing pointing to a possible message to Turkey as Ankara moves to assist Syria in rebuilding its military and air capabilities.
US voices ‘deep concern’ over Israeli strikes
In Washington’s first reaction to the attack, US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack expressed “deep concern” over the confirmed Israeli airstrikes on Abu al-Duhur, calling them an “unnecessary escalation” that did not serve regional stability.
Barrack pointed to the approach taken by the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, saying Damascus “has not adopted a hostile posture nor maintained proxy forces, but has repeatedly demonstrated a preference for de-escalation with Israel”.
He also emphasised Washington’s efforts to reduce tensions between the two countries.
The United States, Barrack said, “has in the past, and will continue in the future, to host discussions to encourage a diplomatic rhythm rather than military frustration for both countries”.
Sustainable de-escalation agreements, he added, are built through continued dialogue with all relevant states and actors, saying Washington continues to believe that “restraint and engagement represent the most constructive path”.
Barrack called on all sides to prioritise “reasoned dialogue” over further military incidents.
His comments came as Damascus issued its own sharply worded condemnation, describing the Israeli attack as an “unjustified aggression” and a flagrant violation of Syrian sovereignty.
Syria’s Foreign Ministry said the strikes represented “a dangerous escalation that threatens security and stability in the region”.
It said the continued Israeli attacks since the fall of Bashar al-Assad on 8 December 2024 were taking place despite Syria exercising restraint and seeking to consolidate stability and avoid escalation.
The ministry accused Israel of attempting to undermine those efforts and “drag the region towards further tension and instability”.
Damascus called on the international community and UN Security Council to clearly condemn the attack and take a “firm position towards repeated Israeli violations of Syrian sovereignty”.
Syria, it added, would continue to defend its rights and national interests through legitimate means permitted under international law.
During Syria’s civil war, opposition forces captured Abu al-Duhur in September 2015. The Assad regime regained control of the airport in 2018 and held it until Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December 2024.
Israel targets Syria’s military capabilities
Since the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has stepped up its raids and incursions into Syria, while targeting much of the country’s remaining military infrastructure.
Israeli attacks have struck Syrian air-defence systems, long- and medium-range missiles, weapons and missile depots, scientific research centres and other military facilities.
Israeli strikes have also hit several key Syrian airfields and military installations, including Hama airport, as well as Tiyas, Shayrat, Palmyra, Dumayr and Mezzeh airfields.
Syria’s naval fleets at the ports of Latakia and Tartus have also been targeted, even as the country’s new authorities have begun taking steps to rebuild the military and its air capabilities.
Last month, Syrian state media reported that Israeli forces had carried out a fresh incursion into southern Syria, despite a visiting UN chief demanding an end to Israeli violations.
The Syrian state news agency SANA said Israeli soldiers, accompanied by three military vehicles and a bulldozer, had established a checkpoint in al-Aarada. Israeli forces also dropped leaflets in nearby towns warning residents against closing roads.
The strikes on Abu al-Duhur mark the first time the airport has been targeted since the fall of the Assad regime.
