Israel carried out eight strikes on the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in Idlib province on Tuesday, targeting a base that Turkey had been helping to rehabilitate.

According to Syrian broadcaster Al-Ikhbariya, citing a military source, the strikes hit the airbase runway at dawn and caused no casualties. The Israeli military did not comment.

The site has drawn particular attention from Ankara. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, cited by AP, Turkey was involved in restoring the base, and a Turkish military delegation had recently visited the site.

Turkey, a NATO member, is the main foreign backer of Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government and is helping Damascus rebuild its military. Israel is wary both of Turkey’s growing military footprint in Syria and of the new Syrian leadership, headed by a former jihadist commander who rose to power at the head of an Islamist coalition.

The strike comes just days after Israel’s Channel 13 reported that Israel wanted to retain the ability to carry out further strikes in Syria despite Turkey’s expanding presence, but that Donald Trump had blocked an Israeli request.

There is a recent precedent. In April 2025, Israel also struck the T4, Palmyra and Hama airbases after Turkish teams had inspected them for a possible deployment.

This time, Washington publicly criticised the operation. US envoy Tom Barrack described the strikes as an “unnecessary escalation” and called for restraint.

Despite growing mistrust, Ankara and Tel Aviv maintain technical contacts aimed at preventing military operations in Syria from escalating into a direct confrontation.