Israel Bombs Syrian Airbase to Block Turkey, Drawing US Rebuke
Israel carried out eight air strikes on the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Syria’s Idlib province, saying the operation was intended to stop Turkey deploying troops there; Syrian media reported no casualties. It was Israel’s first strike on Syrian government assets since March. Washington broke publicly with its ally, its envoy calling the raids “an unnecessary escalation”. Turkey condemned what it called Israel’s “expansionist and destabilising policies”.
The strikes open a perilous new front, setting Israel against Turkey, a NATO member with the alliance’s second-largest army, over the future of post-war Syria. Israel casts the move as pre-emption against a Turkish foothold on its northern flank; Ankara sees a bid to legitimise unlawful bombing and keep Syria weak and divided. The rare American rebuke is the more striking element, suggesting Washington’s patience with Israeli unilateralism is fraying even as it shields it elsewhere. For a Syrian government still finding its feet after the fall of Assad, becoming the arena for an Israel-Turkey contest is the last thing it needs. Watch whether Turkey presses ahead with any deployment and how far the US goes beyond words.