Israeli fighter jets bombed a military base in northern Syria. Turkish troops near the base were alarmed by the Israeli attack.
“Turkish forces were not aware that the Israeli aircraft were en route to that specific Syrian base, nor of their intended purpose, and therefore could potentially have been inclined to scramble their own jets in the belief that they themselves were under attack,” US Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. “The events of yesterday were serious and worrisome. However, we are relieved that no human life was harmed and that the situation did not escalate.”
On Thursday, Turkey said it did not have troops at the base attacked by Israel, but warned about Tel Aviv’s unchecked aggression against its neighbors. “We state that there was no Turkish military delegation at the Abu al-Duhur airbase before or during the attack carried out by Israel against that base in Syria,” the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
It added that the international community cannot allow a “perception” to take hold that Israeli military aggression against neighboring countries is “routine and acceptable.”
Syria’s Foreign Ministry called the strike “unjustified aggression” and a “dangerous escalation.”
On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested that the strike was intended as a message to Turkey. “We will not tolerate a Turkish military establishment in Syria that threatens Israel,” the Israeli leader posted on X. “We made the message clear: Don’t. Apparently they didn’t hear it well enough, so we made sure they understood it better.”
On Thursday, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter claimed the attack was meant to prevent a major Turkish military buildup in Syria. “We are not seeking escalation or war with either Turkey or Syria. But a red line was crossed,” he told The Jerusalem Post. “Those who needed to be exposed to the intelligence received it. Those who needed to know what was coming knew. We made clear that this was a violation of our understandings – and that is why Israel acted as it did.”
Turkey initially established a military presence in Idlib, Syria, to support Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). In November 2024, HTS, led by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, defeated the forces loyal to Bashir al-Assad, and the Syrian President was forced to flee the country.
At the time, Israel celebrated its role in helping the Syrian opposition to overthrow Assad. However, Tel Aviv also views Jolani, a former al-Qaeda leader, as a threat, while Ankara sees the new Syrian government as an ally.
Tensions have increased between Israel and Turkey since the start of the war against Iran. Tel Aviv has warned that Ankara will replace Tehran as the new enemy of the Jewish State in the region.
On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tel Aviv would not allow Turkish forces to expand their presence in Syria. “[Turkish President Erdogan] is dragging Turkey into dangerous adventures in Syria. Israel will not allow any actor to threaten its security.” He added, “It would be better for Erdoğan to continue his detached-from-reality, fanciful rhetoric against Israel in the Turkish Grand National Assembly than to attempt to test Israel’s determination to defend itself.”
