Syrian media reported Saturday that an Israeli drone struck a vehicle near the village of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside, wounding one person. The IDF has not confirmed carrying out the attack.
The report comes during a week of sharply heightened tensions following an unusual Israeli strike on Syrian territory that damaged the Abu al-Duhur military airfield in Idlib, including runways and other facilities.
IDF forces in Beit Jinn
(Photo: IDF)
Israel said that operation was carried out after receiving information that Turkey intended to deploy forces at the site.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the strike this week, warning that Israel would not tolerate a Turkish military presence expanding farther south in Syria.
“We will not tolerate Turkish military entrenchment moving south, because it threatens us, and we made that clear in general,” Netanyahu said. “We saw that Turkey intended to establish itself at an airfield south of its line, near Aleppo, and we sent a message: Don’t. The message was delivered, but apparently they didn’t hear it. So we made sure they understood.”
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, did not rule out the possibility that Israel’s unusual strike this week was intended to provoke a Turkish military response.
In an interview with content creator Mario Nawfal, Barrack said: “One theory is they simply tried to bait Turkey. It’s a very aggressive move, but one that might play well going into elections. That’s one theory.”
Barrack also referred to Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane in 2015 and said that election periods can sometimes produce “irrational judgment.”
The latest reports also come as relations between Israel and Turkey continue to deteriorate. On Friday, Ankara asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice for Netanyahu over what Turkey describes as “genocide” in connection with the Gaza flotilla affair.
Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said the request followed an arrest warrant issued on July 14 and was part of ongoing legal proceedings in Turkey.