Israel carried out an unusual strike deep inside Syria overnight, targeting the Abu al-Duhur military airfield in the eastern Idlib countryside after a reported visit by a Turkish military delegation to the site, according to Syrian and regional reports. The attack prompted rare public criticism from U.S. special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack, who said he was “deeply concerned” and described the strikes as an “unnecessary escalation.”
Syrian military officials told Reuters that four unidentified aircraft struck the airfield, damaging runways and storage facilities. One military official and a resident living nearby said there were no fatalities. The Sabereen News agency also reported that a runway at the base had been hit.
Syrian authorities blamed Israel for the attack, which came after a prolonged period without reported IDF strikes deep inside the country. The IDF declined to comment on the reports, but a senior Israeli official later acknowledged to Fox News that Israel had carried out the operation.
The official said Jerusalem had shared “sensitive intelligence” with Washington before the strike and that the information had been passed “at the highest levels of the various agencies and bodies” in both countries.
The official also sent a message to Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, saying: “He understands that he cannot operate like the previous Syrian regime. It is possible that he did not understand what was happening, or did not know.”
Barrack, however, issued an unusually pointed condemnation. In a post, he said the “confirmed” strikes represented “an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.”
He praised al-Sharaa’s government, saying Syria under his leadership “has not adopted an aggressive posture and has not maintained proxy forces.” Instead, Barrack said, Damascus had repeatedly expressed a preference for reducing tensions with Israel.
“The United States continues to believe that restraint and diplomatic engagement are the more constructive path,” he said. “We encourage all parties to prioritize reasonable dialogue over further military incidents.”
Turkey also strongly condemned the Israeli strikes on Abu al-Duhur air base, accusing Israel of violating international law and urging a tougher international response. “We call on the international community to take a more decisive stance to end Israel’s escalating aggression against Syria,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also accused Israel of responsibility during a joint press conference with International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi.
“We condemn the Israeli aggression, which constitutes an unjustified provocation, a violation of Syrian sovereignty and a direct threat to regional and international stability,” al-Shaibani said.
The two officials reaffirmed what they described as Syria’s sovereignty and called for an immediate end to Israeli violations. Syrian officials said Damascus was committed to becoming “a pillar of stability at the regional and international level,” while accusing Israel of pursuing a policy of “aggression and chaos.”
The Syrian Foreign Ministry later issued a separate statement explicitly blaming Israel. “Syria strongly condemns the Israeli airstrikes against Abu al-Duhur airport in Idlib province,” it said, calling the attack “unjustified aggression, a violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a dangerous escalation that threatens security and stability in the region.”
(Photo: MEHMET ALI OZCAN/Anadolu via AFP, Shutterstock, Rafi Kotz, Alex Kolomoisky, Kobi Koankes, REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi, AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The ministry said it held Israel responsible for the escalation and called on the international community and the UN Security Council to condemn the strike.
Sources cited by the Qatari outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed said the Israeli attack came after a Turkish military delegation visited Abu al-Duhur to examine rehabilitation of its runway. That timing could add another layer of sensitivity to the strike amid Turkey’s growing role in postwar Syria.
Abu al-Duhur airfield lies about 27 kilometers east of Saraqib, near the village of Abu al-Duhur. Its position between the provinces of Idlib, Hama and Aleppo, close to the Syrian desert, has long given it strategic significance.
The base was considered one of northern Syria’s more prominent military installations under the previous regime. Estimates of its size vary, with some sources placing it at roughly 16 square kilometers and others at about 23 square kilometers. The facility includes several runways.
During the Syrian civil war, opposition forces captured the airfield in 2015. Forces loyal to the former Syrian regime retook it in January 2018 following a major offensive launched in late 2017 with Russian support.
The overnight attack stands out because of both its location and the diplomatic reaction it triggered. While Israel has repeatedly acted inside Syria over the years against what it described as military threats, the strike drew an unusually direct rebuke from Washington at a time when the U.S. administration is publicly urging restraint and diplomatic engagement between Jerusalem and Damascus.