DUBAI: Israel’s airstrike on the Abu Al-Duhur military airport in Syria’s Idlib province on Tuesday was not just an attack on Syrian military infrastructure. Analysts believe it was a calculated message to the post-Assad leadership in Damascus and its Turkish allies.
The strike, which damaged the runway but caused no casualties, immediately drew condemnation from Damascus, Ankara and Washington.
US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack called it “an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability,” adding that it “underscores the need for a deconfliction mechanism involving Israel, Syria and Turkiye.”
The Syrian Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, described it as an “unjustified act of military aggression.”
Israel later confirmed the strike, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Syria was on the verge of violating an agreed security status quo by allowing Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo, despite repeated Israeli warnings.
