Israeli Strikes Damage Runway at Airbase in Northwestern Syria

Israeli airstrikes hit an airbase in northwestern Syria early Tuesday, causing material damage but no casualties, according to Syrian state television.

State TV reported that eight strikes hit the runway of the Abu Duhur airbase in Idlib province. It provided no further details about the extent of the damage.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes. Turkish officials also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said foreign fighters had previously been based at the airbase but were recently asked to leave.

The Observatory also said Turkey, a major supporter of Syria’s government, has been rehabilitating the airbase, which had been out of service for years during Syria’s devastating civil war.

Tensions between Israel and Turkey over Syria have increased since the fall of President Bashar Assad’s government in December 2024, when insurgents entered Damascus and took control of the capital.

Following Assad’s ouster, Israel carried out hundreds of airstrikes across Syria, mainly targeting and destroying military assets belonging to the Syrian army to prevent them from falling into the hands of the country’s new authorities.

Last year, an Israeli drone strike on a southern suburb of Damascus killed eight Syrian soldiers and wounded several others.

Syria’s new authorities have said they do not want a conflict with Israel. However, Israel remains suspicious of the new government, which is led by former Islamist insurgents.