Air strike on military airfield: Netanyahu warns Türkiye

An air strike on a military airfield in northwest Syria is causing new tensions between Turkey and Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a podcast on Wednesday that it was a "clear warning" to Turkey. Netanyahu thereby acknowledged Israeli authorship of the attacks, which had not previously been officially confirmed.

Israel's army bombed an abandoned military airfield in northwest Syria on Tuesday. According to Syrian reports, no one was killed in the attack on the Abu al-Duhur airfield in Idlib province.

The affected military airfield has been out of operation since 2012 and is currently guarded by Defense Ministry units, as the AFP news agency learned from security circles in Syria. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the airfield is currently being repaired with Turkish help. The information could not initially be independently verified.

According to the Observatory, a Turkish delegation was said to have been in the area shortly before the attack. Israel accuses Turkey of wanting to expand its presence in the region.

Israel tightens its tone towards Ankara

"We will not tolerate a Turkish military presence expanding southward, as this represents a threat to us," Netanyahu said. A warning was initially issued "in general form" against a Turkish military presence at an airfield near Aleppo, which is not far from the Turkish border. "Apparently they didn't hear that message, so we made sure they understood it more clearly," he said.

Netanyahu's office had previously announced that Israel would not tolerate a "threat" from a Turkish presence. Israel had "repeatedly warned Syria against Turkish military action," it said. Such an operation would “represent a threat to Israel’s security.” However, Damascus "chose to ignore these warnings."

US ambassador distances himself

Ankara received support from the US Ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack. Barrack, who is also the US special envoy for Syria, blamed Israel for the attack and condemned it. The Syrian interim government also condemned the attack and called it an “unjustified act of aggression.”