Syria, US, Jordan Accuse Israel of 'Unnecessary Escalation' in Idlib Air Strikes

Syria, the United States and Jordan have accused Israel of launching air strikes on an airbase in Idlib in northwestern Syria with the US envoy for the region condemning the “unnecessary escalation”. There was no immediate comment from Israel on the allegations. Eight air strikes hit the Abu al-Duhur military base in Idlib’s eastern countryside early on Tuesday, causing damage and no casualties, Syrian state media reported. It is the first attack on the airbase since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024. The US special envoy for Syria and Iraq said the Israeli air strikes constitute an “unnecessary escalation” that does not advance regional stability. In a statement, Ambassador Tom Barrack said the US was deeply concerned by the attack and added that Washington was encouraging all parties to prioritise “logical discourse” over further military incidents. The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said it “condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli air strikes that targeted Abu al-Duhur military airport”. “Syria affirms that it will continue to defend its rights and national interests by legitimate means guaranteed by international laws and norms.” Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates also condemned the air strikes and accused Israel of responsibility. “We consider these strikes an unjustified act of aggression, a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a blatant breach of international law and the UN Charter,” the ministry said. Reporting from Damascus, Al Jazeera correspondent Sohaib al-Khalaf said the nature of the attack resembles previous Israeli attacks on Syrian military sites and installations that have aimed to undermine the Syrian military’s capabilities. Abu al-Duhur airbase suffered extensive destruction during the 14 years of the Syrian war. Opposition forces took control of it in 2015 after fighting with government forces. In 2019, it was recaptured by forces loyal to al-Assad, but the base was not functional due to significant damage it sustained throughout the war. Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett, reporting from Saraqeb, 30km northwest of Abu al-Duhur, noted that Israel has increased attacks on Syrian military sites since al-Assad fled the country. “There is a continuing Israeli campaign to degrade Syrian military capabilities that began under the Assad regime, but it rapidly escalated immediately after its fall,” she said. “Israel systematically bombed the Syrian air force basically out of existence, and in the last year and a half, there has been an effort to rebuild some of that air capacity,” she added.