The strike marked extraordinary defiance by Israel of the United States, which has sought to support Syria’s new government led by a former jihadist allied with Turkey.
“Israel and Syria agreed to a status quo in security matters, which Syria was on the verge of breaching by permitting Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement after a day of official silence by Israel.
“Israel repeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel’s security. Syria chose to ignore these warnings,” said the statement, which stopped short of acknowledging Israeli responsibility.
Turkey was the first Muslim-majority nation to recognise Israel and is a NATO ally of the United States.
But Israel has tense relations with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has vociferously denounced Israel, especially over its devastating offensive in Gaza.
The Turkish government slammed Israel’s remarks in a statement on Wednesday quoted by the Anadolu state news agency.
“The frivolous allegations put forward by the Israeli Prime Minister’s office aim to legitimise Israel’s unlawful airstrikes targeting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” it said.
US envoy for Syria Tom Barrack earlier confirmed that Israel carried out the strikes on the Abu Duhur air base in Idlib province.
The attacks “constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability”, Barrack, a business friend of President Donald Trump who is also ambassador to Turkey, wrote on X.
“We encourage all parties to prioritise logical discourse over further military incidents,” he said.
