Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Turkey will not be permitted to establish a military base inside neighboring Syria.
Speaking in a radio interview on Wednesday, Netanyahu implicitly acknowledged that Israeli forces bombed the Abu al-Duhur airbase near Aleppo on Tuesday. The airfield lies approximately 70 kilometers from the Syrian-Turkish border.
Netanyahu said Israel had previously sent warnings regarding the presence of Turkish forces at the airfield near Aleppo. He noted that those warnings were not heeded, prompting Israel to ensure the position was made clear.
General Eyal Zamir, chief of the general staff of national defense of Israel, backed the prime minister's position. He warned that the Israeli army will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves along Syria's borders.
Warnings to Damascus and Turkish denial
In a formal statement released on Tuesday, the Israeli prime minister's office revealed that Israel had repeatedly warned Syria about military developments on its territory. The statement noted that Damascus was warned that any deployment of Turkish troops would pose a direct security threat to Israel, but Syrian authorities ignored the warnings.
Netanyahu emphasized during his radio interview that Israel would not tolerate any southward movement of Turkish military forces, describing any such movement as an unacceptable threat to national security.
Turkey, which has maintained strained diplomatic relations with Israel for several years, rejected the allegations. Turkish officials denied that Ankara had any plans to deploy military troops into Syria.
Regional strikes and international reaction
Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes across Syria since an alliance of Islamist groups ousted the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Aleppo, located in northern Syria, has frequently seen military activity during the ongoing transition.
In addition to air operations, Israel deployed military forces into a United Nations monitored buffer zone on the Golan Heights. Israeli leadership described the move as creating a temporary security zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces, stating that its troops do not intend to withdraw.
The Golan Heights, a strategic plateau in southwestern Asia, has been a key flashpoint in regional security since the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, when the UN established a peacekeeper-monitored disengagement zone.
The latest Israeli air strikes drew criticism from Washington. Tom Barrack, the United States ambassador to Turkey and White House special envoy to Syria, condemned the bombing raid and accused Israel of engaging in unnecessary escalation.
