A Turkish delegation had visited an air base in northern Syria the day before it was hit by Israeli airstrikes, Syrian officials said.
The Israeli strikes hit the Abu Duhur base early Tuesday (August 18, 2026), hours after the delegation had left, causing damage but no casualties. Because they were not authorised to comment publicly said the Turkish delegation had visited the air base in the northwestern province of Idlib on Monday (August 17, 2026) to review rehabilitation work underway at the facility, two Syrian officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that Israel had attacked the base because Syria was “on the verge of breaching” an agreed-upon “status quo in security matters” by allowing Turkish troops to deploy there.
But Turkiye’s communications directorate accused Netanyahu of making “untenable allegations … intended to legitimise Israel’s unlawful airstrikes targeting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It alleged that Netanyahu aimed “to pursue expansionist and destabilising policies in the region ahead of the elections in Israel. The Abu Duhur air base lies at a strategic location near the borders between Idlib, Aleppo and Hama provinces. Israel, meanwhile, has remained suspicious of the new authorities in Damascus, led by former Islamist insurgents. Turkiye and Israel once were close allies, but the relationship has been marked by deep frictions under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s more than two-decade rule, despite brief periods of reconciliation. Erdogan is an outspoken critic of Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians, while Israel has been angered by Erdogan’s support for the Hamas militant group. The fall of Assad’s government further strained their relations as the two rivals sought to curb each other’s influence in the neighbouring country, with some analysts fearing that they could be headed toward a proxy war.
Turkish officials on Wednesday (August 19, 2026) did not comment on the reported presence of a Turkish military delegation. During the time of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted by a rebel offensive in December 2024, MiG-23 and MiG-21 fighter jets and L-39 aircraft operated out of the base.
Turkiye “will resolutely continue to cooperate with the Syrian Government on a legitimate basis for the establishment of peace, stability, and prosperity in Syria, and will never allow the destabilisation of Syria,” it said. Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has said repeatedly that he does not want a conflict with Israel. Earlier reporting noted: Turkey slams Israel’s ‘untenable’ claims after strikes on Syrian base Turkey firmly rejected on Wednesday (August 19, 2026) what it called “untenable allegations” by Israel regarding its military position in Syria, after Israel bombed a Syrian air base near the Turkish border and said Syria was on the verge of permitting Turkish troops to deploy there. Earlier reporting noted: In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said late on Tuesday (August 18, 2026) that Syria was on the verge of violating a “status quo agreed with Israel in security matters” by allowing Turkish troops to deploy at the airbase, adding that such a deployment would threaten Israel’s security and that it would not tolerate this. Earlier reporting noted: In response, Turkey’s presidency said the “imputations” from Mr. Netanyahu’s office stemmed from his intention to pursue “expansionist and destabilising policies” ahead of elections in Israel, adding that lasting regional peace could only be achieved if Israel respected international law and abandoned its “aggressive and coercive policies”.
