Report: Israeli Airstrikes Hit Syrian Airbase as Turkey Expands Regional Military Footprint
The strike came “after a reported visit by a Turkish military delegation to the site.”
Israeli fighter jets allegedly struck an airbase in northern Syria early Tuesday, Arab media reports claim. Eight airstrikes were reported at Syria’s Abu Duhur air base near the Turkish border. No casualties were reported from the strike.
The strike occurred shortly after a group of Turkish military officials inspected the site. “Israel carried out an unusual strike deep inside Syria overnight, targeting the Abu al-Duhur military airfield in the eastern Idlib countryside after a reported visit by a Turkish military delegation to the site,” Israel’s Ynetnews reported, citing Arab and Syrian media.
Update: Israel and Syria reached an agreement to prevent a Turkish military takeover of Syrian bases, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday night.
The Prime Minister's Office:
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.Israel repeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to…
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) August 18, 2026
The Israeli government and military have not commented on the incident.
Reports from Syria: The Abu Al Duhur military base in Idlib, reportedly struck by Israel, is still burning with secondary explosions reported hours later. pic.twitter.com/JTjQLr61fv
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) August 18, 2026
Turkey wants to restore the Syrian base for the forward-deployment of its air force, reports suggest. Citing the UK-based organization, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Associated Press reported Tuesday that “Turkey, which is a main backer of Syria’s government, has been rehabilitating the air base that had been out of service for years during Syria’s conflict.”
Since former Al Qaeda operative Ahmed al-Sharaa took power in December 2024, Turkey has been eyeing military and air force bases across the war-torn Syria. Al-Sharaa and his jihadist fighters owe their success in the Syrian civil war to Erdogan’s regime’s military and material support.
Reuters report:
Syria’s state-run Ekhbariya, citing a military source, said Israel carried out eight airstrikes targeting the runway and storage facilities at the Abu al-Duhur base, while a separate military source and a civilian who lives near the base said there were no casualties. The Israeli military declined to comment on the strikes while the Syrian defence ministry did not respond. (…)
The base, about 70 km (43.5 miles) from the Turkish border, has been out of service as a dedicated military airfield since 2013 and changed hands several times during Syria’s 14-year civil war between forces loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad and opposition factions.
Israel has repeatedly struck Syrian forces since Assad was ousted in 2024, viewing the country’s new rulers with deep suspicion due to their Islamist militant roots despite President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s warm ties with the West. (…)
The strikes follow a heightening of security tensions between Israel and Turkey and increasingly sharp rhetoric between the two countries over Syria. (…)
Syria conducted air exercises in the north of the country in early August using Russian-made MiG-21 fighter jets, the first such exercises since Assad’s ouster.
Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported on August 11 that security officials had detected signs of Syria accelerating efforts to rebuild its air force, including the recruitment of new pilots, flight training and a first exercise involving fighter aircraft. Kan quoted a security source as saying Israel had shared its concerns with the United States.
🚨Reports of IDF warplanes attacking the Abu al-Duhur air base in eastern Idlib, Syria, in four airstrikes last night, targeting the runway.
The base is home to the resurgent Syrian Air Force in the post-Assad era — including two refurbished Su-22s, several L-39 training… pic.twitter.com/Lok3Zx0uaS
— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) August 18, 2026
Ahead of the strikes, Israel reportedly shared ‘highly sensitive’ intelligence related to the base with the U.S. before striking, Fox News claimed:
“Highly sensitive intelligence was shared with the United States in advance, at the most senior levels of the various agencies and bodies,” the official said. “Al-Sharaa understands that he cannot operate like the previous Syrian regime, which maintained proxy forces. It’s possible that he didn’t understand what was going on, or didn’t know.”
Senior Israeli official to Fox News when asked about the reported Israeli strikes in Syria overnight:
“Highly sensitive intelligence was shared with the United States in advance, at the most senior levels of the various agencies and bodies," the official said. “Al-Sharaa…
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) August 18, 2026
Erdogan’s Turkey sees itself as the natural heir to the Ottoman Empire, striving to restore its dominance throughout the Muslim and the Arab world. Earlier this month, Turkey signed a joint military pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The Mecca Pact, also dubbed the “Muslim NATO,” combines Turkey’s NATO-supplied military prowess with Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and Saudi Arabia’s oil wealth.
Following Iran’s blueprint, Ankara is also rearing its own set of venomous Islamic terror groups.
With a compliant regime in Damascus, Turkey wants to use its neighbor as a staging ground for future military adventures. In recent months, the Erdogan regime has repeatedly threatened to invade Israel and annex Jerusalem.
Israel is aware of the growing Turkish military threat. Quoting Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s remarks, the Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday that “Turkey occupies 5% of Syria and intends to use the space to undermine Israeli security, while Israel only holds “one-tenth of one percent of Syrian territory” in the form of a buffer zone to protect itself from terror attacks.”
Syria vows to hold nuclear material from former regime’s weapons program
The strikes come as the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, located nuclear material left over from the former Assad regime’s weapons program. The new regime vowed to pursue its own nuclear program using the newly discovered material.
The Times of Israel reported:
Nuclear material found at an undisclosed site in Syria is not dangerous and will remain in Syrian custody, subject to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s guarantees, Syria’s foreign minister says.
Asaad al-Shibani adds in a joint press conference with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in Damascus that Syria has the right to use the material for civil and peaceful purposes.
Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs:
“Syria Affirms Its Legal and Sovereign Right to the Civilian and Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy" pic.twitter.com/MdvHcjddh0
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) August 18, 2026
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Israel has repeatedly struck Syrian forces since Assad was ousted in 2024, viewing the country’s new rulers with deep suspicion due to their Islamist militant roots despite President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s warm ties with the West. (…)
Yeah, Trump appears weirdly supportive of the talibhan/ whatever label terrorist
Gives me goose bites
trump has no problem with dictators as long as they feed his ego. He just reduced military exercise with SK that have been held yearly for 70 years because of his supposed good relationship with NK’s dictator. He wants to sell Turkey F-35s because its little tyrant has been nice to him. The examples are multiplying. No surprise here at all.
Turkey wants to fight Israel as they’ve said and they are beginning to position themselves geographically and militarily to be able to do so. This is all Turkey which has far as I know has never previously been involved in a direct conflict with Israel.
Idiotic take. Trump reduced military exercises with South Korea because since 2025, it has been controlled by a leftist regime that has substantially reduced its cooperation with America.
Clearly you haven’t been paying attention.
“Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful.”
“While somewhat unrelated (?), I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, ‘No thanks!’” Trump wrote.
Trump? Hope he’s giving lip service while allowing Israel to do what it must
https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2026/08/18/syria-receives-u-s-support-after-blaming-israel-for-bombing-of-military-airport/
Mamdani’s Syrian wife will soon be visiting that area. Hope none of her relatives get hurt.
The ultimately unavoidable problem for the USA is that the realities of the post cold war era no longer conveniently fit within the fixed boundaries of the post WWII era foreign policy structure created to oppose Soviet Union/Warsaw Pact.
Too many in power and with influence refuse to let go of their old certainties which have largely proven to be far less certain in the 3 decades + since the Soviet empire collapsed. IMO until we take a ‘start from scratch’ outlook to recast our foreign policy independent of nostalgic, backwards looking lens of ‘how things were/ought to be’ addressing head-on the reality that things have drastically changed and with a central focus of what is in the best interest of the broad middle-class (the 70% in the center) from an economic and natural security viewpoint we’re gonna muddle along until the policy jalopy our establishment insists on driving finally runs out gas, the tires come off or it breaks beyond repair.
The foreign policy wonks at the state department have been wrong on every issue since the Cold War.
Commo Chief is right that the US needs new thinking about our relationship with foreign countries.
Maybe friendship with Syria to keep the peace with Israel is a good policy.
Letting the Turks expand seems like a mistake
The “Cold War” never ended. USA Business interests and politicians wanted to take advantage of the Soviet Union’s financial collapse (failure of Socialism) and get rich investing in the USSR. The problem with that was Soviet leaders never surrendered and. Never thought the war ended. They took advantage of USA and EU investments to resurrect itself in the Russian Federation which then continued to spy and plot the destruction of Western nation via hot and cold war actions. And the West still foolishly believes it can negotiate and do financial activities with Russia.. The West is just as naive in dealing with Islamist countries believing Islam can modify its religion and engage peacefully with the West. They will continue to follow the teachings of Mohamed and continue to enrich and empower themselves by the West’s dependence on Middle East oil. The West financed Iran’s military and International terrorism. They didn’t pay for it on their own.. We financed terrorist attacks on ourselves because of demand for middle east oil.
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