Tom Barrack, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Syria, said he was “deeply concerned” by Israeli strikes on a military airfield in eastern Idlib on Tuesday, calling the act an unnecessary escalation.
Israeli warplanes carried out eight air strikes on the runway of Abu Al Duhur military airfield in the eastern Idlib countryside at dawn, Syrian state television reported.
“The [Syrian] government has neither adopted a predatory posture nor maintained proxy forces,” Mr Barrack said. “It has, in fact, repeatedly indicated a preference for de-escalation with Israel.
“The United States has in the past, and will continue in the future, to host discussions to encourage diplomatic cadence over kinetic frustration for both nations.”
The attacks caused material damage to airbase infrastructure but no casualties were reported. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the reported assault.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the strikes as “an unjustified act of aggression, a flagrant violation of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a dangerous escalation that threatens security and stability in the region”.
“Syria stresses that the continuation of these Israeli attacks since 8 December, 2024, at a time when the Syrian state has exercised restraint and worked to consolidate stability and avoid escalation, once again demonstrates the Israeli occupation's attempts to undermine these efforts and drag the region towards further tension and instability,” the ministry said.
The statement called on the international community and the UN Security Council to “condemn this aggression and take a firm position against Israel's repeated violations of Syrian sovereignty”.
Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey condemned Israel's attacks as violations of Syria's sovereignty and called for the international community to uphold international law and the UN Charter.
Qatar warned that continued Israeli actions without accountability could fuel a wider regional escalation, while Egypt stressed the need for de-escalation and political solutions. Turkey called for stronger international action to end Israel's “escalating aggression” against Syria and to ensure accountability.
The base, about 70km from the Turkish border, has been out of service as a dedicated military airfield since 2013. It changed hands several times during Syria’s 13-year civil war between forces loyal to president Bashar Al Assad and opposition factions.
Soon after the Al Assad regime fell to rebel forces advancing under current President Ahmad Al Shara's leadership in December 2024, the Israeli military expanded its attacks on Syria, claiming to be targeting weapons and missile depots belonging to the previous regime.
Israeli troops moved into a demilitarised zone inside southern Syria, including Mount Hermon, which overlooks the capital Damascus.
Since then, the Israeli military has launched strikes on Syria and seized several people within the country. Israel has also intervened in what it calls missions to protect ethnic minority Druze in south-west Syria. Analysts have cast doubt on Israeli intentions.
In March, Israel said it carried out strikes on infrastructure sites belonging to the Syrian government in response to attacks against the Druze in Sweida. Syria's Foreign Ministry condemned the attack, calling it a “blatant violation” of international law and an assault on its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Israel has also been seeking to counter what is considers to be growing Turkish influence in Syria. Ankara and Damascus have signed agreements to establish a free zone in Idlib province.
Mr Al Shara has said his country is seeking to reach a security agreement with Israel. He said a deal could pave the way for comprehensive peace between the neighbours without compromising Syria's right to the Golan Heights, an area that Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed in 1981.
