Despite al-Jolani’s appeasement, Israel strikes Syrian airfield, warning Ankara

TEHRAN — Israeli jets pounded the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in eastern Idlib early Tuesday. Eight consecutive strikes cratered the runway and obliterated storage facilities.

The bombardment came just hours after a Turkish military delegation inspected the site for rehabilitation, demonstrating Tel Aviv’s absolute disregard for Syrian sovereignty and Ankara’s footprint in the region.

The 3 a.m. attack underscores that no matter how much the new administration in Damascus capitulates to Western demands or signals restraint, Israel will not halt its systematic destruction of Syrian military infrastructure.

Syrian state media confirmed extensive damage to the airfield, located 300 kilometers from Israeli-occupied lands.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry called the strikes an unjustified act of aggression and a flagrant violation of Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity. It warned of a dangerous escalation that threatens regional security. Turkey also condemned the attacks.

The strikes forced a public rebuke from Washington. U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack confirmed Israeli culpability on Tuesday, calling the attack an “unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.”

Barrack openly admitted the Ahmed “al-Jolani” al-Sharaa government has not adopted a predatory posture toward Tel Aviv.

He noted Damascus has repeatedly shown a preference for de-escalation. Yet the United States continues to arm and support the military carrying out these daily incursions.

Since the fall of the previous government in December 2024, Israel has torn up the 1974 ceasefire agreement, annexed territory beyond the occupied Golan Heights, and bombed the remnants of the Syrian air force.

Efforts to negotiate a so-called security arrangement have produced no tangible results, while Damascus’s policy of accommodation has failed to deter further Israeli aggression.

Israel appears intent on keeping Syria militarily vulnerable and subject to continued attacks.

The Palestinian resistance also condemned the Idlib strikes. In a formal statement on Tuesday, Hamas called the bombardment “systematic state terrorism and a flagrant violation of Syrian sovereignty.”

“The continuation of the fascist occupation government’s policy of arrogance against the region’s countries and peoples, and the violation of their sovereignty, will only lead to further tension and instability in the region,” the movement stated.

It demanded that the international community take effective action to restrain the occupation and hold its leaders accountable before international courts.