Netanyahu's Office Claims Responsibility for Airstrike on Syria's Idlib Airbase

Israeli media reported on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 (28 Mordad 1405), according to Ecoiran citing IRNA, that the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally claimed responsibility, about 24 hours later, for a Tuesday morning airstrike on the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in Syria's northwestern Idlib province. Per the reports, Netanyahu's office alleged Syria had been on the verge of breaching the existing security arrangement by allowing Turkish forces to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo. Israeli army radio described the strike as a message to Turkey that Israel would not accept a Turkish military presence in Syria.

Syria's Foreign Ministry called the strikes an unjustified act of aggression and a violation of Syrian sovereignty, and urged the international community and the UN Security Council to condemn them. Syria's state news agency SANA separately reported Israeli fighter jets violated the airspace of Daraa province. The tensions come as the US special envoy has previously warned of rising Israeli Turkish friction over Syria.