By Tom Ozimek
Contributing Writer
The United States on Tuesday condemned Israeli airstrikes on a military airfield in northwestern Syria, calling the attack an “unnecessary escalation” and urging Israel and Syria to resolve their differences through diplomacy.
U.S. special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said on Tuesday that Washington was “deeply concerned” by Tuesday’s strikes on Abu al-Duhur Airbase in Idlib province, which Syrian state media said was hit eight times earlier in the day.
“We are deeply concerned that the confirmed Israeli airstrikes on Abu al-Duhur Airbase constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability,” Barrack said in a post on X.
No casualties were reported. The Israeli military declined to comment on the strikes.
Barrack said the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa had not taken any threatening actions toward Israel and had instead sought to reduce tensions.
“The Al-Sharra government has neither adopted a predatory posture nor maintained proxy forces,” Barrack said. “It has, in fact, repeatedly indicated a preference for de-escalation with Israel.”
Sharaa said recently that Syria was looking to reach a security agreement with Israel that could pave the way for a comprehensive peace between the two countries.
“If the security agreement succeeds, if Israel committed to it, and [if] the Syrian side committed to all the terms of any agreement that may be concluded later, this could pave the way for a second phase of discussions on a comprehensive peace, but without compromising Syria’s legitimate claim to the occupied Golan Heights,” Sharaa said in a July 26 interview with Al Jazeera.
Soon after forces led by Sharaa toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israeli troops moved into Syria, seizing strategic territory including the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, overlooking Damascus.
Since Assad’s ouster, Israel has conducted strikes across Syria and detained individuals inside the country. Israeli forces have also intervened in southwestern Syria in what Israel describes as efforts to protect the Druze minority.
Barrack said that the United States had hosted discussions between Israel and Syria in the past and would continue doing so in an effort to encourage diplomacy over military action.
“Enduring deescalation agreements are built through sustained dialogues with all concerned nations and principals,” Barrack said, adding that the United States “continues to believe that restraint and engagement offer the more constructive course.”
Syria Condemns ‘Act of Aggression’
Syria’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the strikes, describing them as an unjustified act of aggression and a violation of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The ministry said the Israeli attack amounted to a “dangerous escalation” threatening regional security and stability, while calling on the international community and the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israel’s actions.
Damascus said Israel had repeatedly carried out attacks on Syrian territory since the collapse of the Assad regime, adding that those attacks had continued even as Syria’s new government pursued a policy of restraint.
“The Syrian Arab Republic holds the Israeli occupation fully responsible for this escalation and calls upon the international community and the United Nations to take a clear and decisive position and to adopt deterrent measures against the repeated Israeli violations of Syrian sovereignty,” the ministry said.
“Syria affirms that it will continue to defend its rights and national interests by the legitimate means guaranteed to it under international law and international norms.”
Abu al-Duhur, where the strikes were reported, lies roughly 43 miles from Syria’s border with Turkey. The facility stopped operating as a dedicated military airfield in 2013 and changed hands several times during Syria’s 14-year civil war.
Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda affiliate commander, came to power after former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was toppled by an offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a terrorist organization with previous ties to the al-Qaeda terrorist group. HTS began as the al-Nusra Front and was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department in 2018.
Sharaa, who used the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, previously had a $10 million bounty placed on him by the United States. The bounty was lifted after Assad was ousted.
Tuesday’s attack comes amid heightened tensions between Israel and Turkey over Syria, where Ankara has emerged as a major supporter of the al-Sharaa government.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in an Aug. 6 speech that repeated Israeli attacks were threatening Syria’s security and called for pressure on Israel to respect the country’s territorial integrity.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has issued direct warnings to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that Israel would not permit steps that strengthen Syria’s military capabilities in ways that could pose a threat to Israel.
Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest army, recently signed a defense pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia similar to NATO. It has been training Syria’s army, helping it rebuild its state institutions and infrastructure, and providing it with military and diplomatic support.
The Israeli government, as of publication time, had not responded to a request for comment on Barrack’s remarks and the Syrian government’s response to the strikes.
Reuters contributed to this report.
