The United States has expressed concern over Israeli airstrikes on Syria’s Abu al-Duhur Airbase, with US Ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack describing the attacks as an ‘unnecessary escalation’ that does not advance regional stability.
Israel carried out eight airstrikes targeting the runway and storage facilities at the base, Syria’s state-run Ekhbariya news outlet reported, according to Reuters.
A military official and a civilian living near the base told the outlet that there were no casualties.
US calls for restraint and engagement
Barrack said the Syrian government under President Ahmad al-Sharaa had not adopted a predatory posture or maintained proxy forces.
He said the government had repeatedly indicated a preference for de-escalation with Israel.
‘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 wrote on the social platform X.
Barrack said the United States would host future discussions aimed at encouraging ‘diplomatic cadence over kinetic frustration’ through de-escalation agreements between Syria and Israel.
‘The United States continues to believe that restraint and engagement offer the more constructive course,’ he said, encouraging all parties to prioritise ‘logical discourse over further military incidents’.
Syria urges Israel to halt attacks
Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shibani called for the strikes to stop, saying they had no security justification.
‘These attacks don’t have security justifications,’ he said at a press conference, according to Reuters.
Al-Shibani said Syria would continue pursuing diplomatic efforts to dissuade Israel from the policy and force it to stop its attacks on Syrian territory.
The Abu al-Duhur base has been out of service since 2013. It had previously changed hands following clashes between forces loyal to former president Bashar Assad and Syrian rebels, the outlet reported.
The United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said foreign fighters had taken shelter at the base before being asked to leave.
Sources told the war monitor that Turkey had been working to rehabilitate the base and return it to service.
Syria-Israel tensions remain high
Israel had also carried out strikes in parts of Syria under Assad’s rule and seized territory in southwest Syria.
Israeli drone strikes last year targeted parts of Damascus, killing eight Syrian soldiers in what Syria’s Foreign Ministry described as ‘a grave violation of international law’.
Syria’s new president has sought to reach a security agreement with Israel.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has warned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Israel would not allow Syria to strengthen its military capabilities, claiming they could pose a threat to Israel, Reuters reported.
Israel and Turkey maintain a line of communication to avoid incidents involving their militaries while both remain active in Syria.
