US envoy says Israel gave no warning before Syria strike as Israel Katz disputes claim
US envoy Tom Barrack said Israel gave no notice before launching eight air strikes on Syria's Abu Duhur base, drawing a swift rejection from Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz.
Dispute over advance notification
United States Special Envoy to Syria and Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack stated that Israel provided no warning to Washington before carrying out air strikes against a Syrian military base on Tuesday, 18 August 2026. Speaking in an interview published late Friday by entrepreneur Mario Nawfal on X, Barrack termed the operation an unnecessary escalation and warned that Israeli actions risked baiting Turkish forces. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz publicly rejected the assertion on Saturday, 22 August 2026. Katz stated in a post on X that Israel had shared intelligence information with authorized entities in the United States prior to the operation. He maintained that Barrack's statements contained inaccuracies and diverged from the foreign policy stances established by US President Donald Trump.
Air strike on Abu Duhur base
The Israeli operation targeted the Abu Duhur military airfield in northwestern Syria's Idlib province on Tuesday morning. A Syrian military source reported on state television that Israeli jets carried out eight strikes directly against the runway, damaging infrastructure while inflicting no human casualties. The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the bombardment as an act of unjustified aggression. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the facility had been out of operational service since 2012 due to damage sustained during the Syrian civil war. Syrian officials confirmed that a Turkish delegation had visited the airfield on Monday, the day before the strike, to review ongoing reconstruction projects.
- Abu Duhur air base is knocked out of service during the Syrian civil war
- Bashar al-Assad is ousted from power in Syria
- Turkey and Syria sign an agreement formalizing military cooperation
- A Turkish military delegation visits Abu Duhur to inspect reconstruction
- Israel conducts eight air strikes against the runway at Abu Duhur
- US envoy Tom Barrack states Israel gave no warning before the strike
- Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz denies Barrack's account
Regional friction between Israel and Turkey
The strike exposed friction between Israel and Turkey across northern Syria following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the raid, asserting that Syria was on the verge of breaching an agreement by permitting Turkish troops to deploy at the airfield. Barrack noted that while Israel had expressed apprehension about Turkish movements, US assessments concluded that such a deployment was not occurring. Barrack stated that unannounced Israeli sorties 80 kilometers east of the Turkish frontier risked an armed confrontation, citing how Turkish defenses scrambled and shot down a Russian jet over the border in 2015.
The unintended consequence of a mistake could be really consequential.
Political reactions and broader posture
The Turkish Presidency dismissed Israeli allegations about imminent troop stationing, asserting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was using external threats to advance political aims ahead of Israeli parliamentary elections scheduled for October. Under an agreement signed last year, Turkey provides Syria with training, logistical support, and equipment to rebuild its national armed forces. Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who maintains working relations with both Washington and Ankara, has reiterated that his government does not seek confrontation with Israel. On Saturday morning, Syrian officials denounced another Israeli drone strike in the south of the country, arguing that repeated military operations destabilize the post-Assad transition while Washington continues its security alignment with Israel.
