Very Dangerous Game: US Envoy Sounds Alarm Over Israel Turkey Tensions In Syria

US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack has said Israel did not warn Washington or Turkiye before launching an air strike on Syria’s Abu al Duhur air base, raising concerns that the operation could have triggered a direct confrontation between two US allies, Israel and NATO member Turkiye.

The August 18 Israeli strike hit the air base in Idlib, around 70 to 80 km from the Turkish border. Syrian state media reported eight strikes targeting the runway and storage facilities. The attack caused damage but no casualties were reported.

Barrack, who also serves as the US ambassador to Turkiye, said Israel may have acted on intelligence suggesting Ankara was preparing to expand its military presence at the base. However, he said Washington examined that intelligence and concluded that such a deployment was “not happening.”

He suggested the strike could have resulted from a decision by an Israeli commander in the field or from miscommunication between Israel’s military, intelligence agency and political leadership. Barrack also said another possibility was that Israel was “baiting the Turks”, warning that the situation could have rapidly escalated.

The envoy said Turkish forces could have scrambled fighter jets after seeing Israeli aircraft approaching the border without knowing their purpose or intentions. He recalled that Turkiye shot down a Russian aircraft near its Syrian frontier in 2015, illustrating the danger of an unidentified military movement close to its airspace.

Israel has strongly disputed Barrack’s account. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Barrack’s remarks contained “inaccuracies” and maintained that Israel had warned senior Syrian officials before the operation. Katz said the warning was ignored before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and he authorised the strike.

Israel has said Syria was close to violating an agreed security status quo by allowing Turkish troops to deploy at the airfield. Turkiye and Syria have denied that a Turkish military base was being established there. A Turkish delegation reportedly visited the site shortly before the strike to inspect reconstruction work.

The dispute comes amid growing Israel Turkiye tensions over Syria, where Ankara is supporting the rebuilding of Syrian security forces through training, equipment and logistical assistance. Washington is now working on a mechanism to prevent accidental clashes involving Israel, Turkiye and Syria.

The crisis has continued to develop. Israel carried out another strike in southern Syria on August 22, injuring at least one civilian, according to Syrian reports. Meanwhile, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al Shaibani said Damascus expects security talks with Israel to resume, despite deep mistrust and recent Israeli military operations.