The Syrian authorities have denounced this Tuesday the Israeli forces for a bombing against the military airfield of Abu al-Duhur, in the province of Idlib, in the northwest of Syria, an "unjustified act of aggression" that they also describe as a "flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of the Arab country.
In an official note, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has emphasized that this type of action represents a "dangerous increase in violence" and "endangers the security and stability" throughout the region.
"The continued Israeli attacks carried out since December 2024 despite Syria's efforts to consolidate its stability and avoid an escalation expose Israel's attempts to undermine efforts to drag the entire region into greater tension and instability," the statement notes, while Israel, for now, has not offered any public reaction.
Previously, the television channel Syria TV had reported that several unidentified planes carried out four air incursions in the early morning against the aforementioned airfield. These four impacts would have affected the main runway of the military facility, although the exact damage balance is currently unknown.
LETTERS TO THE UN AND THE SECURITY COUNCIL
After the attack, the permanent representative of Syria to the United Nations, Ibrahim Alabi, has sent two identical letters to the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, and to the President of the Security Council, Christina Lassen.
In these writings, disseminated by the official Syrian agency SANA, the ambassador insists that Damascus will continue with the construction of the Syrian state and the strengthening of its alliances, holds the Israeli occupation responsible for the current escalation, and urges the international community and the Security Council to unequivocally condemn the Israeli aggression.
The diplomat also demands a clear and firm stance against the continuous Israeli violations of Syria's sovereignty, calling for Israel to be compelled to stop them and to submit its operations to the framework of International Law.
For his part, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has expressed his concern over these bombings in Syrian territory attributed to Israel, although without mentioning it directly, and has called for an end to these actions.
"We have witnessed these airstrikes. This is yet another very concerning violation of the territorial integrity and airspace of Syria. These airstrikes must cease and, obviously, we oppose them," stated their spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, at a press conference.
ISRAEL DOES NOT DENY ITS INVOLVEMENT AND BLAMES DAMASCUS
In this context, late on Monday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted to the accusations. Without openly assuming responsibility for the bombing, it defended its military operations on Syrian soil and avoided denying Israel's possible involvement in the attack on the Abú al Duhur airfield.
"Israel and Syria agreed to maintain the status quo regarding security, which Syria has been on the verge of breaking by allowing the deployment of Turkish troops at an airbase near Aleppo," the Prime Minister's office pointed out, in a reference that fits with the mentioned airfield, close to the province of Aleppo, bordering Turkey.
The statement adds that "Israel has repeatedly warned Syria that such deployment would pose a threat to Israel's security," despite the fact that the northernmost Israeli locality is more than 300 kilometers in a straight line from the airfield—over 450 kilometers by road—and that the country led by Netanyahu does not maintain a declared military conflict with Turkey.
"Syria has chosen to ignore these warnings," laments the Israeli government, which insists that "it will not tolerate threats to its security and would welcome a return to the status quo," without clarifying which period, borders, or balance of power it is exactly referring to.
Just last month, Israeli authorities defended the attacks on Syrian territory as a "religious and moral obligation" and warned that they would continue with new operations, also "against jihadist militants in the south" of the country.
TURKEY DEMANDS THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO CONTAIN ISRAEL
Turkey, for its part, has "strongly condemned the airstrikes carried out by Israel" against the Abú al Duhur military airfield.
"Israel continues recklessly its attacks against the infrastructure and capabilities of Syria, violating its territorial integrity and unity," denounced the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which in its statement does not refer to the alleged deployment of Turkish troops mentioned by Israel.
At the same time, Ankara has made "a call to the international community to take a more decisive stance to put an end to Israel's aggression against Syria," in terms very similar to those used by the Syrian government.
The department headed by Hakan Fidan has warned that the Israeli military campaign "is acquiring new dimensions." Therefore, it has also asked the international community "to ensure accountability for these actions that completely disregard International Law."
Turkey has not been the only regional actor to reject the attack: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Egypt have also condemned it, in addition to the Muslim World League and the Gulf Cooperation Council.