U.S. Envoy Warns of Potential Turkey–Israel Clash After Israeli Strikes on Syrian Air Base
U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack has warned that urgent deconfliction mechanisms are needed to prevent an accidental military confrontation between Turkey, Israel and Syria following Israeli airstrikes on a Syrian military airfield near the Turkish border.
Speaking about the overnight strikes, Barrack said the United States is concerned that Israeli military operations in northern Syria could create a dangerous situation in which Turkish forces might mistakenly believe that an Israeli attack is directed toward Turkish territory.
“There needs to be a mechanism to prevent a conflict between Turkey, Syria and Israel,” Barrack said, emphasizing the importance of communication and coordination between the parties.
According to Barrack, Israel did not notify Turkey ahead of the latest operation, breaking from an established pattern in which advance notification had helped prevent Israeli military activity in Syria from escalating into a direct confrontation with Turkish forces.
Barrack said Turkey alerted the United States at roughly the same time Israeli aircraft began moving toward their targets, informing Washington that Ankara was monitoring the Israeli aircraft and believed some of them appeared to be heading toward areas in the direction of Turkey.
The situation, he suggested, could have produced a far more dangerous outcome if Turkish forces had interpreted the aircraft movements as an imminent attack against Turkish territory and attempted to intercept them.
“Fortunately, Turkey handled the situation wisely,” Barrack said, warning that a miscalculation could otherwise have triggered an escalation that would have been extremely difficult to control.
The U.S. envoy also sharply criticized Israel’s decision to strike the Syrian air base, regardless of the justification presented by Israel.
“Whatever justification Israel may give for attacking the Syrian air base, it is a provocative action that could fuel a conflict between Turkey and Israel. As the United States, we will never accept that.”
🇺🇸 Washington to establish new Turkey–Israel communication mechanism
Barrack said Washington intends to work between the two sides to establish a direct deconfliction and communication mechanism through which Turkey and Israel can exchange information about military movements and operations.
The objective, he explained, is to create greater situational awareness and ensure that military aircraft or forces operating in Syria do not unexpectedly come into confrontation with one another.
Such a mechanism could become increasingly important as both Turkey and Israel expand their military activity and security interests inside Syria following the collapse of the previous Syrian order.
🇮🇱 Israeli aircraft strike Abu Dhuhur air base
The latest escalation came overnight when Israeli fighter aircraft reportedly carried out four separate strikes against the runway and aviation infrastructure of the Abu Dhuhur military airfield in Syria’s Idlib province.
The facility is located in northern Syria, relatively close to the Turkish border, making the operation particularly sensitive for Ankara.
Israeli strikes have frequently targeted Syrian military infrastructure and weapons-related facilities, but the proximity of Abu Dhuhur to areas of Turkish military activity has raised concerns about the possibility of an unintended confrontation.
According to reports, Israel’s objective was to prevent the Syrian government from rebuilding the air base, establishing an air-force facility there, or allowing Turkish forces to deploy and operate from the site.
The strikes therefore appear to reflect broader Israeli concerns over the future military balance in northern Syria, particularly amid expanding Turkish influence and Ankara’s security interests in the region.
⚠️ Risk of a wider confrontation
The incident highlights the increasingly complicated military environment inside Syria, where Israeli, Turkish, Syrian, American and other forces operate with overlapping and sometimes competing security interests.
A failure to communicate could potentially result in an aircraft being misidentified, intercepted or attacked, rapidly transforming an operation against a Syrian target into a direct confrontation between two NATO-connected regional powers: Turkey and Israel.
Washington’s push for a formal deconfliction mechanism reflects growing concern that miscalculation, rather than deliberate policy, could become the trigger for a much larger regional crisis.
For now, Turkey’s restraint appears to have prevented the latest incident from escalating. But Barrack’s warning underscores the urgency of establishing reliable communication channels before another Israeli operation in northern Syria produces a more dangerous chain of events.