Israel Strikes Syrian Airbases In a Message to Turkey’s Erdogan
Israel is increasing its attacks in Syria, drawing Turkey into a potential battle for influence and control.
Though four months have passed since the collapse of former strongman Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria and its replacement by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have not ceased and desisted their military operations within Syrian borders.
Indeed, if the latest round of Israeli airstrikes is any indicator, the IDF ops tempo in Syria is actually ratcheting up in intensity—and is now involving Turkey, at least indirectly.
Israel, Syria, and Turkey
The news comes to us from two primary sources, both published on April 3, 2025, namely: The Times of Israel reporters Emanuel Fabian and Stav Levaton in an article titled “IDF strikes hit ‘remaining military capacities’ at Syrian airbases,” and World Israel News (WIN) reporter David Rosenberg in a piece titled “Israel ‘wipes out’ two Syrian airports, attacks military bases used by Turkey.”
To quote the Rosenberg article:
“Israeli warplanes bombed targets across Syria Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, in a bid to prevent Turkish forces from establishing a foothold in Syrian territory … Overnight, at least 25 airstrikes were reported, according to the London-based anti-Assad Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, including attacks on the Hama Air Base, a research center in Damascus, and the massive Tiyas Air Base (also known as the T-4 base) … Four soldiers were killed and 12 others injured in the strikes on the Hama Air Base, SOHR reported.”
From there, Rosenberg quotes an anonymous Israeli defense official:
“There is not a single standing structure left. We hit planes, radar systems, control towers, parking aprons, all the runways, every building, and every warehouse—we simply wiped out both airports.”
Meanwhile, Fabian and Levaton’s article quotes the following statement from the Syrian Foreign Ministry (made on Telegram):
“In a blatant violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty, Israeli forces launched airstrikes on five locations across the country … This unjustified escalation is a deliberate attempt to destabilize Syria and exacerbate the suffering of its people.”
What Weapons Were Used?
Neither of the aforementioned articles specifies which aircraft platforms the Israeli Air Force (IAF) used in these airstrikes. We can reasonably speculate that they used one or more of the following assets:
- The F-35I Lightning II AKA Adir (“Mighty One”) stealth fighter, which the IAF has already successfully used in air-to-air combat (against drones) and air-to-ground strikes alike.
- The combo of the F-15I Eagle AKA Ra’am (“Thunder”) and F-16 Fighting Falcon AKA Sufa (“Storm”). The F-15 and F-16 pairing proved to be deadly effective in Operation Opera aka Operation Babylon, the 1981 IAF air strike against then-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s nuclear reactor.
A Message to Erdogan?
As The National Interest has previously reported, Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an unabashed supporter of Hamas notwithstanding Turkey’s membership in NATO and by extension a U.S. ally, openly and brazenly called for the destruction of Israel during id al-Fitr prayers at the Çamlıca Mosque in Istanbul on Sunday, March 30, 2025.
Back in January, a state committee commissioned by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Turkey’s involvement in Syria could lead to an escalating proxy war between Israel and Turkey that could eventually develop into a full-blown, direct war. If that were actually to happen, one cannot help but wonder if that would in turn trigger an Article 5 response by the other NATO members on behalf of Turkey (however implausible, undesirable, and unthinkable a hypothetical NATO vs Israel war would sound).
About the Author: Christian D. Orr
Christian D. Orr was previously a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ) and 19FortyFive. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can ofttimes find him at the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.
Image: By IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons