Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, accompanied by General Intelligence Service Director Hussein Al-Salama and Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra, meets with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara, Turkey, Aug. 13, 2025. Photo: Turkish Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

It has now been confirmed by the Israeli government that Israeli military jets were responsible for a bombing raid against an airbase in eastern Syria, near Aleppo.

According to the official statement from the office of the Israeli prime minister’s office, the attack was conducted after Israel’s warnings to Syria to not allow Turkish soldiers to deploy at the airbase went unheeded. According to the Israeli statement, the deployment of these Turkish troops would have threatened Israel’s security and been in breach of the status quo agreement between Syria and the Jewish State.

To understand why Turkish troops would be deployed to a Syrian airbase and why Israel would consider this a threat to its national security, it’s important to grasp the relationship between Turkey and Syria, and how this is viewed by the State of Israel.

Turkey’s Role in Syria

Since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, Turkey was actively involved militarily in areas of Syria that abut its borders. By the fall of the Assad regime in 2024, there were 10,000 troops stationed  in areas of northern Syria. The mission of these troops was threefold: to support anti-Assad forces in the region, to provide a safe zone for Syrians affected by the Civil War so they would not cross the border into Turkey, and to weaken the Kurdish militia groups that were powerful in northeastern Syria.

By 2024, the Assad regime had reconciled with most of the Muslim and Arab world. In contrast, Turkey had maintained its support for anti-Assad forces. Thus, when the regime collapsed and was replaced by a Syrian rebel administration headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, Turkey was in a pivotal position to guide the nascent administration as well as to serve as an interlocutor between it and the West.

Since the ouster of the Assad regime, Turkey has exercised a powerful influence with al-Sharaa’s administration and has worked to strengthen economic and military ties between Ankara and Damascus.

Over the past few months, these close ties have been exemplified by Syria’s participation in the Turkish Air Force’s annual military exercise (EFES-2026), an increase in Turkish military aid for Syrian forces (including the supplying of missiles, drones, and air defenses), an expansion in trade between the two countries, and the planned expansion of the Hejaz railway corridor between Turkey and Saudi Arabia through Syrian territory. The deployment of Turkish troops to the Syrian airbase would have been part of this growing closeness between the two countries.

The military and economic support provided by Turkey to Syria following the fall of the Assad regime has brought Damascus closer into the realm of Turkish President Erdogan, something that causes Israel and its military establishment much consternation.

In the following section, we will see why Jerusalem is so concerned with the growing ties between Turkey and its northern neighbor.

Israel vs. Turkey in Syria

There are two primary reasons why Israel is so wary of growing Turkish influence within Syria: concern over Turkish President Erdogan using his leverage in Syria and other neighboring countries to threaten Israel and degrade its regional power, as well as fears over how the deployment of Turkish military infrastructure and personnel within Syria will affect Israel’s ability to defend itself and its interests.

As part of his political ideology, Erdogan wishes to resurrect the Ottoman Empire’s role (via its modern descendant, Turkey) as a hegemonic power within the Sunni Muslim world. This hegemonic desire coupled with the decline of Iran’s role as a regional power has left the door open for Erdogan to expand Turkey’s influence and strength within the Middle East.

As Erdogan has changed Turkey from an ally of Israel into an ideological foe of the Jewish State, there are concerns within the Israeli military establishment that Turkey’s growing regional role will infringe upon Israel’s own position as a strong Middle Eastern power and even threaten it.

This is not only a hypothetical concern but one that has been expressed by members of the Turkish political establishment. During the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Turkey and Saudi Arabia regarding the Hejaz railway corridor, the Turkish Minister of Trade claimed the reduction of Israel’s influence in the region as one of the benefits of this economic corridor.

Coupled with the use of stronger economic ties to weaken Israel’s influence, there is also the fear that Turkey will create a Sunni “ring of fire” around Israel, which will include Syria. Similar to Iran’s Axis of Resistance, this “ring of fire” would potentially be a federation of Muslim and Arab states surrounding Israel that could effectively isolate it and weaken its standing within the Middle East.

Erdogan’s support for Hamas, celebration of Oct. 7, calls to defend Al-Quds (Jerusalem), and stated willingness to fight for a Palestinian state all further indicate the existential threat that Turkey could pose to Israel in the near future.

A more immediate Israeli concern regarding the deployment of Turkish military infrastructure and troops to Syria is that this will inhibit the Israeli Air Force’s ability to operate over Syria. This could pose an issue for Israel if supply lines between Iran and Hezbollah are re-established through the country or Israel feels the need to defend the Druze of southern Syria (as happened in July 2025).

As Turkey’s influence rises in the Middle East, Israel views this as a growing threat to its own status within the region. This fear is even more salient in Syria, as Israel fears the new administration in Damascus becoming an outpost of Turkish influence directly along its northern border.

The recent Israeli bombing of a Syrian airbase meant to house Turkish troops was the direct result of Ankara’s growing influence within Damascus coupled with Israel’s existential fears regarding Turkey’s rise as a hegemonic power within the Middle East.

The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.