Analysis: Syrian airbase attack is an Israeli message to Damascus, Ankara

Tuesday’s air strikes on an airbase in northwest Syria have been blamed on Israel, and, according to analysts, they are a message not just to the government in Damascus, but also to its ally, Turkiye.While Israel has yet to officially claim the attacks, Syria, the United States and Jordan have all said the attack on the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Idlib was the latest Israeli strike on its neighbour.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Syria launches probe into death of ‘White Helmet’ rescuer in police custodylist 2 of 3Who is Wassim al-Assad, sentenced to death for Syria war atrocities?list 3 of 3Syria, US say Israel attacks airbase in Idlibend of list“Bombing an airbase means the Israeli army doesn’t want the new Syria to have any sort of air force in the coming years,” Kheder Khaddour, a nonresident scholar at the Malcolm H Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, told Al Jazeera.Israel’s message to DamascusOn December 8, 2024, Syrian rebel forces took Damascus, overthrowing the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. In the subsequent hours, Israel’s air force attacked Syrian military bases and infrastructure, in strikes that are believed to have knocked out much of the new Syrian g...