Israeli aircraft launched four strikes on the Abu al Duhur military airport in northwestern Idlib province early Tuesday. The facility, which has been inactive since 2012, is currently under the control of Syrian Defence Ministry forces.
Four strikes on the defunct Abu al Duhur facility
At approximately 3 am local time on Tuesday, Israeli aircraft targeted the Abu al Duhur military airport located in the eastern countryside of Idlib. According to local sources, the operation consisted of four distinct strikes against a facility that has been out of service since 2012. While the airport is no longer operational for aviation, it remains a secured site under the jurisdiction of the Syrian Defence Ministry.
The immediate aftermath of the raid remains opaque, as no information was immediately available regarding casualties or the specific extent of the structural damage. The Israeli military has not issued a formal comment on this specific operation, though the strike follows a pattern of precision hits on Syrian infrastructure .
The post-December 2024 surge in Israeli air operations
This raid is part of a broader, aggressive campaign conducted by Israel since the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime in December 2024. As reported in the source, Israel has carried out hundreds of attacks across Syria in the wake of the regime's collapse,focusing on missile depots, weapons caches, and other strategic military installations.
These operations reflect a strategic shift in the region. By targeting these sites, Israel aims to ensure that advanced weaponry does not fall into the hands of militant groups or Iranian-backed proxies during the current period of Syrian political volatility. This surge in activity suggests that Israel views the vacuum left by Bashar al Assad as a critical window to degrade potential threats before a new Syrian authority can fully stabilize.
A strategic pivot between Idlib, Aleppo, and Hama
The Abu al Duhur military airport occupies a vital geographic position, sitting at the crossroads between the provinces of Idlib, Aleppo, and Hama. Because of this location, the base has been a primary objective for various factions throughout the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011. The facility changed hands multiple times, including a seizure by opposition groups in 2015 and a recapture by Bashar al Assad's forces in late 2018.
Following the opposition offensive in late 2024 that led to the collapse of the Assad government, the airport was once again transitioned to the control of Syria's new authorities. The fact that Israel targeted a site that has been "out of service" since 2012 suggests that the Israeli military is less concerned with the airport's operational capacity and more concerned with what may be stored within its hangars or bunkers.
Who suffered casualties in the 3 am raid?
Despite the scale of the strike, several critical details remain unverified. It is currently unknown if any Syrian Defence Ministry personnel were killed or injured during the Tuesday morning attack , and the specific nature of the targets within the airport—whether they were munitions, command centers, or empty shells—has not been disclosed. furthermore, while Damascus has called for Israel to respect Syrian sovereignty and halt its incursions, it remains unclear how the new Syrian leadership will practically respond to these persistent violations of its airspace.
Comments 0