Syria says Israeli strike near Damascus violation of international law

Syria has condemned an Israeli attack on the village of Beit Jinn, southwest of the country's capital Damascus, which officials said hit a civilian vehicle and left several people injured.

The attack was the second known Israeli strike on Syria in the past week, with Syria branding it a "violation" of its sovereignty and international law.

In a post on X, the Israeli military said it had targeted a "terrorist" in the "final stages" of preparing attacks which posed an immediate threat to soldiers.

The latest incident comes days after reports emerged Israel had struck a military airbase close to the Turkish border, which Syria said threatened to escalate tensions in the region.

After the earlier attack, Washington issued a rare rebuke of Israel, calling it an "unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability".

In an interview on Friday, the US ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, suggested that the strike could be "the Israelis baiting the Turks" in an attempt to draw Turkey into a conflict ahead of upcoming Israeli elections.

Barrack's comments led Israel's far-right defence minister, Israel Katz, to describe his account as "full of inaccuracies".

Writing on X, Katz added Israeli forces were acting "in light of clear intelligence information about Turkey's intentions".

Following Tuesday's strikes on the Abu al-Duhur airbase, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published a statement: "Israel and Syria agreed to a status quo in security matters, which Syria was on the verge of breaching by permitting Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo."

After the strike Turkey did not confirm whether any of its troops moved to the Abu al-Duhur airbase, which sits 70km from the Turkish border. However, Ankara rejected Israel's suggestion that it posed a threat.

Abu al-Duhur airbase has been out of service as a dedicated military airfield since 2013. Rebel forces seized control of the base as they swept through the country in December 2024.

Israel occupies territory in southwest Syria it seized after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in 2024.

Syria has been trying to rebuild its military facilities that were damaged during the offensive that saw Bashar al-Assad's government overthrown.

The Turkish military has provided assistance to Syria since the overthrow of Assad, while Israel continues to view both countries with deep suspicion.

Al-Sharaa has forged closer ties with the West since coming to power, particularly the US and in November 2025 he became the first Syrian leader to visit the White House.

Related topics

More on this story