Eight air strikes hit Abu al-Duhur airbase in Syria's Idlib province

Eight air strikes have hit the runway of the Abu al-Duhur military base in Syria's Idlib province, causing damage but no reported casualties. Syrian state media said the attack took place early on Tuesday in the eastern countryside of Idlib, in northwestern Syria. The report said the base was targeted by Israeli forces, although there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

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State television quoted an unidentified military source as saying Israeli aircraft struck the runway with eight separate attacks. The same report said the airbase was hit for the first time since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government in December 2024. The strikes were described as damaging infrastructure at the site, but not causing injuries.

The incident was reported as part of a pattern of repeated attacks on Syrian military sites. The Abu al-Duhur base has already suffered extensive destruction during the 14-year Syrian war. Opposition forces took control of it in 2015 after fighting government troops, and forces loyal to al-Assad recaptured it in 2019.

Even after that, the base was not functional because of the damage it had sustained. That history makes the runway strike significant even though the site was already heavily degraded. The reported attack also comes against the backdrop of a broader Israeli campaign against Syrian military capabilities.

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Reporting from Damascus said such strikes have increased since al-Assad fled the country, with the stated aim of weakening Syria's military infrastructure. One correspondent said the campaign, which began under the Assad government, accelerated after his fall. Another report said Israel had systematically bombed the Syrian air force to the point that it was effectively disabled, while efforts to rebuild air capacity had continued over the past year and a half.

The strike matters because Abu al-Duhur is a military site with symbolic and operational value in a region that has seen repeated conflict and shifting control. Even if the base was not functioning, damage to its runway may affect any future attempts to restore military use. It also adds to tensions around Syria's post-Assad security landscape, where military assets remain vulnerable to external attack.

What remains unclear is the full extent of the damage and whether there will be any official response from Israel or Syrian authorities beyond the initial state media account. It is also not clear whether the runway strike is part of a wider series of attacks or a standalone operation. The next developments to watch are any confirmation from the Israeli military, further assessment of the site, and whether similar strikes follow elsewhere in Syria.

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