EIGHT AIR STRIKES HIT SYRIAN AIRBASE IN IDLIB

Eight air strikes struck the runway of Abu al-Duhur military airbase in eastern Idlib, northwestern Syria, early on Tuesday, according to Syrian state television. State media quoted an unidentified military source as attributing the attack to Israeli forces. The strikes caused damage to the runway but resulted in no casualties, the reports stated. There was no immediate response from the Israeli military.

The attack marked the first strike on the airbase since Bashar al-Assad's government fell in December 2024. Abu al-Duhur suffered extensive destruction during Syria's 14-year conflict, with opposition forces taking control in 2015 before government forces recaptured it in 2019. The base remained non-functional due to sustained damage from the war. Correspondents reported that Israel has intensified attacks on Syrian military installations since al-Assad's departure, with a pattern of strikes aimed at degrading Syrian military capabilities, particularly air force infrastructure.

Israel's campaign to undermine Syrian military capacity accelerated immediately following the fall of the al-Assad regime, according to reporting from the region. Israeli forces have systematically targeted Syrian air defence and aviation assets over the past year and a half as Syria has attempted to rebuild some air capacity. The strikes reflect a continuation of Israeli military operations against Syrian military sites, a practice that predates but has escalated since the regime change.