The strikes focused on the airport’s runway with no immediate reports of casualties or the full extent of damage, Gulf News reported Tuesday. Aircraft involved remained unidentified and no party has issued a statement claiming responsibility for the operation. The incident marks an escalation amid persistent Israeli military actions in Syria following the regime change in Damascus, where Israel has cited security threats as justification for repeated incursions.
Abu al-Duhur airport, located in Idlib’s eastern countryside and also known as Abu al-Zuhour, serves as a key installation for overseeing military movements across northern Syria, the publication noted. Syrian government forces recaptured the base from opposition groups in January 2018 after it had fallen to rebels in 2015, according to historical records of the conflict. Rebel forces seized it again during the rapid offensive that toppled Assad in late 2024, placing the site under the control of the new authorities now governing the country.
Several other Syrian airports have faced attacks in recent years, including facilities in Aleppo, Homs and central regions, a pattern documented by monitoring organizations throughout the civil war. Abu al-Duhur had escaped targeting in the period since Assad’s overthrow until Tuesday’s event, Gulf News added in its assessment of the site’s history. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has tracked similar strikes that frequently altered control of strategic assets during earlier phases of the fighting.
The airstrikes coincided with a criminal court in Damascus sentencing Assad to death in absentia after convicting him of premeditated murder, the same outlet reported. A former political security chief from Deraa province, Atef Najib, received an identical sentence upon conviction for premeditated murder and torture. These rulings form part of transitional justice measures as Syria addresses legacies of the former regime.
Diplomatic shifts have compounded regional strains, with Colombia on Monday recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights and becoming only the second country after the United States to do so. Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated the decision reflected Middle East instability and the Golan’s strategic importance to Israeli security, referencing an August 8 agreement with Israel. Israel seized the territory in the 1967 Six-Day War, annexed it in 1981 and signed a 1974 armistice with Syria after a failed 1973 attempt to regain the area, according to longstanding diplomatic accounts.
No official comment has emerged from Syria’s new leadership on the airport attack, leaving questions about potential responses unanswered at this stage. Monitoring groups continue to observe factional dynamics in Idlib, where control remains fragmented more than 18 months after Assad’s departure. The event highlights the precarious security landscape that has defined much of Syria since the regime’s collapse.
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