Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Turkey had been made to understand it cannot maintain a military base in Syria, indirectly acknowledging that Israeli forces carried out strikes on the Abu Duhur airbase near Aleppo.
The airbase is located around 70 kilometres from the Syrian-Turkish border.
At the same time, Israel's Chief of Staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, warned that the Israeli military would not allow "hostile forces" to establish themselves along Syria's border with Israel.
"We made sure they understood"
In a radio interview, Netanyahu said Israel would not tolerate a deployment of Turkish military forces further south in Syria, arguing that such a move would constitute a threat.
Referring to the airfield near Aleppo, Netanyahu indicated that Israel had already sent a message opposing any Turkish military presence there.
"Apparently, they didn't hear it, so we made sure they understood it clearly," Netanyahu said.
A statement issued yesterday by the Israeli prime minister's office said that Israel had repeatedly warned Syria that the deployment of Turkish troops on Syrian territory would constitute "a threat to Israel's security", but that Damascus had ignored those warnings.
Israel's military warning
Separately, Eyal Zamir said the Israeli military would not allow "hostile forces" to establish themselves on the Syrian border.
Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes in Syria since the overthrow of the Assad government by an Islamist-led alliance in December 2024.
It has also deployed troops to a UN-monitored buffer zone that separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights, describing the area as a "security zone" from which it does not intend to withdraw.
Turkey denies plans for troop deployment
Turkey, whose relations with Israel have been strained for several years, denied reports that it was planning to deploy troops in Syria.
Meanwhile, Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and White House special envoy for Syria, condemned the Israeli strikes and accused Israel of "unnecessary escalation".
