Israel defends strike on Syria as U.S. frustration with Bibi grows

Israel told the Trump administration its recent attack on a Syrian airbase was aimed at preventing a Turkish military buildup in the area, U.S. and Israeli officials said.

Why it matters: The unusual strike exacerbated tensions in the region between three close U.S. partners, just as the Trump administration is trying to prevent further escalation.

• Trump sees his approach to Ahmed al-Sharaa's government in Syria as a foreign policy achievement. Trump is also very close to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Israel is a close U.S. ally, but Trump's relations with Netanyahu have grown more tense in recent months.
• The aggressive move by Israel frustrated White House and senior U.S. officials. But it also exposed again that the Trump administration is rarely prepared to draw a clear red line with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Driving the news: The strike occurred early in the morning local time on Tuesday. At least eight bombs hit the runways and several hangars at the Abu al-Duhur Airbase in northern Syria, about 45 miles from the Turkish border.

• The strike damaged the runways, which had recently been rebuilt, but there were no casualties.
• Israel initially did not take responsibility. An Israeli military censor put a gag order on any reporting that confirmed Israel Defense Forces conducted the strike.
• U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who is also the U.S. envoy for Syria, then went on X and revealed Israel conducted the strike.
• Barrack said the Trump administration was "deeply concerned" and called the strike "an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability."
• The Syrian and Turkish governments also condemned the Israeli strike.

The other side: Twenty hours after the strike, the Israeli prime minister's office claimed responsibility. It wrote on X that Syria "was on the verge of breaching" an agreement with Israel to maintain security status quo "by permitting Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo."

• "Israel repeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel's security. Syria chose to ignore these warnings. Israel will not tolerate threats to its security, and would welcome a return to the status quo," the post read.
• The Syrian government was aware of Israel's concerns about the base for some time. It sent messages to the Israelis explaining why it was rebuilding the runway and emphasizing it did not have hostile intentions, a source with knowledge of the matter said.

Behind the scenes: The Israeli government notified White House officials in advance of the strike, according to U.S. and Israeli officials.

• Around three hours earlier, Trump spoke with Erdogan on the phone, but it isn't clear if the issue came up.
• The Israelis told the White House the strike was aimed at deterring Turkey from sending a shipment of sophisticated weapons systems to the airbase — and preventing a broader military buildup at the site, U.S. and Israeli officials said.
• A Turkish official pushed back on Israel's claims. "There was no Turkish presence at the airbase. Israel is inventing pretexts to bomb neighboring countries and destabilize the region," the person said.
• The White House didn't respond to a request for comment.

The intrigue: Some senior U.S. officials think the strike was motivated in part by Israel's October election.

• U.S. officials say the Syrian government hasn't taken any hostile steps toward Israel, and for months has tried to reach a new security agreement to de-escalate tensions on the border between the countries.
• One U.S. official said the Syrian government had been pushing for weeks to implement an agreement with the U.S. and Israel to establish a joint coordination center in Jordan aimed at managing such incidents and preventing escalation.
• The U.S. official said this was part of the same agreement in which the two countries commit to "freezing military activities." But Israel refused to operationalize the coordination center and instead increased IDF incursions into southern Syria, the U.S. official said.
• "At a certain point, the Syrian government started changing its attitude and thinking it needs to defend itself against Israeli aggression," a second U.S. official said.
• The Trump administration asked the Syrian government to show restraint, stressing that it will be easier to address this issue after the Israeli election, the U.S. officials said.