Eight airstrikes hit an airbase in Idlib, northwestern Syria, causing damage but no casualties, according to Syrian state media.
State television, citing a military source, said the strikes early Tuesday (April 8) hit the runway of the Abu al-Duhur military base in the eastern countryside of Idlib. This is the first attack on the airbase since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's government in December 2024.
The state news agency SANA quoted an unnamed military source as confirming: "Israeli occupation aircraft early this morning targeted the runway of Abu Duhur military airport... with eight airstrikes."
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Al Jazeera's correspondent in Damascus, Sohaib al-Khalaf, said the nature of the attack resembled previous Israeli airstrikes on Syrian military sites, which aim to weaken Syria's military capabilities.
The Abu al-Duhur airbase was heavily damaged during Syria's 14-year civil war. Opposition forces took control of the base in 2015 after clashes with government troops. In 2019, forces loyal to al-Assad regained the base, but it remained non-operational due to severe damage sustained throughout the conflict.
Al Jazeera's Heidi Pett, reporting from Saraqib, said Israel has intensified attacks on Syrian military sites since al-Assad left the country. She said: "There is a continuous Israeli campaign to weaken Syrian military capabilities, which began under the al-Assad government but escalated rapidly after its collapse."
"Israel has systematized airstrikes to wipe out the Syrian air force, and over the past year and a half, there has been an effort to partially rebuild this air capability," Pett added.
