New details emerging from the dramatic Israeli strike in northern Syria reveal that Israel had repeatedly warned Damascus against allowing Türkiye to establish a significant military foothold in the country — including through a rare high-level contact between Mossad chief Roman Gofman and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani just days before the attack.

According to Reuters, Gofman held a phone call with al-Shaibani on August 14, four days before the Israeli strike, with the two discussing Türkiye’s military presence on Syrian territory. The conversation was described as the first between Syria’s foreign minister and the head of the Mossad, and represents one of the highest-level contacts between Israel and Syria’s new government since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

Separately, Israeli officials reportedly delivered direct warnings to senior Syrian officials in the days leading up to the attack after Jerusalem learned that Türkiye intended to expand its military presence in Syria.

“We know the Turks are on the way. This is a violation of the status quo,” Israeli officials warned their Syrian counterparts.

Israel had concluded that Türkiye was apparently seeking to establish a permanent and substantial military presence in Syria and initially attempted to stop the move through diplomatic warnings.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday directly addressed the Turkish activity and the message Israel sought to send with the strike.

“We will not tolerate a Turkish military entrenchment that moves south. We have made this clear in general terms,” Netanyahu said.

“Now, we saw that there was an intention by Türkiye to establish itself in an airfield near Aleppo. And we delivered a message.”

“The message was delivered, but apparently they didn’t hear it,” Netanyahu continued. “So we made sure they understood it in a better way.”

The Israeli Air Force subsequently struck Syria’s Abu al-Duhur Air Base in the north of the country, approximately 70 kilometers east of the Turkish border. Israeli officials said Syria had violated an agreed security status quo by permitting Turkish forces to deploy at the airfield, and that the strike came after repeated Israeli warnings were ignored.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir toured southern Syria on Wednesday, a day after the strike, and warned that Israel would not allow hostile forces to establish themselves along its borders.

“We see what is happening and are following the changes on the Syrian front — we must prepare accordingly,” Zamir said.

“We will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves on our borders, and we will know how to use our strength precisely where necessary and when necessary.”

Zamir added that Israel remains engaged in a multi-front war and must maintain constant readiness.

“We are still in a multi-front war, alert and operating across all arenas. Escalation can develop in any one of them, and we must remain constantly prepared for that.”

The United States is now pushing quiet discussions aimed at renewing a mechanism designed to prevent accidental clashes between Israel and Syria, potentially including Türkiye as well.

The strike also triggered a political clash inside Israel.

Democrats chairman Yair Golan sharply condemned the operation, calling it “a provocative and dangerous move that brings us closer to a confrontation with Türkiye and deepens the rift with our allies, first and foremost the United States.”

“Once again, military force is being used for political considerations, and once again Israel is paying the price in its security,” Golan said.

Golan directed his criticism at Netanyahu, saying, “Netanyahu is once again proving that he is an extremist and unreliable figure who cannot be trusted, and certainly cannot be relied upon to build a stable regional process. This is how he erodes trust in Israel and drives partners and allies away from us.”

“Israel needs leadership that knows how to use force in order to achieve security, not to create another war for the sake of political survival,” he added.

Likud fired back at Golan, saying: “It is not surprising that Yair Golan, who calls for the establishment of a Palestinian terror state in the heart of Israel, is willing to allow Türkiye to establish a military presence in Syria — something Prime Minister Netanyahu is forcefully pushing back against.”

“Yair Golan is the man designated to serve as defense minister in a government of Eisenkot, Lieberman and Mansour Abbas,” Likud added.

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