Jerusalem, Aug 2026 : Israel has stepped up warnings over Turkey’s expanding military presence in Syria, with Mossad chief Roman Gofman reportedly holding a phone conversation with Syrian Foreign Affairs chief Asaad Hassan al-Shibani last week, Israeli state-owned Kan TV reported.
The reported conversation marks the first known contact between Gofman and al-Shibani since Gofman took charge of Israel’s intelligence agency in June. The call comes amid growing tensions between Israel and Turkey over Ankara’s alleged plans to expand its military footprint inside Syria.
According to the report, the discussion focused on Turkey’s military activities in Syria. The development comes against the backdrop of increasingly sharp exchanges between Israel and Turkey over the security situation in the neighbouring country.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not immediately comment on the reported telephone conversation. However, Netanyahu separately addressed Turkey’s involvement in Syria in a video message posted by his Likud party on X.
Netanyahu said Israel would not accept what he described as a Turkish military buildup in Syria that could pose a threat to Israeli security.
“We will not tolerate a Turkish military buildup in Syria that threatens Israel,” Netanyahu said.
His remarks followed an Israeli airstrike on the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province on Tuesday. Netanyahu said Israel had already communicated its concerns to the relevant parties.
“We made the message clear. Apparently, they did not hear it well enough, so we made sure they understood it better,” he said.
Israeli authorities said the strike was carried out after Damascus allegedly permitted Turkish forces to deploy at the military facility. Turkey rejected the allegation and accused Israel of violating Syria’s sovereignty.
Israeli warplanes reportedly conducted eight airstrikes early Tuesday, targeting the runway of the Abu al-Duhur military airport. The strikes were presented by Israel as part of efforts to prevent hostile military forces from establishing a stronger presence close to its borders.
The tensions have also prompted increased activity by Israel’s military leadership. Israeli Chief of General Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir visited southern Syria on Wednesday, a day after the airstrikes in Idlib.
During the visit, Zamir met senior commanders and conducted a security assessment of developments along the Syrian front. He also visited Israeli troops operating in an area that Israel refers to as a “security zone” in southern Syria.
“We will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves on our borders,” Zamir said during the visit. He added that Israel was closely monitoring developments and changes taking place on the Syrian front.
“We see what is happening and are monitoring the changes on the Syrian front,” he said.
Zamir also warned that the broader regional security situation remained volatile, with Israel continuing to operate across multiple fronts.
“We are still in a multi-front war, alert and operating in all arenas -- escalation can develop in any one of them, and we must remain in constant readiness for that,” he said.
The developments highlight the increasingly complex security environment in Syria, where multiple regional actors continue to pursue competing strategic interests. Israel has repeatedly said it will take military action to prevent hostile forces from establishing positions that could threaten its territory, while Turkey has opposed Israeli military operations inside Syria.
The reported Mossad-Damascus contact, alongside Israel’s military warnings and airstrikes, suggests that developments involving Turkey’s presence in Syria are becoming an increasingly important security concern for Israel.
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
