Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (not seen) at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, May 13, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas

i24 News – Turkey was left fuming after at least three air bases in Syria where it hoped to deploy its forces were devastated by Israeli air strikes this week.

The Israeli strikes the T4 and Palmyra air bases in Syria’s Homs province and the main airport in Hama province. Israeli attacks came despite Ankara’s efforts to reassure Washington that a deeper military presence in Syria was not intended to threaten Israel.

Turkish military teams in recent weeks scoped out all three sites, four officials speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters.

Strikes at T4 “destroyed the runway, tower, hangars and the planes that were grounded. It was a tough message that Israel won’t accept the expanded Turkish presence,” said one of the intelligence officials who spoke to the news agency.

Ankara is positioning itself to play a major role in the new Syria, filling a vacuum left by Iran, in an expansion of Turkish sway that has put Israel—embroiled in a multi-front war of survival for the last year and a half—on edge.