Turkish and Israeli warplanes reportedly came dangerously close to one another in Syrian airspace, according to Turkish opposition media outlets.
The same sources report that the incident occurred “on the night of 2 May following a large-scale airstrike by the Israeli Air Force around the Presidential Palace in Damascus, as a warning over increasing violence against Syria’s Druze community.”
Opposition outlets cite diplomatic sources who claim that Turkish and Israeli aircraft approached each other at a dangerously close range while being tracked by radar, triggering a brief air traffic alert in the region. Both sides avoided direct confrontation.
According to reports, in an effort to prevent such scenarios, Turkey and Israel had met in Baku, Azerbaijan, in early April 2025 under US mediation. There, they held technical-level talks on establishing a “deconfliction line” over Syria. However, this latest escalation on the night of 2 May indicates that these mechanisms have yet to be fully activated or are struggling to function on the ground.
The same sources note that “Israel’s targeting of areas under the control of the new government in Syria has caused discomfort in Ankara.”
While it is known, they add, “that Turkey has recently reinforced its military bases in Syria and increased cooperation with the interim government, Israel views this presence as a threat and is reportedly drafting attack plans against it.”
“It is also becoming increasingly common for the two countries to indirectly confront each other in Syria, and this situation could have broader implications for regional balances in the coming days,” the reports conclude.
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Source: CNA
