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Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Israel briefed US on ‘highly sensitive intelligence’ before Syria strike, official says
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleNava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.
Israel notified the United States in advance of its reported overnight strike on an airbase in northwestern Syria, sharing “highly sensitive intelligence” related to the incident, a senior Israeli official tells Fox News.
“Highly sensitive intelligence was shared with the United States in advance, at the most senior levels of the various agencies and bodies,” the official says, adding that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa “understands that he cannot operate like the previous Syrian regime, which maintained proxy forces. It’s possible that he didn’t understand what was going on, or didn’t know.”
The official declined to provide Fox with additional details, “due to the highly classified nature of the intelligence.”
Israel has been seeking to prevent Turkish entrenchment and influence in Syria, and in the past has carried out strikes purportedly in order to stop Turkey from assisting in building up the new Syrian government’s air force.
Senior Israeli official to Fox News when asked about the reported Israeli strikes in Syria overnight:
“Highly sensitive intelligence was shared with the United States in advance, at the most senior levels of the various agencies and bodies," the official said. “Al-Sharaa…
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) August 18, 2026
Israel has yet to publicly comment on the strikes on the Abu Duhur military airport, which Damascus blamed on Jerusalem and which US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack publicly condemned as “confirmed Israeli airstrikes.”
Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.