The threats and insults have been coming from both sides for days now.

Turkey is trying to establish a "neo-Ottoman state" in Syria and if it crosses "red lines" then Israel will act, senior Israeli officials warned.

With its ongoing air attacks on Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, Israel's "fundamentalist and racist" government has become "the greatest threat to the security of our region" with "aggressive and expansionist policies," Turkish officials responded.

The latest undiplomatic comments came late last week as a result of Israel bombing Syria again.

Since the former authoritarian Syrian regime, led by dictator Bashar Assad, was ousted in December 2024, Israel has struck multiple targets in Syria. The new Syrian authorities — busy trying to pull the country together after 14 years of divisive civil war — say they don't want any conflict with Israel.

Despite that, Israel says it has been forced to bomb Syria in order to ensure the new government didn't use the old regime's weapons against it.

But last week's air strikes were different: They were intended as a message for Turkey, an Israeli official told local media.

Israeli fighter jets hit a military airport in Hama as well as striking the Tiyas, or T4, airbase in Homs, and a branch of the Scientific Studies and Research Center in Damascus.

Turkey has been quietly negotiating a defense pact with the new Syrian government for several months now. That would include training Syrian troops and using Syrian airbases, such as those struck by Israel.

Turkey argues this would allow it to fill the vacuum left by Iran and Russia, former military supporters of the deposed Assad regime, to help stabilize Syria and to continue operations against the extremist "Islamic State" group.

Israel sees it differently.

"Turkey's intention to introduce air defense systems and radar to central Syrian airports poses a direct........

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