An Israeli F-16 fighter jet crashed on Saturday, February 10, in northern Israel after the Israeli military carried out strikes on Iranian targets in Syria. As explained official representative Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Jonathan Conricus, his country carried out strikes in response to Iranian infiltration unmanned vehicle into the airspace of the Jewish state. Syrian sources claim that Syrian air defense systems hit "more than one Israeli fighter", but the Israelis deny this.
“The IDF attacked an Iranian checkpoint from which a drone was directed into Israeli airspace,” Conricus wrote on the IDF’s page Twitter. “A massive salvo of Syrian air defenses, one F16 fighter crashed in Israel, the pilots are safe.” Conricus added that “responsibility for the gross violation of Israeli sovereignty lies with Iran,” TASS reports.
As NEWSru Israel clarifies, on Saturday night, an Iranian-made unmanned aircraft launched towards Israel from Syrian territory was shot down by an IDF combat helicopter. Conricus clarified that the Israeli military destroyed an Iranian UAV control point in Syria. The Syrian military responded to the attack by using air defense. Later Saturday morning, an Israeli F-16i Sufa military aircraft crashed in the Jezreel Valley. Its two pilots managed to eject, they survived and were taken to the hospital. One of the pilots is seriously injured.
According to available information, the downed fighter took part in an operation to strike targets in Syria.
In turn, the official Syrian agency SANA reports that the Israeli Air Force not only shot down an Iranian drone launched from Syria, but also attacked military targets in central Syria. Moreover, according to an agency source in military circles, Syrian air defense systems hit “more than one Israeli fighter.” However, the IDF denies the latter: only one plane was shot down.
Israeli media note that the crash of an F-16 aircraft was the eleventh such incident in Israel involving aircraft of this class over the past 20 years. If it is confirmed that the plane was shot down by Syrian air defenses, then we're talking about the first such incident in many years.
Let us remind you that on February 7, the Syrian military accused Israel of a new air attack. According to SANA, Israeli BBC planes then carried out "several strikes on one of the Syrian military installations in Damascus province." In early January, three Israeli BBC missile attacks on Syrian targets were reported in one night.
At the end of January, the media wrote that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he would no longer tolerate Israeli attacks and asked Moscow to sell the S-400 anti-aircraft missile system to Damascus. He also allegedly threatened to harm missile strike at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
Last month, Israel also accused Iran of building bases and missile factories in Syria. As Israel's representative to the UN, Danny Danon, said at a meeting of the Security Council, Iran is also building bases to house Hezbollah militants.
The Israeli Air Force attacked 12 Syrian and Iranian targets in Syria -
The Israeli armed forces carried out strikes on 12 military targets of Iran and Syria on Syrian territory, an Israeli Defense Forces spokesman said on Saturday.
"The IDF hit 12 Syrian and Iranian military targets in Syria in response to Iran's aggression,"
The Israeli army carried out two air raids into neighboring Syria. The reason was the intrusion of a drone, which was considered Iranian. First, the strikes were carried out on the UAV control center, and then on Syrian air defense systems and a number of “Iranian targets.” As a result, Israel lost an F-16I bomber. The Syrian army, however, claims to have shot down several Israeli planes. Will the incident harm the Syrian settlement?
On Saturday, one of the most serious conflicts occurred between Syria and Israel. Lately incidents. During the day, Israel launched a powerful strike on air defense systems and “Iranian targets” in Syria. As the press service of the Israel Defense Forces reported to TASS, a total of 12 targets were attacked, including “three air defense battles and four Iranian military targets in Syria.”
It was the second wave of bombing of the day, following the destruction in the pre-dawn hours of an Iranian control center for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), one of which was shot down over Israel. The military added that "during the attack, anti-aircraft missiles were launched towards Israel, which triggered air raid sirens in the north" of the Jewish state.
On Saturday night, a UAV invaded the country's airspace from Syria. Israel considered this an act of Iranian aggression and a gross violation of the country's sovereignty. After destroying this drone with combat helicopter IDF AH-64 Apache Israeli aircraft attacked “Iranian targets” on Syrian territory. In particular, the Iranian UAV control center was the target of the airstrikes. Israeli airspace was temporarily closed to civil aviation.
According to the Syrian news agency SANA, national forces air defense several Israeli Air Force planes gave a worthy rebuff. Damascus called the actions of Israeli aviation support for terrorists. As the army press service clarified, several anti-aircraft missiles were fired at enemy aircraft. The Syrian side does not provide information on the number of aircraft shot down.
In a conversation with RIA Novosti, one of the leaders of the Israeli army press service, Jonathan Conricus, denied reports of large losses. At the same time, Israel, without specifying the reasons for the crash, confirmed the loss of only one aircraft - the F-16I fighter-bomber. The plane managed to leave Syria, but did not reach the airfield and crashed in the north of the country. The pilots had to eject and were then taken to the hospital. One of them was seriously injured. This is reported in Twitter Israeli army.Photos and videos from the plane crash site appeared on social networks. In the pictures it is seen the field on which the plane crashed. There is almost nothing left of him. On another video captured moment of interception of Syrian missiles.
The escalation of the conflict was indicated by the blaring of Israeli alarm sirens in the northern Golan Heights, indicating a possible rocket attack from neighboring Syria or Lebanon. The sirens went off twice: first early in the morning after Israel responded to a drone incursion, and later in response to an attack on Syrian air defense systems that were trying to shoot back.
In turn, Syrian state television, reporting on the repulsion of the second Israeli attack by national air defense systems, initially mentioned the province of Damascus, but in subsequent reports nothing was said about it. Therefore, the areas attacked by Israeli aircraft have not yet been precisely identified.BREAKING - Cleared for publication: A drone from Syria crossed into Israeli airspace and was intercepted by Israel. In response, Israel attacked Assad targets in Syria. The rockets fired at Northern Israel were anti-aircraft missiles from Syria. No injuries, no damage reported. pic.twitter.com/Cig5H57Rnj
— Behind The News (@Behind__News) February 10, 2018
According to experts, what is happening is not beneficial to the resolution of the Syrian conflict and once again emphasizes that the interests of regional and international players regarding the search for peace are very different.
A former employee of the intelligence department of the Israeli General Staff, Zvi Magen, notes that now in Syria there is a serious confrontation between all the participants involved there, in particular, in addition to the Bashar al-Assad regime, we are talking about Iran, Turkey, Russia and other regional and international players, including the United States. At stake is the future order and development in Syria. According to him, “there is a showdown around all this” and Iran wants to start a new round of confrontation.
“It was predicted that Iran would begin some kind of provocative actions on the Israeli border, which was done.
An Iranian drone on Israeli territory is crossing a red line."
– Magen told the newspaper VZGLYAD.
He is convinced that what happened to a large extent concerns Russia, so Moscow and Tel Aviv can already consult on this issue and “agree on some kind of calm.”
Regarding what is happening in Syria, the expert recalled that Israel strictly observes its neutrality and “Russia has been thoroughly notified about this.” “But Israel reminds us very harshly that it will not allow Irina’s presence in Syria. Iran intends to settle in Syria and introduce its armed forces there and use the local infrastructure. This is mainly aimed against Israel. For this purpose, Iran is using various Shiite formations, in particular Hezbollah and other groups that it brought from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq,” Magen recalled and emphasized that Israel is in last years carefully suppresses any attempts to transfer weapons to these formations.
Israel launched a powerful attack on Syria's air defense system after an Israeli fighter jet was shot down during an air raid.
The airstrike was the most powerful since the 1982 Lebanon War, according to senior Israeli Air Force spokesman General Tomer Bar. At the same time, all aircraft that took part in the sortie returned safely to base.
Earlier, Israeli aircraft attacked “Iranian targets” in Syria after an Iranian drone launched from Syria was intercepted over the country’s territory. The targets of the strikes were drone control systems.
During this attack, air defense systems opened fire on Israeli aircraft. As a result, one of the fighters was damaged and crashed in northern Israel. According to the Israeli military, the pilots ejected, but were injured and hospitalized.
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This is the first loss of the Israeli air force since 2006, when Hezbollah militants shot down an Israeli helicopter over Lebanon with a missile. All five crew members died, including the female flight engineer.
The Syrian authorities have not yet officially commented on the incident. Previously, in similar cases, they accused Israel of aggression and used air defense, but so far they have not been able to shoot down Israeli fighters.
At the same time, the Syrian state agency SANA, citing an anonymous source, reports that Syrian air defenses allegedly shot down more than one plane. An air defense system repelled an Israeli Air Force attack on a military base in central Syria, the report said.
In March last year, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman stated that in the event of a new anti-aircraft missile attack on Israeli aircraft, Syria's entire air defense system would be immediately destroyed.
Then Syrian missiles were also fired at Israeli planes carrying out attacks on Syrian territory. One of the missiles was shot down, the other two fell on Israeli territory. The Israeli planes were not damaged.
It was reported that Israel then used the Arrow missile defense system for the first time in combat conditions. Now, during the incident with the Iranian drone, the air raid warning system went off in some areas of Israel.
Exchange of threats
“The Syrians are playing with fire by allowing the Iranians to attack Israel,” warned Israeli army spokesman Lt. Col. Yonatan Conricus. He also added that Israel will force them to pay a high price for the downed plane, but is not interested in escalating the situation.
Meanwhile, Iran and the Tehran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon, whose fighters fight on the side of Assad's army, called claims that an Iranian drone entered Israeli airspace a lie.
In turn, Russia expressed serious concern about the Israeli air strikes and called on all parties to show restraint.
What is the Iranian presence in Syria?
Iran remains Israel's main enemy, while the Iranian military has been fighting since 2011 fighting against anti-government groups in Syria.
Tehran sent military advisers, volunteers, and, according to some sources, hundreds of professional fighters from the ranks of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to Syria.
It is also believed that Iran has sent thousands of tons of weapons and ammunition to help the Assad regime and the Lebanese Hezbollah militants fighting on its side.
Tehran is accused of not only seeking to increase its influence, but of wanting to provide routes for land delivery of weapons from Iran to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
What are the strategic circumstances of the current escalation of tensions?
Israeli Air Force planes launched a missile attack on targets located in the Damascus-controlled Hisya industrial zone, located 35 km south of the Syrian city of Homs. An unnamed Syrian Arab Army commander said the attack targeted a copper factory.
In response to the Israeli attack, Syrian air defense forces launched a retaliatory strike. Surface-to-air missiles from the Syrian Arab Army's 72nd Division were fired at Israeli Air Force fighters operating from neighboring Lebanese airspace. The Syrian commander did not report casualties, writes Reuters.
Conkrikus also stressed that Tel Aviv “retains the capacity and freedom of action to prevent any hostile actions or intentions from Syria.”
At the beginning of September 2017, Israeli aircraft attacked the positions of Syrian government forces in the province of Hama, as a result of the airstrike two people were killed, FAN reports.
According to the department, the Israeli Air Force attacked the positions of the Syrian armed forces in the area of the city of Masyaf, which is located north of Homs.
At the same time, the Israeli military refused to comment on the report of an airstrike on positions of Syrian government forces, noting that they do not disclose information related to current operations.
Syrian authorities described the Israeli airstrike as “an aggressive act that could have dangerous consequences for the security and stability of the region.” In addition, Damascus accused Israel of supporting militants.
Israeli Air Force planes launched a missile attack on facilities located in the Damascus-controlled Hisya industrial zone, located 35 km south of the Syrian city of Homs, Gazeta.ru writes.An unnamed Syrian Arab Army commander told Reuters the strike targeted a copper factory.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that military infrastructure was attacked.
A source close to the intelligence service of the Air Force of the Arab Republic told RIA Novosti that the SAA air defense “reacted to the Israeli aggression.”
“According to our data, Israeli planes launched a missile attack on Syrian territory from Lebanese airspace in the Bekaa region,” the Syrian security official emphasized.
In response to the Israeli attack, Syrian air defense forces launched a retaliatory strike. Surface-to-air missiles from the Syrian Arab Army's 72nd Division were fired at Israeli Air Force fighters operating from neighboring Lebanese airspace. The Syrian commander did not report casualties, writes Reuters.
An Israel Defense Forces spokesman declined to comment on the incident.
"On this moment we refuse to comment,” the press service of the Israel Defense Forces told a RIA Novosti correspondent.
At the same time, a spokesman for the Israeli army said that Tel Aviv considers the Syrian government responsible not only for the latest attack, but also for all other aggressive actions from Syrian territory.
It should be noted that Israel periodically shells Syrian territory under flimsy pretexts. For example, on October 19, Israeli tanks attacked a mortar position of the Syrian government army near the city of Quneitra.
“Hostile Israel attacked one of our army’s positions on the Golan Heights in the Quneitra province, which led to material damage,” the SAA command said in a statement.
It is clarified that Israel struck after several mortar shells exploded on the demarcation line in the Golan Heights. At the same time, the Israeli army, having reported the attack, promised to strengthen its response to the shelling.
The head of the Iranian military headquarters, in turn, after this barbaric act of aggression, warned the Jewish state and its minions that Tehran will not tolerate violations of Syrian sovereignty by Israel and promised that both countries will fight together against the enemies of Syria.
And during the recent visit of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Israel decided to demonstrate its “power,” but the demonstration of power turned into a demonstration of weakness. At least there are rumors about it. On October 16, Shoigu arrived in Israel to meet with Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The situation in the region, Syria, the fight against terrorism, as well as military-technical cooperation and everything related...
On the same day, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced that their militants carried out another raid on the positions of Syrian government forces, as was already the custom, under a far-fetched pretext... either a shell flew somewhere or someone... something seemed... not the point.
The point is that one of the Israeli F-35s ("stealth") was shot down, or rather, as the Syrians themselves say, scratched by an old Soviet S-200 missile. And this despite the fact that the F-35 is the most expensive military aircraft in the world with a price tag of about 100 million. Israel itself denies damage to the F-35 stealth aircraft by an old Soviet missile. However, we managed to establish the truth
"Today, during a routine flight over Lebanon from Syria, an anti-aircraft missile was fired towards an IDF aircraft. In response, IDF aircraft attacked an anti-aircraft battery in Syria. The Syrian regime is responsible for the fire on Israeli aircraft. The IDF retains its ability to disrupt any military action against Israeli civilians persons," the Israeli Defense Forces tweeted at the time.
“The army attacked a Syrian air defense battery with four bombs and, according to the IDF, the battery was destroyed to the point that it was no longer able to operate. The army said the target air defense battery was attacked by Israeli aircraft, prompting Israel to use its anti-missile system for the first time.” Shooter "- wrote the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
However, that incident was not in vain for Israel. Syrian air defenses scratched the vaunted flying bullshit F-35. According to available information, the Syrian defense forces used an old Soviet missile against an Israeli warplane. missile complex S-200. This soviet rocket is the most advanced anti-aircraft system long-range, operated by the Syrian military, if we do not take into account our air defenses.
A message from the Supreme Command of the Army and Armed Forces of the SAR then reported: “8.51 in the morning near the Lebanese border region of Baalbek, enemy Israeli planes invaded Syrian airspace, the SAR air defense was able to repel the attack and forced them to return. At 11.38, the Israeli enemy launched missile attacks from the occupied territories at one of the army positions in the province of Damascus. There were no casualties, but there was material damage."
A statement from the Syrian Ministry of Defense directly states that “... Syrian government forces responded to the airspace violation and hit one of the aircraft, forcing [the Israeli aircraft] to retreat.”
Literally a few hours after the missile incident with Syria, the Israeli publication The Times of Israel, citing sources in the army, reported that “... the F-35 fighter of the Israeli Air Force is out of order, its stealth coating needs to be repaired due to for two storks hitting the plane's fuselage during a training flight on Tuesday."
The birds reportedly hit the F-35 in the middle of the Negev Desert, forcing it to return to base. However, as has become fashionable, Israeli sources were unable to show a photograph of the F-35 military aircraft after the “bird strike.”
As RIA Novosti writes, Israel plays a provocative role in this case, - this opinion was expressed by the executive secretary of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems Arayik Stepanyan on Sputnik radio.
“This is not the first time Israel has carried out such an illegal attack on the territory independent state. It seems to me that Israel is playing a slightly provocative role, since it sees that the operation on the southeastern front is being completed quite successfully (for the Syrian government forces), and there is a possibility that Syrian and Iraqi forces will be able to completely take control of the Syrian-Iraqi border. Based on these considerations, in order to divert attention from this front, Israel strikes. This is a provocative act. It’s as if they want to help terrorists,” noted Arayik Stepanyan.
All cases of shelling of Syrian territory by Israeli IDF militants can be found in the material -
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