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Tuesday, February 13, 2018
In reaction to the downing on Friday night of an Israeli F-16 which was targeting some Iranian control systems located in Syria, the Israeli Air Force launched some hours later an air raid on 12 sites located in Syria, four of which are said to be Iranian targets near Syrian capital Damascus. An anonymous Israeli official has estimated that about half of Syria’s anti-aircraft batteries has been destroyed. On Tuesday, Damascus warned Israel that it will “face more surprises” if there’ll be more Israeli attacks on Syrian ground.
The Israeli F-16 was shot down by Syrian anti-aircraft forces. It crashed in northern Israel, according to Israeli media. The two pilots have managed to save their lives by ejecting themselves. They have been hospitalized, and one of them is reported to have been seriously injured. Although Israel has been carrying out dozens of air attacks on Syrian territory over the last year, this is the first time an Israeli plane is shot down by Syrian military forces.
This new attack by Israel is described as a “large-scale” one. It is said to be the most serious confrontation between Israel and Iran since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011. Both Israel and Iran are to some degree involved in the Syrian Civil War.
The downing of the F-16 happened after a reportedly Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle, which had been launched from Syria, entered the Israeli airspace in Golan Heights. The drone said to be Iranian was shot down by an Israeli combat helicopter. In response to the presence of the drone, Israel dispatched at least eight warplanes, including the F-16 shot down.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi has waved the Israeli claim that the drone which was shot down by Israel was actually Iranian aside as “ridiculous”, saying Iran only provides “military advice” to Syria. Moreover, Qassemi pointed to the Syrian government’s and army’s right to defend themselves.
The Syrian state media organization, the Syrian Arab News Agency, reported in response to what they called “an Israeli act of aggression” — referring to the first Israeli air raid before the F-16 was shot down — the Syrian air defense shot down at least two Israeli planes.
However, this claim from Syrian side is denied by Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Jonathan Conricus, who says only one Israeli plane crashed. The Syrian state television has cited a military who claims the army base in the central region of the country has as well been hit by the Israeli attacks, as a result of which some Syrian militaries have been killed, according to sources in Damascus. In a statement, the Syrian pro-government military alliance has threatened to retaliate against Israel, accusing it of “terrorism”.
In a tweet, spokesperson Jonathan Conricus blamed Iran for what he called a “severe violation of Israeli sovereignty”. He also says that “the Syrians and Iranians, from our point of view, are playing with fire”.
On Saturday, Interfax reported that the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a telephone call about the current situation, in which Putin urged Netanyahu not to let it escalate further. Netanyahu for his part has announced that Israel will do “whatever is necessary” in order to stop aggression.