JERUSALEM—The Israeli military said Saturday Iran and Syria were “playing with fire” but that it was not seeking an escalation after an Iranian drone infiltration resulted in large-scale Israeli air strikes inside Syria.
An Israeli F-16 fighter jet crashed after coming under fire from Syrian air defenses during attacks against “Iranian targets” in the war-torn country, a military spokesman said. The two pilots ejected. One was seriously injured and the second was lightly injured.
An IDF spokesman has issued an update to Saturday morning’s incident in which the IDF shot down an Iranian drone and attacked its launch and command center inside Syria.
The IDF statement appears to confirm that the IDF jet that fell in Israeli territory was hit by Syrian anti-aircraft missiles. “IDF jets have attacked Iranian targets in Syria following the downing of an Iranian drone this morning. The IDF attacked the drone’s launch facility deep inside Syria,” the statement read.
“During the strike anti-aircraft missiles were fired at Israeli planes. The pilots of one of the planes initiated a plane abandonment procedure. The pilots landed safely in Israel and were taken to hospital for medical treatment. The IDF sees the Iranian attack and the Syrian response as a severe and extraordinary violation of Israeli sovereignty. The IDF is in a heightened state of preparedness to continue operations as decided an as necessary.”
The Israeli attack was met with anti-aircraft fire, triggering air raid sirens in the Golan Heights and upper Galilee, warning residents of potential rocket strikes. According to IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Ronen Manelis, several missiles hit open areas in northern Israel.
The Iranian drone was launched from a Syrian base in the Homs desert. It was identified approaching Israeli airspace by the IDF around 4am, setting off alarms across Golan Heights and the Jordan Valley. The drone entered Israel via Jordanian airspace and flew for a minute and a half before it was intercepted by an Israeli Air Force Apache helicopter near the town of Beit She’an.
“We waited for it to cross into our territory,” said Israeli Air Force chief of air staff Brigadier General Tomer Bar who stressed that it was important for Israel “to get our hands on the drone that was operated by the Iranians.”
According to Manelis, while the drone was Iranian and navigated by Iranian operators, Syria’s choice to fire its air defenses against Israeli jets shows that it has chosen to interfere in Israel’s fight against Iranian activity in the country.
“Iran’s mask has been removed. It is clear that they are using Syria as a launchpad for activity against Israel,” he said. “Iran is dragging the region into an adventure and will pay the price for it.”
TPS contributed to ths report.
