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Israeli fighter-jets destroy Syrian SA-5 battery after fired upon

Israeli fighter jets that were on a reconnaissance mission over Lebanon were reportedly fired upon by a Syrian SA-5 surface-to-air missile system, which according to the IDF spokesperson’s unit, was located some 50 kilometers east of the Syrian capital Damascus.  The IDF stated that the fighter jets evaded the Syrian missiles, returning to Israel safely. In response to the Syrian missile fire, the Israeli Air Force launched an aerial-strike, some two hours after the incident, at the Syrian anti-aircraft battery, reportedly destroying the system’s fire-control radar. In a televised statement on the matter, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that Israel’s response was decisive and adhered to Jerusalem’s policy, which dictates clear guidelines. PM Netanyahu said, “Our policy is clear, whoever tries to harm us, we will strike at him. Today there was an attempt to harm our aircraft — this is unacceptable to us. The air force acted quickly and accurately to destroy what needed to be destroyed. We will continue to act in the region as is required in order to defend Israel,” the Israeli leader emphasized. The Syrian army also responded to the Israeli strike, warning Israel “of serious ramifications to its repeated aggression,” claiming that one of the Israeli fighter-jets was hit, an allegation Israel vehemently denies.

The incident in Syria occurred shortly before Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu arrived in Israel for a scheduled work meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Lieberman. During their meeting at the Israeli Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, Minister Lieberman emphasized that Israel had no intention of meddling in Syria’s internal affairs, but warned that Israel would not permit Iran and Hezbollah to turn Syria’s territory into a forward post against the Jewish state. Lieberman further reiterated Israel’s red-lines, in which it will use all the tools at its disposal to thwart any attempts to “transfer sophisticated weapons from Iran through Syria to Lebanon.” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu, on his part, declared that the war in Syria was close to an end, yet pointed to several challenges that demands immediate attention, to bring about a political solution to the six-and-a-half years conflict, which claimed the lives of more than half a million people. Minister Soygu said, “First off I would like to talk about the things related to Syria. The operation there is close to the end. There are several problems which require urgent solution and prospects of further development of the situation in Syria require discussion,” he said.

The Russian top defense official did not mention the Israeli strike in Syria during public remarks, yet a Russian source told TV7 that Moscow was updated during the course of the Israeli response as part of the Russian-Israeli coordinated-mechanism.