UPDATED (This story will be updated throughout the day today as the news comes through. Things seem to be evolving rapidly and somewhat dramatically - updates will be posted at the top of this page):
Hamas on 'heightened alert'
Hamas’s so-called “military wing”, the Al-Qassam Brigades, announced on Saturday evening that it was raising its level of alert in order “to defend the Palestinian people from any Israeli aggression,” the Hamas website reported.
It is unclear whether the Hamas alert is related to the incident in the north. Arabic-language media reported last week that Hamas believes that there is a 95% chance that war will break out within the next few days. The report said that Hamas has declared a state of high alert and has been massing forces near the border with Gaza.
Analysis: The open war with Iran has begun
For the most part, until now, this war has been fought behind the scenes. Who needs to know, knows, and while some details occasionally make their way to the public domain, most do not.
What happened in northern Israel on Saturday is the beginning of the overt and direct war between Israel and Iran. The infiltration and interception of an Iranian drone over Israel, the downing of an Israeli F-16 and Israel’s retaliatory strikes against Syrian and Iranian targets that followed, are apparently just the opening scenes of a potentially wider conflict that could erupt if Iran continues trying to fortify its presence in the new Syria.
This was long in the making. Years ago, the Iranians came to the rescue of Bashar Assad in Syria and, together with Russia, ensured his survival. The problem is that they haven’t left. On the contrary – even though Assad is today in control of the majority of Syria, Iran is staying put and trying to establish an even greater presence within the country. On Saturday, we saw how determined it is to do just that.
On the surface, it seems like Russia is taking Iran and Syria’s side and not Israel’s, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s best efforts to win over Vladimir Putin and his countless meetings with the Russian president. Beyond the ministry statement’s rhetorical significance, it could have practical consequences if Russia decides to deny Israel operational freedom over Syria in the future.
Israel will have to tread carefully and will not have a lot of choice but to accept Moscow’s directives. While Russia has allowed Iran to establish a presence in Syria it has – until now – prevented it from setting up large bases or a presence right along the border with Israel on the Golan Heights
ISRAEL MASSING TROOPS & ARMOR AT SYRIA BORDER - More Airstrikes
[This information is only coming from one source at this point, but this was also the first source reporting the beginning of this story]
The Al Khalkhala Airbase in southern Syria is now under heavy attack by Israel. Multiple buildings reported destroyed, raging fires all over the base. A squadron of Israeli war-planes are currently carrying out Airstrikes on the Khalkhala airbase in S. Damascus Syria which is the home camp of several Iranians IRGC Soldiers & Hezbollah fighters. Sources on ground confirm huge explosions.
In response to these developments, Israel is now sending "massive" numbers of troops and heavy armor toward the Syria Border.
Israel is also opening BOMB SHELTERS in the northern part of the country and telling citizens to get inside them!
This morning's events are a MAJOR escalation on multiple fronts of the Middle East and unless things somehow calm down quickly, expect the worst.
Can Russia defuse the confrontation with Iran?
In Litvak’s view, the Iranians are intent on continuing to establish military bases in Syria. He notes that Iranian generals are referring to the Mediterranean as Iran’s western strategic border. “It’s a question whether the Iranians are only interested in deterring Israel, or some elements in Iran are looking for a semi-war situation of engaging proxies in Syria against Israel – of turning the Golan Heights into another front,” he said.
Whatever is the case, the drone is, according to Israeli assessments, seen as upping the ante after Tehran established bases in Syria, kept deploying militiamen there and established major weapons manufacturing facilities. “Each time they did that Israel hit some of these bases surreptitiously with neither side admitting anything. But now Iran has openly defied the rules by sending the drone, so Israel hit back forcefully,” says Gabriel Ben-Dor, a University of Haifa Middle East specialist.
BEN-DOR EXPECTS Saturday’s developments to trigger intensive Russian diplomacy to find a formula on the Iranian presence in Syria acceptable to both Israel and Iran. In his view, Russia should not be seen as being closely aligned with Tehran, having its own concerns about Iran becoming too powerful in Syria.
Israel’s intensive bombardments Saturday would not have been possible without Russian acquiescence, he believes. And the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement on Saturday’s escalation did not condemn Israel.
Moscow Concerned With Escalation of Tensions as Israel Attacks Syria
The Russian Foreign Ministry has called on the global community to respect Syria's sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the countries of the Middle East following the aerial attacks of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) against targets in central Syria.
"Moscow is deeply concerned with the latest developments and attacks on Syria. The danger of the escalation of tensions within and around the de-escalation zones, which have become an important factor in reducing violence in Syria, is of particular concern," the Foreign Ministry stated on its website.
The statement notes that the Syrian government forces "are complying with the existing arrangements to provide the consistent functioning of the de-escalation zone in the south-west of the country."
"We urge all the involved parties to exercise restraint and avoid any steps that could lead to the aggravation of the situation. We consider it necessary to unconditionally respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and other countries of the region."
On Saturday, the IDF said eights Israeli fighter jets had hit 12 targets in Syria, including three air-defense squadrons and four Iranian military objects deployed in the country.
Riding high after IS defeat, Iranian axis tries its luck with Israel, US
Since Saturday morning, Syrian and Iranian authorities have busied themselves with reveling in the reported downing of an Israeli F-16 fighter jet by Syrian air defenses.
In Damascus, residents handed out candies to passersby. Social media users shared cartoons depicting an Israeli plane being struck by Syrian missiles, while in Damascus, Tehran and even Gaza there were declarations of a “strategic change in the region” and a “new equation.”
Indeed, it was a symbolic victory for the Iranian-led “Shiite axis,” with Iran and its allies Syria and Lebanese terror group Hezbollah succeeding where no one else has since the 1982 first Lebanon war.Iran is already declaring it will no longer allow any Israeli moves that violate Syria’s sovereignty and Tehran and its allies can appear victorious, particularly among their already anti-Israel populaces.
But Israel can also declare a win, with the Israeli military saying its strikes against targets in Syria were “the biggest and most significant” since 1982.
These respective positions, perhaps, explain the relative calm that has prevailed since the retaliatory Israeli airstrikes Saturday morning.
We could ‘destroy all US bases in region & create hell for Zionist regime’ – Iranian commander
Tehran has dismissed Tel Aviv’s claims concerning an Iranian UAV and a downed Israeli jet as “ridiculous.” An Iranian commander also warned Iran could unleash “hell” on the “Zionist regime” and destroy all US bases in the area.
“The claim about the flight of an Iranian drone and Iran’s involvement in the downing of a Zionist fighter jet is so ridiculous that it does not merit a comment,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said. He added that Iranian officials are acting in Syria only as advisers and do so “at the request of the… legitimate and lawful government.”
Qassemi added that Syria is a sovereign state and its government and armed forces, have a “legitimate right to defend [its] territorial integrity and counter any kind of foreign aggression.” In the early hours of Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed they intercepted an Iranian UAV, which crossed from the territory of Syria into Israel. In response, Israel conducted airstrikes on Iranian positions in Syria.
Benjamin Netanyahu: Israel will hit Iranian and Syrian targets as needed
Israel will continue to defend itself resolutely against infringements on its sovereignty and Iran’s efforts to entrench itself militarily in Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday night after the most intensive IAF bombing of positions in Syria since the First Lebanon War in 1982.
At the end of a long day that began before dawn when Israel identified and quickly downed an Iranian drone that penetrated its airspace, and which included the apparent downing of an Israel Air Force F16I jet that crashed in Israel after its two crew members evacuated, Netanyahu said Israel will continue to hit Iranian and Syrian targets as is necessary.
Netanyahu said that Israel not only immediately downed the drone and hit the command and control center from which it was launched, but also attacked “with strength” other Iranian and Syrian targets as well.
“This is both our right and our duty and we will continue to do so as much as necessary,” he said. “Let no one make a mistake about this.”
Netanyahu: Israel will not allow Iranian entrenchment in Syria
Israel will continue to defend itself, including by acting against Iranian efforts to entrench itself militarily in Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday evening, at the end of a day that saw a dramatic escalation in Iranian-Israeli hostilities on Israel’s northern border, including the apparent downing of an Israeli fighter jet.
“Israel wants peace but we will continue to defend ourselves with determination against any attack on us and against any attempt by Iran to entrench itself militarily in Syria or anywhere else,” Netanyahu said in a filmed statement from the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, adding that Israel “holds Iran and its Syrian hosts responsible for today’s aggression.”
“Our policy is absolutely clear: Israel will defend itself against any attack and any attempt to harm our sovereignty,” he said. “Iran made such an attempt today. It brazenly violated our sovereignty, it infiltrated its aircraft into Israeli territory from Syrian territory,” he said, referring to an Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle.Israel caused serious harm to Syria's air defenses, says IAF second-in-command
Israel inflicted serious harm to Syria’s air defenses, said IAF Air Staff Commander Brig. Gen. Tomer Bar on Saturday, after the IDF launched a number of airstrikes on Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria, following the interception on Saturday morning of an unmanned Iranian drone in Israeli airspace.
Bar, the Israeli Air Force’s second-in-command said the response was “the biggest and most significant attack the air force has conducted against Syrian air defenses” since 1982, during the First Lebanon War.
Israel said it later targeted at least 12 other sites “including three aerial defense batteries and four Iranian targets that are part of Iran’s military establishment in Syria,” according to a military statement.Israel said the drone infiltration was a “severe and irregular violation of Israeli sovereignty,” and warned of further action against unprecedented Iranian aggression.
The events marked a dramatic escalation in tensions along Israel’s northern border, and were part of the most serious confrontation between Israel and Iran since the start of the civil war in Syria in March 2011.
Netanyahu leads urgent military conference in Tel Aviv
Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu called an urgent conference Saturday of defense and military chiefs, including Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gady Eisenkot. They are evaluating the next steps, while the Israeli air force conducts a wide-ranging air offensive against Syrian and Iranian military targets in Syria, especially in the Damascus region. Flights into Ben Gurion international airport were briefly interrupted and later resumed. Private and commercial flights over northern Israel have been halted until further notice.
Russian troops were involved in Iranian-Syrian clash with Israel
The Syrian anti-air missiles which hit an Israeli F-16 early Saturday, Feb. 10, are part of a system operated with and commanded by the Russians from their Kheimim air base.
The ongoing clash has therefore gone way beyond an Israeli confrontation with Syria and Iran and marks a serious deterioration in the security situation on Israel’s northern border.
It is unlikely that Israel’s attempt through its diplomatic channels to calm the situation and “restore the status quo ante” will succeed. This situation underwent a fundamental strategic change when Iran sent a UAV over Israel from a Syrian base it shares also with the Russians. It may be assumed that the Russian command, which keeps a close eye on all Syria’s air facilities, was in the know about the Iranian operation and was not surprised when Israeli warplanes retaliated.
It is too soon to tell how this confrontation will play out. It is still ongoing.
Israel Carries Out "Large Scale Attack" On Syria After Israeli F-16 Shot Down
Open war has now essentially broken out between Israel and Syria. Israel confirms through its IDF spokesperson that it has carried out "a large scale attack" consisting of at least a dozen strikes on Syrian and Iranian military targets inside Syria.
Middle East based journalist and analyst Elijah Magnier says we could be witnessing the tipping point that will ignite the entire region. Magnier reports that according to a "private source, all Syrian military and intelligence and their allies' (Hezbollah) positions in Syrian and Lebanon are on full alert."
After downing of Israeli F-16, Iran warns: 'Era of Israeli strikes over'
Iran and Syria on Saturday denied that an unmanned drone Israel said it shot down violated the Jewish state’s airspace, calling Israeli allegations “lies” and saying the drone was on a regular mission gathering intelligence on Islamic State.
The drone incident led to a barrage of Israeli airstrikes on Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria. Syria responded with heavy anti-aircraft fire that set off multiple warning sirens in Israel and managed to down one Israeli F-16 in Israeli territory, seriously wounding a pilot.
A spokesman for Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said the Syrian response was “a clear warning to Israel. The era of Israeli strikes on Syria is over.” He vowed a “relentless response” to “all further aggression.”
A Syrian statement said Israeli jets targeted a drone base in central Syria whose mission is to gather intelligence on IS in the area. It said the station was hit while drones were on regular missions in the country’s desert in Homs province. The statement said it was “a lie and misleading” to say the drone had entered Israel’s airspace
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Israel’s military attacked 12 Syrian and Iranian targets in Syria on Saturday in a new wave of strikes it described as a ‘large-scale’ attack, following exchanges of fire earlier in the day sparked by an Iranian drone infiltration from Syria.
The military called the drone infiltration a “severe and irregular violation of Israeli sovereignty” and said Iran would be held responsible for its outcome, marking a dramatic escalation in tensions along its northern border.
The morning’s clashes also saw the crash of an Israeli F-16 jet after it was targeted by Syrian anti-aircraft missiles.
Israeli aircraft “targeted the Syrian Aerial Defense System and Iranian targets in Syria,” a military statement said. “Twelve targets, including three aerial defense batteries and four Iranian targets that are part of Iran’s military establishment in Syria were attacked.”
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said that during the attack 15-20 Syrian anti-aircraft missiles were fired towards aircraft, but did not hit them. Syria state TV said its air defenses responded to new Israeli raids.
The missiles triggered alarms that were heard in northern Israel.
“Syrians and Iranians are playing with fire,” Conricus said. “We are willing to extract a heavy price on anyone who attacks us.” He called that attacks on Iranian targets “quite significant.” However he stressed that “we are not interested in escalating the situation.”
Diplomatic sources said Israel has appealed to Russia to intervene and prevent further escalation. Similar calming messages were reportedly passed on to Washington.
The new Israeli raids came hours after an earlier one in central Syria.
The clashes erupted after an Iranian done infiltrated Israeli airspace and was downed by the air force. The army responded with strikes on Iranian targets, including the drone’s launch site — the Tiyas Military Airbase near Palmyra — which the army said it hit in “a complicated surgical strike.” The strike reportedly targeted a facility housing the unmanned aircraft’s Iranian operators.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the seven-year civil war, said the earlier Israeli raids had targeted several military bases in the east of the central province of Homs. It said the bases are used by both Iranian and Russian military personnel deployed in support of the regime.
Syrian state media said the later raids targeted military positions in the south of the country.
Israeli warplanes flying over Syria met heavy anti-aircraft fire. The military said one of its pilots was seriously wounded as a result of an emergency evacuation from his F-16 jet targeted by missiles. The F-16 crashed in northern Israel. One pilot was evacuated to a hospital in serious condition. A second pilot was lightly wounded.
The confrontation was the most serious between Israel and Iran since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011.
Sirens sounded in northern Israel throughout the morning as a result of massive Syrian anti-aircraft fire. Several Syrian anti-aircraft missiles reportedly fell inside Israeli territory, causing no damage.
IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis said Israel held Iran directly responsible for the incident.
Israel launched a “large-scale attack” inside Syria on Saturday, targeting Syrian air defense sites after an Israeli F-16 fighter jet was downed by Syria anti-aircraft fire.
The series of cross-border incidents beginning in the early hours of Saturday morning began when an Iranian drone crossed into Israeli territory from Syria at around 4:30 a.m.
Israel then dispatched eight fighter jets to bomb the launch site — the T4 military base near the Syrian city of Palmyra, he said.
Syria responded with “substantial Syrian anti-aircraft fire” under which two Israeli pilots ejected from their F-16, which crashed inside Israel, according to the military. One of the pilots was severely injured.
The Israeli military said it was investigating whether the plane was hit directly. The Syrian state news agency said more than one plane was hit, describing the bombing of the base as a “new Israeli aggression.”
After the plane crashed, Israel responded by targeting 12 military sites in Syria — eight Syrian and four that it said were Iranian.
“The Syrians are playing with fire that they are allowing the Iranians to attack Israel from their soil,” Conricus said. “The IDF is ready and capable to inflict a heavy price on anyone that attacks us. This is a severe attack and a breach of Israeli sovereignty perpetrated by Iran.”
Israel has regularly carried out airstrikes in Syria in recent years, citing concerns about a growing Iranian military presence and an expansion of its proxy Hezbollah over its northern border during Syria’s nearly seven-year-long civil war. However, unlike on Saturday, the Israeli military usually refrains from confirming specific incidents.
“We can hear the sounds of the explosions,” said one Damascus resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said the outgoing sound of Syrian anti-air craft missiles is louder than usual. Air raid sirens were triggered in residential areas on Israel’s northern border.
The IDF warned Syria and Iran against ‘violating Israeli sovereignty,’ otherwise they would pay a heavy price. The Israeli military also insisted that Israel does not seek an escalation in tensions in the region.
“Iran and Syria are playing with fire,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Twitter. The military added that it acts “with determination” against “the attempt of the Iranian-Syrian attack and the violation of Israeli sovereignty.” “The IDF is prepared for a variety of scenarios and will continue to act as necessary.”
The IDF lashed out at the Syrian military, accusing the state of interference in the Israeli-Iranian incident, as well as at Iran for “using Syria as a launchpad for activity against Israel.”
#Iran is the aggressor here. They sent a #UAV on a military mission, violating #Israeli sovereignty. The #IDF is ready for all scenarios, urging Iran and Syria to cease aggression. pic.twitter.com/9E8eIz2TGi
However, the IDF insisted that Israel does not seek escalation with the two states. “We are willing, prepared and capable to exact a heavy price from anyone that attacks us, however we are not looking to escalate the situation," the IDF said, insisting that what they’ve done was merely “a defensive effort triggered by an Iranian act of aggression and we are defending our airspace our sovereignty and civilians."
Tensions between Israel, Iran, and Syria have been heating up since early Saturday after the IDF intercepted an Iranian UAV, which crossed from the territory of Syria into Israel. The Israeli military responded by targeting a Syrian military base, where they believed the operator of the drone to be located. Later that day, an Israeli F-16 fighter jet crashed after Damascus responded with anti-aircraft fire to an Israeli operation in its territory. The pilots ejected and survived the incident.
In response, the IDF said it struck 12 Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria, including air defense batteries, adding that that during the attack, “anti-aircraft missiles were fired towards Israel, triggering alarms that were heard in Northern Israel.”
Following an exchange of fire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held security consultations, approving the necessary actions in real time following the incidents, official Israeli sources told Haaretz.
Air traffic at Ben Gurion International Airport, 20km from Tel Aviv, was halted for around 15-20 minutes amid security tensions, Israeli media reported.
- Israel said F-16 was taking part in retaliation for what was 'serious Iranian attack'
- Military said it carried out 'large scale' strike against Iranian and Syrian targets
- Warplane downed by Syrian anti-aircraft fire, crashed in Israel, crew both alive
- Israel said a drone launched from Syria was intercepted by a helicopter
An Israeli fighter has been shot down as the country's air force carried out attacks against Iranian targets in Syria after intercepting a drone.
The military said its planes faced massive anti-aircraft fire from Syria that forced two pilots to abandon an F-16 jet that crashed in northern Israel, seriously wounding one and lightly injuring the other.
'This is a serious Iranian attack on Israeli territory. Iran is dragging the region into an adventure in which it doesn't know how it will end,' Israel's chief military spokesman, Brigadier General Ronen Manelis, said in a statement.
'Whoever is responsible for this incident is the one who will pay the price.'
Israeli forces identified an 'Iranian UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle)' launched from Syria and intercepted it in Israeli airspace with a combat helicopter, a statement said.
They then 'targeted the Iranian control systems in Syria that sent the UAV into Israeli airspace,' military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus tweeted.
'Massive Syrian anti-air fire, one F16 crashed in Israel, pilots safe.'
The Israeli military then carried out what it called a 'large scale attack' against Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria.
Israel has shot down several drones that previously tried to infiltrate its territory from Syria. The targeting of Iranian sites in response, however, mark an escalation in the Israeli retaliation.
During the attack, anti-aircraft missiles were fired toward Israel jets triggering sirens that were sounded across northern Israel.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman was convening a meeting of senior officers at the IDF's headquarters in Tel Aviv to discuss a further response.
Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said Iran was 'responsible for this severe violation of Israeli sovereignty' and that the military was 'fully prepared for further action.'
Syrian state TV quoted a military official saying Syrian air defences hit more than one Israeli plane. The official said the Israeli raids hit a base in the country's central area, and called it a 'new aggression.'
Israel has said it will not accept a permanent military presence by Iran and its Shiite allies in Syria, especially near the Israeli border.
It has been warning of late of the increased Iranian involvement along its border in Syria and Lebanon.
The country fears Iran could use Syrian territory to stage attacks or create a land corridor from Iran to Lebanon that could allow it to transfer weapons more easily to Hezbollah.
The Israeli Cabinet recently held a meeting on the Golan Heights near the border with Syria to highlight to new threats.
The military confirmed that the initial target in Syria - the unmanned aircraft's launch components - was successfully destroyed. Israel says it has the Iranian drone in its possession.
Iran and Syria on Saturday denied that the unmanned drone Israel said it shot down violated the Jewish state’s airspace, calling Israeli allegations “lies” and saying the drone was on a regular mission gathering intelligence on Islamic State.
A statement on Central Military Media, which is allied with the Syrian military, called a subsequent Israeli attack on a drone station in Syria’s central Homs province a “terrorist act,” warning of “a tough and serious response.”
The Israeli military called the drone infiltration a “severe and irregular violation of Israeli sovereignty” and said Iran would be held responsible for its outcome, marking a dramatic escalation in tensions along Israel’s northern border.
The drone incident led to a barrage of Israeli airstrikes on Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria. Syria responded with heavy anti-aircraft fire that set off multiple warning sirens in Israel and managed to down one Israeli F-16 in Israeli territory, seriously wounding a pilot.
A spokesman for Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said the Syrian response to Israel’s air force was “a clear warning to Israel. The era of Israeli strikes on Syria is over.”
He vowed a “relentless response” to “all further aggression.”
A Syrian statement said Israeli jets targeted a drone base in central Syria whose mission is to gather intelligence on IS in the area. It said the station was hit while drones were on regular missions in the country’s desert in Homs province. The statement said it was “a lie and misleading” to say the drone had entered Israel’s airspace.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said Syria “has the right to legitimate self-defense. To cover their crimes in the region, Israeli officials are resorting to lies against other countries.”
The deputy chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned, meanwhile, that his country could “bring hell upon the Zionist regime.”
Brigadier General Hossein Salami refused to confirm to the Tasnim news agency that an Iranian drone had been shot down. “We cannot confirm this report on the drone because Israelis are liars … if Syrians confirm it, Iran will confirm it as well,” said Salami, according to a Reuters translation.
But he warned that Tehran had the capability to destroy all US army bases in the region and to “bring hell upon the Zionist regime.”
Israeli warplanes flying over Syria met heavy anti-aircraft fire. The military said one of its pilots was seriously wounded as a result of an emergency evacuation from his F-16 jet targeted by missiles. The F-16 crashed in northern Israel. One pilot was evacuated to a hospital in serious condition. A second pilot was lightly wounded.
If the plane was in fact shot down by enemy fire, it could mark the first such instance for Israel since 1982 during the first Lebanon war.
Damascus residents celebrated the news.
Lifting Israel in prayer.
ReplyDeleteINDEED....This thing is either going to explode or die down quickly. This is going to be very interesting for the next few days.
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