"Major Escalation": Israel Carries Out "Large Scale Attack" On Syria After Israeli F-16 Shot Down

Update 3According to Reuters, Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the situation in Syria in a telephone call following the heavy Israeli air strikes in the country, Interfax news agency cited the Kremlin as saying.

“They discussed the situation around the actions of the Israeli air force, which carried our missile strikes on targets in Syria,” Interfax quoted the Kremlin, adding that Putin told Netanyahu there was a need to avoid any steps that would lead to a new confrontation in the region.

* * *

Update 2: Iran dismissed Tel Aviv’s claims concerning an Iranian drone 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."

Meanwhile, Brigadier General Hossein Salami, the deputy head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps, said that "any aggressive actions” by Tel Aviv would trigger a serious response. That is because Iran is capable of creating “hell for the Zionists."

* * *

Update: According to Al Masdar, the Israeli pilot whose warplane was shot down by Syrian air defense forces on Saturday morning has died from injuries sustained during the engagement.While according to initial reports both crew members ejected – the weapons operator with light injuries and the pilot with ‘severe’ injuries, according to subsequent, still unconfirmed, reports, the Israeli pilot with serious injuries has died in hospital. No further details were given according to Al Masdar. This report however is being denied by the Times of Israel  which reported that the pilot suffered wounds to chest, abdomen while ejecting from jet; co-pilot set to be released home Sunday.

The condition of the pilot, who was seriously injured after he was forced to evacuate the plane, stabilized Saturday morning, but he was still unconscious and connected to a respirator, doctors at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center said.

The condition of a seriously wounded Israeli pilot began to improve Saturday, after he underwent surgery for injuries he sustained while ejecting from his plane over northern Israel, in the midst of a severe confrontation between Israel, Syria, and Iran, the ToI reported. The F-16 jet he was piloting took part in Israeli airstrikes in response to an Iranian drone that entered Israeli airspace from Syria in the early morning hours on Saturday.

As reported earlier (see below), a major battle broke out on Saturday between the Israeli Air Force and Syrian Air Defence Force over the occupied Golan Region, south Lebanon and the west Damascus region. During the confrontation that lasted for hours, Israeli warplanes and Syrian anti-aircraft systems traded missile fire – literally dozens of such munitions were fired – as the latter launched a general attack against ‘Iranian and regime’ bases west of Damascus.

And in a major escalation, one which has the potential to escalate into all out war, at the beginning of the battle,  a Syrian surface-to-air missile downed an Israeli F-16I fighter jet over the occupied Golan Heights (described as ‘northern Israel’ by Israeli sources).

* * * 

Earlier:

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, in what Reuters dubbed a "major escalation of tension".

What we previously described as Assad's strategic "waiting game" and reluctance to respond to repeat Israeli violations of Syrian airspace while launching unprovoked attacks appears to be over as Syrian air defense has shot down an Israeli F-16 fighter jet near the Golan border region in what is a major escalation in the conflict.  

Though details remain murky and are still developing, Israel has confirmed that its F-16 jet has crashed in Israeli territory after it was struck carrying out operations targeting locations in Syria. The IDF spokesman quickly stated in a tweet confirming the shoot down that "Iran is responsible for this severe violation of Israeli sovereignty." 


Confirmed photographs of the F-16 crash site in Northern Israel, which is reported to be 20-30km from the Syrian border. 


Israeli security forces walk next to the remains of the downed F-16 Israeli war plane near the Israeli village of Harduf, Israel. February 10, 2018. Image source: Reuters

The two Israeli pilots ejected, landing inside Israel in the northern countryside of Galilee and were rushed to a hospital, according to local media reports. Israeli military statements have indicated that one of the pilots suffered severe injuries as a result of the emergency ejection from the aircraft.

Video first posted on social media captured by onlookers in the area appears to show a pilot parachuting into the northern Israeli countryside of Galilee. 

Early unconfirmed footage of the F-16 crash and subsequent rescue have emerged on social media. The following shows multiple scenes currently circulating from the early morning incident: 

This is the first time in the 7-year long Syrian war that an Israel jet has been shot down, and after promising a swift response, Israel has launched multiple retaliatory strikes against Syrian military bases in the southwest countryside of Damascus.

Beirut-based Al Masdar News reports that the incident occurred at approximately 6:30 A.M. Saturday morning (local time) and that the Israeli F-16 fighter was hit while flying within Syrian airspace near Damascus.

Official Israeli statements claim multiple of its jets were scrambled in response to an Iranian drone launch into Israeli airspace, which the IDF says was intercepted amidst "massive Syrian anti-air fire". The F-16 was engaged in an operation to destroy the Syrian ground base from which the UAV was launched.

According to the Israeli version of events issued in real time by IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus:

The Syrian military has stated that its air defense missile system further struck an Israeli drone shortly after the F-16 was downed, which had been launched from the Israeli occupied Golan Heights. There's not been immediate Israeli confirmation of this second aircraft downing.

In response to the F-16 downing, after 8:00 A.M. local time the Israeli Air Force fired several missiles targeting the Al-Kiswah area near what is said to be an Iranian base outside of Damascus. And shortly after this initial Israeli retaliation strike, a more massive wave of missiles hit a mountaintop Syrian Army base in the same area. Regional sources are reporting that multiple Israeli missiles struck the base, while others were intercepted by Syrian air defense.

It appears that Israel launched missiles on locations in central Syria as well, with casualties reported among Syrian Army forces and their allies. The Associated Press cites a Syrian opposition monitoring group to report the following:

A Syria war monitor says Israel has struck targets in central Syria and the southwestern suburbs of the capital Damascus in two separate and successive waves of airstrikes.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the first round targeted in the central desert area where Syrian troops and their Iranian-backed allies including Hezbollah are known to maintain bases. It cited unconfirmed reports of casualties among Syrian government forces and allied militiamen.

The Britain-based Observatory, which monitors the Syria war through a network of activists on the ground, says the second round targeted outposts in the southwestern suburbs of Damascus.

Syrian government media reported multiple missile intercepts, likely through its sophisticated Russian-supplied anti-air defense system, and confirmed the large-scale Israeli attack on Syrian military locations in central Syria. 

According to Syrian state-run SANA:

The army air defense confronted a new Israeli aggression on one of the military positions in the central area and hit more than one aircraft...

Moreover, the Army air defense confronted another Israeli aggression on Damascus Countryside on Saturday morning...

Meanwhile, media of the Israeli enemy admitted that the Syrian air defense shot down an F-16 jet over Galilee in occupied Palestine and that its pilots were injured, confirming the closure of parts the Israeli airspace for aviation after downing the warplane.

As a result of escalating events airspace closures have been reported over northern Israel, as well as multiple Israeli air defense warning sirens sounding at the Golan Heights and throughout lower and upper Galilee.  

Israel's Ben Gurion international airport outside of Tel Aviv was also reportedly on lockdown for some period of time after the exchange of fire between Syrian and Israeli forces. 

Meanwhile, the Israeli military has blamed close Syrian ally Iran for today's F-16 shoot down and escalation. The IDF issued a threatening statement which reads: "The IDF will act determinately against such severe violations of Israeli sovereignty by Iran and Syria and will continue to act as necessary. The IDF is ready for various scenarios and will continue to act according to situation assessments."

And according to a statement issued to the AFP, Israel says Iran and Syria are "playing with fire" but that Israel does not want escalation. However, regional media reports indicate Israel has continued to pound the Damascus countryside throughout the morning. The Syrian government has condemned Israel's actions as unwarranted "aggression". 

It must be remembered that the Israeli Air Force has acknowledged striking targets inside Syria at least 100 times over the past few years of the conflict, with the last attack prior to today's events happening just earlier this week. Syria has frequently taken its case before the U.N., calling for official condemnation of the unprovoked attacks, but has been just as frequently rebuffed.

In its now 'open secret' of a years-long pursuit of regime change in Syria, Israel has given covert support to al-Qaeda linked groups in Syria's south - near the vicinity of today's F-16 shoot down - which has involved weapons transfers and treatment of wounded jihadists in Israeli hospitals, according to The Wall Street Journal. As former Acting Director of the CIA Michael Morell once directly told the Israeli public, Israel's "dangerous game" in Syria has involved getting in bed with al-Qaeda in order to fight Shia Iran.

And as Israel has long sought ways to justify attacks on Iranian assets in Syria while at the same time undermining and destabilizing the Syrian government, the downing of an F-16 may have given Israel's hawkish leadership the excuse they've been looking for all along to escalate toward a final confrontation. 

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." 

This is a developing story...

Comments

Joomanji64 Déjà view Feb 10, 2018 9:24 AM Permalink

How dare Syria shoot down 'NAZI JEW JETS WHO ARE BOMBING THEM! The nerve of those Syrians...Victims of the ANTI-SEMITIC STATE OF JIZZRAEL AND THE ANTI-SEMITIC jUSA!

 

Anyone who still cannot see that jizzsrael and the ashkeNAZI JEW WORLD ORDER are the biggest threat to world peace should be euthanized!

In reply to by Déjà view

J S Bach Bes Feb 10, 2018 11:30 AM Permalink

The (((eternal nation wreckers))) are at it again.

And ain’t it funny how NO COUNTRY EVER carries out large-scale attacks on Israel? Maybe it’s time the world reversed that tranquil “turn the other cheek” policy.

In reply to by Bes

IH8OBAMA D503 Feb 10, 2018 12:07 PM Permalink

To Hell with hitting Iranian targets in Syria.  Get some of the new bunker buster bombs from Trump and level the Hell out of Iran's leadership and atomic site targets in Iran.

Of course, Israel won't target civilian targets which is what the damn Iranians will do.

 

In reply to by D503

Shemp 4 Victory IH8OBAMA Feb 10, 2018 12:36 PM Permalink

 

To Hell with hitting Iranian targets in Syria.  Get some of the new bunker buster bombs from Trump and level the Hell out of Iran's leadership and atomic site targets in Iran.

Of course, Israel won't target civilian targets which is what the damn Iranians will do.

Funny how US citizens who normally rail against the MSM/"liberal" media are eager to swallow the tripe churned out when it comes to things like Iran. They can't explain why they hate Iran, they just know that they must.

Schizophrenia, stoked by the American media, knows no bounds.

In reply to by IH8OBAMA

philipat lew1024 Feb 11, 2018 12:00 AM Permalink

So allegedly an Iranian drone penetrated Israeli airspace (no evidence and no damage caused) so in response Israel bombs the shit out of SYRIA? That cannot be justified and in any case would be ruled by any impartial body as being grossly disproportionate. I hope that Putin told Netannutjob in no uncertain terms that "if you don't cut this shit NOW we will deploy S-400 units around Damascus and shoot your jets out of the sky.

The only thing to be said is that perhaps Israel will start to fight its own wars instead of having the US do it for them? I doubt it.

In reply to by lew1024

Slack Jack philipat Feb 11, 2018 1:23 AM Permalink

There are no ancient Jewish cities in Israel,...
but there are lots of ancient Greek cities.

What is weird is this; that 2000 years ago, it seems that there were no people even resembling Jews, in Israel.

It turns out that there is not a single ancient Jewish city in what is now called Israel. There is not a single ancient city where Hebrew characters are used on the statues and buildings. There is not a single ancient city where the buildings are in the ancient Jewish architectural style. In fact, there is not even a category of "ancient Jewish architectural style".

Of course, the Hebrew characters that are desired, are those of the Dead Sea scrolls (supposedly from 2000 years ago), which are essentially the modern Hebrew characters without points.

If you check out all the ancient cities in Israel from 2000 years ago, they are all Greek, and their ruins are still there for you to visit. Their inscriptions are in the Greek script and the buildings are in the ancient Greek architectural styles.

Here is a list of some of the known ancient Greek cities in (and near) Israel; Ecdippa, Seleucia, Ptolemais, Taricheia Arbela, Asochis, Sepphoris, Hippos, Dion, Sycaminum, Bucolon Polis, Itabyrium, Gadara, Abila, Dora, Comus, Gephrus, Crocodilion Polis, Caesarea, Straton's Tower, Narbata, Scythopolis, Pella, Samaria, Amathus, Ragaba, Gerasa, Apollonia, Sicima, Pegae, Joppa, Arimathea, Jamnia, Port of Jamnia, Lydda, Modiin, Aphaerema, Philadelphia, Birtha, Gazara, Beth Horon, Dok, Jericho, Samaga, Esbus, Medaba, Ladder of Tyre, Azotus, Port of Azotus, Accaron, Jerusalem, Ascalon, Anthedon, Gaza, Marissa, Beth Zur, Hebron, Adora, Engeddi.

The ancient Jewish cities in Israel are,....... well there aren't any. Not even one.

Here's an interesting example of a first century BC Greek inscription (i.e., in Greek letters) from Jerusalem's Temple Mount forbidding the entry of strangers to the Temple precinct.

http://www.preearth.net/images/no-foreigner-shall-enter.jpg

The pictured stone was found in 1935. It was actually the second such warning-stone to be found, the first being discovered by Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau in 1871. It was deemed so dangerous to the "Jews inhabited Israel 2000 years ago" theory, that it completely disappeared for 13 years before resurfacing in Istanbul, where, it was correctly calculated, it would not attract much attention.

From: https://www.timesofisrael.com/ancient-temple-mount-warning-stone-is-clo…

The first Jerusalem Temple Mount warning-stone, now found in the Archaeology Museum, Istanbul, is pictured below:

http://preearth.net/images/jerusalem-temple-warning-at-istanbul.jpg

It says (in Greek): "No stranger is to enter within the balustrade round the temple and enclosure. Whoever is caught will be responsible to himself for his death, which will ensue."

Slack Jack's CHALLENGE:

Name ONE ancient city (that existed in what is now called Israel) where the building inscriptions are all in Hebrew, and the buildings are constructed in the ancient Hebrew architectural style (whatever that may be).

Then give a summary of "the ancient Hebrew architectural style" (you will have to make this up as it does not yet exist).

Then give links to photos of the ancient building inscriptions which show that they are written in Hebrew.

Then show that the buildings are constructed in the ancient Hebrew architectural style (that you have just invented).

http://www.preearth.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1175

In reply to by philipat

Slack Jack Slack Jack Feb 11, 2018 1:24 AM Permalink

The Dead Sea scrolls Hoax.

The Dead Sea scrolls are a mixture of old documents that were hidden in a number of caves to be miraculously found and used to support the establishment of Israel, a country intended for Jews only.

The main document "finds" were in 1946 and 1947 in caves near the tiny ancient settlement of Qumran.

Israel was created in 1948.

The Dead Sea scrolls are the only really old (well supposedly really old) documents, in the Hebrew characters, that have ever been found. No other really old documents in the Hebrew characters have ever been found.

All other documents in Hebrew characters date from later than 800 AD.

Previous to the "finds", critics had pointed out the late date of all documents in Hebrew characters, and deduced that the Hebrew Old Testament must have been translated from the Greek Old Testament and not the other way round.

Then, low and behold,... a very timely miracle occurs.

The Dead Sea scrolls are "found" and dated to hundreds of years earlier than the oldest previously known documents in Hebrew characters.

Then, it is widely claimed that all the scrolls were produced and hidden in the Qumran caves before 70 AD (the supposed time of the mythical sack of Jerusalem by the Romans).

The critics are not given access to the scrolls nor even photographs of the text, lest they spoil the party.

In fact, for decades, only seven scholars are given access to the scrolls.

This goes on till certain critics are dead and the scrolls have been purged of all anachronisms (like Arabic numerals).

Then, in 1991, only 45 years after their "discovery", the Huntington Library, in San Marino, California, without consent, makes facsimile copies of the scrolls available to all.

So that, in brief, is the Dead Sea scrolls Hoax.

More, however, can be deduced....

One can even guess where the Dead Sea documents came from.

It turns out that some of the Dead Sea documents, for example, the "Damascus Document," are nearly identical to documents from the Genizah collection of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo, Egypt. So, it is likely that many of the Dead Sea scrolls had their source there.

Worldwide, there are ten manuscripts of the "Damascus Document" from the Dead Sea scrolls and two from the Cairo Genizah. This strange distribution is a result of the fraud. The "Damascus Document" was first published in 1910 by Solomon Schechter in "Fragments of a Zadokite Work."

The Ben Ezra Synagogue was established around 900 AD.

Now, the Arabs have ruled Egypt since they defeated the Greek armies around 635 AD.

Now, the synagogue (and its Jews) existed happily, undisturbed, in Cairo, in the midst of the Islamic world.

So, maybe the original Jews were a group of Arabs.

This would explain why Hebrew and Arabic are nearly identical languages.

This would explain why the Hebrew and Islamic religious traditions are very similar.

And, it would also explain why Jews turned up in Spain with the Arabs (Moors).

Another couple of points:

It should also be noted that a few Jewish scholars (in particular, Solomon Zeitlin) have long insisted that the Dead Sea scrolls were a Medieval production. [Zeitlin was a well-known Talmudic scholar and would not claim this unless convinced it was true.]

Internal evidence from the scrolls themselves indicates a Medieval production. See, here.

And, the fact that many scrolls are written on vellum (90% of them) proves these are indeed a Medieval production.

It is estimated that 20 people occupied the site of Qumran (estimated by the number of inhabitants for whom there was room in the buildings). Now these 20 people were not just ordinary people, they read and wrote Greek, Phoenician, Aramaic, Nabataean, and Hebrew documents, like natives, and managed to write learned works on numerous religious topics (about 900 manuscripts were "recovered"; about six hundred separate works), while gathering enough water, and raising enough food, for their survival, in a desert.

Some have tried to claim that as many as 200 lived at Qumran, but most have considered that number ridiculously high.

Anyway, I think it is clear that the Dead Sea scrolls are a bunch of old documents that have been thrown together and sold to a gullible world.

http://www.preearth.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1176

In reply to by Slack Jack

Demon Slayer Slack Jack Feb 11, 2018 2:49 AM Permalink

Here you go with your bullshit propaganda again. In Jesus' time, Jerusalem was part of the Roman empire just like Luxembourg, Holland, Italy etc. They came in and wrote their Roman crap and carved Roman language on the buildings of the lands they conquered, and all of the money in the entire Roman Empire had Caesars image on it. Look at a fucking map showing the Roman Empire..They took over 40 countries..dumbass fag. Old Jerusalem was fucking 4000 years old..dumbass. There are only remnAnts of most of the primitive places, but in old Jerusalem. I HAVE FUCKING WALKED THROUGH THEIR TUNNELS AND HAVE SEEN ANCIENT TOMBS OF THE JEWISH PROPHETS THERE YOU MORON.

You are a lying distorted anti Semite joke....You can to to Spain and see Muslim writings on Spain's ancient walls..Leftover Roman Empire columns and them writing Roman language can be found all over Europe..in Greece too..

Dumbass perpetual loser..go suck a Roman dick you racist hater pos.

In reply to by Slack Jack

Slack Jack inosent Feb 11, 2018 6:28 AM Permalink

Demon Slayer Feb 11, 2018 2:49 AM "In Jesus' time, Jerusalem was part of the Roman empire just like Luxembourg, Holland, Italy etc. They came in and wrote their Roman crap and carved Roman language on the buildings of the lands they conquered..."

Demon Slayer: You are way,.... way.... off base.

For a starter the Jerusalem Temple Mount warning-stones are written in GREEK.

Note for Demon Slayer: The language of the Romans is Latin.

In reply to by inosent

nevertheless Shemp 4 Victory Feb 10, 2018 1:07 PM Permalink

Being an American means never having to ask why, lest you be called a "conspiracy theorist", by the same people who are part of the conspiracy...

 

You hit on the great problem with American society, everyone hears just what they want to hear.

 

Right vs left is a canard, a rouse used by the powerful (in my opinion Zionists), divide and conquer...And while this is common knowledge, no one actually inserts that reality into how they act.

In reply to by Shemp 4 Victory

Jung nevertheless Feb 10, 2018 10:29 PM Permalink

Indeed, nobody dares to act because the Zionists have made sure that there are laws in most countries about even daring to publish results of forensic research done in the camps. We all have to believe their propaganda stories and are gagged to speak out what real research has shown to be true and what is nonsense.

Still, they win and already rule: nobody can stop this machine and every POTUS goes with the war mongers.

In reply to by nevertheless