Israel shot down a Syrian jet fighter that entered its airspace, its military said, potentially raising tensions in a fraught border region where President Bashar al-Assad’s Russian-backed forces are battling to retake a pocket of southwest Syria. The plane, which Israel’s military said it believes was either a Sukhoi 22 or Sukhoi 24, crossed a little more than a mile into Israeli airspace over the occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday before it was shot down, Israeli officials said. Across the border in Syria, heavy clashes continue between the Syrian government and a group affiliated with Islamic State. It wasn’t clear if its warplane mistakenly entered Israeli airspace. A Syrian military official said the warplane was in Syrian airspace, Syrian state media reported. The official accused Israel of supporting armed terrorist groups by attacking one of the warplanes carrying out airstrikes on the Islamic State-affiliated group. The group known as the Khaled bin Waleed army holds territory in an area known as the Yarmouk Basin, which borders on the Golan Heights in Syria. Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, said the military was confident the plane belonged to Syria. He said Israel was still assessing what the plane’s mission was. The fate of the jet’s pilot is unclear, he said, adding that the plane appeared to have crashed in the southern Syria Golan Heights. He couldn’t explain how the plane entered Israel but landed on the Syria side. The Israeli military said it has observed increased internal fighting in Syria since early Tuesday, including more activity by the Syrian Air Force. “We are following what is being done in the Syrian Golan Heights, and are determined to enforce the [1974] separation-of-forces agreement,” said Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis, a spokesman for the Israeli military. He was referring to an agreement signed between Israel and Syria creating a demilitarized zone between the two sides. “We are not involved in the fighting in Syria, but we are ready and prepared for developments,” he said. The event sparked concern among diplomats who worry about further escalation. “These hostilities demonstrate a disturbing trajectory of increasingly frequent and dangerous confrontations,” Nickolay Mladenov, the United Nations’ special coordinator for Middle East Peace, told the Security Council. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Syria of a “gross violation” of the 1974 agreement between the two countries and said Israeli forces acted appropriately in response. “I have reiterated and made clear that we will not accept any such violation. We will not accept any such penetration of, or spillover into, our territory, neither on the ground nor in the air,” he said. Israel said the plane took off from Syria’s largest air-force base, known as T-4, which hosts government forces, Russian fighters and an Iranian drone fleet. Russian planes also operate in the area, Israel’s military and other observers said. The military said it issued multiple warnings to the aircraft in multiple languages and had used a so-called deconfliction channel with Russia earlier in the day meant to ensure that military forces stay out of each other’s way. Leaders of Israel and Russia also have spoken regularly in recent months about the conflict in Syria. While Israel has a policy of noninterference in the Syrian war, it has been carrying out strikes against Iranian targets there, hoping to contain Tehran’s influence so close to its border. In May, Israel’s military carried out strikes against Iranian targets in Syria—in what it called its largest-ever operation against Iranian positions in Syria— after it said Iranian forces there fired rockets at its soldiers in the Golan Heights. Mr. Netanyahu on Monday met with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss Israel’s demands that Russia use its influence to completely remove Iran’s military presence in Syria. Israel has warned the Syrian government not to allow its foreign allied ground forces, Iranian-backed militias, near its borders. Israel has increasingly launched strikes against military bases and warehouses inside Syria it says are part of Iran’s military entrenchment in the country, but this is the first time it has shot down a Syrian jet fighter since 2014, when it also downed a plane it said infiltrated its airspace in the Golan Heights. Syria has never responded to any previous Israeli aggression or attack, including the 2014 incident, except for trying to intercept missiles and use its antiaircraft batteries to target Israeli fighter planes in its airspace. The Syrian regime didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel in February shot down an what it said was an Iranian drone that had been launched from the same T-4 airbase. Israel then struck Syrian targets in response to the episode, and Syria shot down one of Israel’s planes, which landed in Israeli territory. The pilots ejected from the plane and survived in what was a rare loss of an Israeli aircraft to hostile fire. Israel on Monday engaged its David’s Sling missile system for the first time to intercept Syrian missiles that appeared to be headed toward Israeli territory. Israel said it is still investigating where the missiles eventually landed. After more than a month of a regime military offensive on parts of Syria’s southwest held by antigovernment rebels, the Syrian government has succeeded in forcing all the opposition factions to surrender or agree to withdraw. Some of the rebels who have chosen to stay have had to join the regime’s offensive against the Islamic State affiliated group. Though both the rebels and Islamic State oppose the Assad regime, they have been at war with each other as well. The downing comes days after Israel evacuated hundreds of White Helmets rescuers and their families from southwest Syria. The White Helmets are first responders who operate in opposition-held areas and mostly rescue victims of the regime’s airstrikes and mortar attacks. The Syrian regime has long accused the group, which is funded by various Western countries including the U.S., of being a terrorist group. On Monday, an unnamed foreign ministry official told Syrian state media that the evacuation, which it called a “criminal operation,” had revealed the group’s true nature in trying “to destroy Syria and undermine its stances and image.” Write to Felicia Schwartz at Felicia.Schwartz@wsj.com and Raja Abdulrahim at raja.abdulrahim@wsj.com<doc-sep>The Israeli military shot down a Syrian attack jet that strayed into Israeli airspace. The Syrian Arab Air Force jet briefly crossed the border between the two countries before it was shot down by a Patriot missile. Meanwhile, an Israeli F-35 Joint Strike Fighter mysteriously popped up on an aircraft flight tracking website, a strange development considering the stealthy aircraft is normally undetectable. The former incident took place on July 23rd. According to CNN, the Israeli Defense Forces tracked a Syrian warplane taking off from the T-4 military airfield. The aircraft flew towards Israel and penetrated a mile into Israeli airspace. Israel responded by launching two Patriot PAC-2 surface-to-air missiles, one of which struck the Syrian plane when it had returned to Syrian airspace. Israel said it was unaware of the fate of the pilot. A Su-22 Fitter flies over Damascus, April 2018. Getty Images Israel has one of the most comprehensive air defense networks in the world, able to detect, track, and intercept everything from hobbyist drones to ballistic missiles .It’s telling that it tracked a foreign, possibly hostile aircraft from takeoff to destruction. The proximity of the two countries to one another means that Israeli sensors, particularly radar, can stare down deep into Syrian airspace, monitoring Syrian—and Russian—combat missions. Bruised by seven years of war, a lack of spare parts, and even U.S. missile strikes, it’s hard to believe the Syrian Arab Air Force can still fly. The Syrian warplane was reportedly either a Sukhoi Su-22 (NATO code name: Fitter) or a Su-24 (Fencer) strike jet. Both are older, Soviet-made jets designed to strike targets on the ground. The Su-22 is the backbone of the SyAAF in its attacks on anti-government forces. This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Israel has a zero tolerance policy against intrusions into its airspace. This particular flight likely aroused further scrutiny because it took off from the T4 airfield, where Iranian-sponsored forces have massed weapons. On February 10th an Iranian drone flying from T4 penetrated Israeli airspace, where it was shot down. In related news, an Israeli F-35 briefly showed up on FlightRadar24.com, a web site that tracks commercial and increasingly military aircraft via their embedded ADS-B transponders. ADS-B is meant to provide a steady stream of tracking information allowing air traffic controllers, aircrews, and governments the means to monitor aviation flights. Israel currently has 12 F-35s, which it calls the Adir, with a total of 50 on order. The aircraft differ from other F-35s in having Israeli electronics, including electronic warfare hardware. Adirs are also designed to carry Israeli weapons, including the SPICE precision-guided bomb. This particular F-35 took off from the vicinity of Nevatim Air Base, where the country’s F-35s are based, and briefly flew over the Mediterranean before returning to Israel. Israeli F-35. Jack Guez Getty Images The F-35 is purpose built as a stealthy aircraft, so it’s particularly odd that a country with security concerns like Israel would allow one of them to openly broadcast its position. It’s possible that the transponder (which incidentally identified it as an American aircraft, as the aircraft was built and then flown in the USA prior to delivery to Israel) was inadvertently left on for the flight, but it’s also possible it was left on as a warning to other regional, hostile powers such as Iran and Hezbollah. Despite the F-35’s well known controversy, Israel has given the F-35 a high profile, even flaunted it, flying it over Beirut and marking its entry into Israeli Air Force service with great fanfare. The IDF has stated the F-35 has already participated in at least two combat missions in the Middle East but declined to provide details. This ambiguity, along with the plane’s stealth capabilities, seems like a well-calculated strategy. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io<doc-sep>Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet it said had breached its airspace on Tuesday, the Israeli military said in a statement. The incident occurred as Russian-backed Syrian forces took part in operations against rebels on the edges of Golan Heights, a strategic plateau between Syria and Israel. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it monitored the advance of the Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet and shot it down with a pair of Patriot missiles after it penetrated Israeli airspace by about 1.2 miles. It was not immediately clear where the plane crashed and no details were given as to the fate of the pilots. "Since this morning, there has been an increase in the internal fighting in Syria and the Syrian Air Force's activity," the IDF said in a statement. The Israeli military also said that it would "continue to operate against" any breach of a 1974 U.N. armistice deal that established buffer zones on the Golan. Russian-backed Syrian forces have been battling rebels and Islamic State militants at the frontier with Israel in recent weeks. The incident comes hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Kremlin officials. This is the second time Israel shot down a Russian-made Syrian jet. Four years ago, a Sukhoi-24 was shot down with Patriot missiles after entering Israeli airspace. The two Syrian pilots ejected from their aircraft and landed in Syrian territory. Raytheon's Patriot missile system is designed to track and hunt fighter jets, helicopters, drones and low-flying cruise missiles. The U.S.-made surface-to-air defense system is used by 15 countries and has been deployed to war.<doc-sep>
(CNN) — The Israeli military shot down a Syrian fighter jet after it entered Israeli airspace on Tuesday afternoon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, raising fears of further military escalation in the region. The Russian-made Sukhoi jet entered two kilometers into Israeli airspace when two Patriot missiles were launched to intercept the aircraft, the IDF said. The missiles hit the jet once it had crossed back into Syrian airspace, the IDF said, adding that the military did not know what happened to the pilot of the aircraft. Syria said its jet was conducting an operation against “terrorist groups” when it was hit by Israeli fire, according to a state media report. “The Israeli enemy targeted one of our warplanes while conducting air raids against these groups in the area of Saida on the outskirts of al-Yarmouk Basin in the Syrian airspace,” a Syrian state TV banner said, quoting a military source. Yarmouk basin is one of the last remaining areas in southern Syria not yet under government control. Syrian forces, backed by the Russian military, have been carrying out an extensive campaign in the area in recent days, attempting to wrest control from an ISIS affiliate that is clinging on to a small pocket of territory. Israel said there had been a notable increase in activity by the Syrian military in the area on Tuesday, especially the Syrian air force, as a result of ongoing internal fighting in the war-torn country. The jet took off from the T-4 military base northeast of Damascus, according to IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus. Israel has struck the T-4 base multiple times in the last year, targeting what the Israeli military has said are Iranian military assets at the base. Before it launched its strike, Israel communicated with Russia to make sure the jet was Syrian, and not part of the Russian air force, according to Conricus. So-called “deconfliction measures” have been in place between the two countries since Russian forces entered Syria on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad. The jet was either a Sukhoi 22 or Sukhoi 24, the IDF said Tuesday. Both jets are Russian-made aircraft developed in the 1960s and 1970s and operated by the Syrian air force. One day earlier, Israel launched two missiles from the David’s Sling missile defense system at two Syrian rockets which the IDF believed were heading for Israeli territory. When it became clear the two Syrian SS-22 missiles were going to land inside Syria, the David’s Sling missiles were ordered to self-destruct, the Israeli military said. One missile successfully self-destructed, while it was unclear what happened to the second, the military said. It marked the first time David’s Sling has been used operationally. Designed to intercept medium and long-range missiles, David’s Sling is a larger, more powerful version of Iron Dome. Israel last shot down a Syrian fighter jet in September 2014 under similar circumstances. The IDF said that jet – a Sukhoi 24 – had entered one kilometer into Israeli airspace before it was downed by a single Patriot missile. The pilot and co-pilot ejected and landed in Syria. In February, Syria shot down an Israeli F-16 fighter jet which came under “massive anti-aircraft fire,” the IDF said at the time. The incident happened after an Iranian drone penetrated Israeli airspace, prompting Israeli airstrikes against Syria during which the fighter jet was downed. Both pilots aboard the Israeli jet ejected. One pilot was severely injured during the ejection, while the second was lightly wounded. As the Syrian regime has regained control of southern Syria, the border between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights has seen increased activity. Thousands of Syrians, fleeing the fighting, established tent camps along the border. While Israeli soldiers turned away dozens of Syrians seeking refuge on the Israeli side of the fence, the army has been distributing food, clothing and supplies to Syrians hit by the fighting, in a program called Operation Good Neighbor. Over the weekend, Israel assisted in the evacuation of hundreds of Syrian civilians, including members of the White Helmets volunteer rescue organization. An international effort, including the United States and Canada, backed the evacuation attempt, which saw the civilians transferred through Israel to Jordan. While the operation was lauded by the international community, including the British Foreign Secretary who called it “fantastic news,” the Syrian government slammed the effort as a “criminal operation.”