Hezbollah hailed Syria’s air defenses after they reportedly downed an Israeli fighter jet on Saturday, saying it marked the start of a “new strategic era.”
“This is the beginning of a new strategic era which puts an end to the violation of Syrian airspace and territory,” the Lebanese terror group said in a statement published by Lebanon’s ANI news agency.
Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy backing Syrian President Bashar Assad in his country’s civil war, praised the “vigilance of the Syrian army,” and said it had “bravely blocked Israeli warplanes and downed an F-16.”
It also said the Syrian response marked “a decisive end to old arrangements.”
Hezbollah supporters were celebrating the incident on Saturday across from the Israeli city of Metulla, according to Israeli TV reports.
The statement from Hezbollah came after its allies Iran and Syria 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 the 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 an Israeli F-16 in Israeli territory, seriously wounding a pilot.
According to the Israeli military, the confrontation began with the drone entering Israeli airspace before being intercepted by a combat helicopter over the city of Beit Shean, near the Jordanian border.
The military called the 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. READ MORE
