Israel expresses sorrow for the death of the aircrew members of the Russian plane that was downed tonight due to Syrian anti-aircraft fire.
Israel holds the Assad regime, whose military shot down the Russian plane, fully responsible for this incident.
Israel also holds Iran and the Hezbollah terror organization accountable for this unfortunate incident.
Overnight, IDF fighter jets targeted a facility of the Syrian Armed Forces from which systems to manufacture accurate and lethal weapons were about to be transferred on behalf of Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
These weapons were meant to attack Israel, and posed an intolerable threat against it
.
The IDF and the Russian army have a deconfliction system, which was agreed upon by the states' leaders, and has proven itself many times over recent years. This system was in use tonight as well.
An initial inquiry of the incident suggests:
1. Extensive and inaccurate Syrian anti-aircraft (Surface to Air missile) fire caused the Russian plane to be hit and downed.
2. When the Syrian Army launched the missiles that hit the Russian plane, IAF jets were already within Israeli airspace.
3. During the strike against the target in Latakia, the Russian plane that was then hit was not within the area of the operation.
4. The Syrian anti-air batteries fired indiscriminately and from what we understand, did not bother to ensure that no Russian planes were in the air.
Israel will share all the relevant information with the Russian Government to review the incident and to confirm the facts in this inquiry.
