February 12, 2018
Israel conducts largest air strike since First Lebanon War
Israeli fighter planes conducted the largest strike on Syria since the First Lebanon War on Saturday morning (10th), hitting a mobile Iranian control center that had sent a drone into Israeli airspace and then striking 12 targets in the country.
The incident began in the early hours of Saturday morning when an Iranian UAV was spotted on its way into Israeli airspace and was shot down by an Apache attack helicopter once it reached Israeli territory on the Golan Heights. In response to the Iranian violation of Israeli sovereignty, Israeli Air Force (IAF) jets flew deep into Syria to hit the drone’s launch and control center near Palmyra some 100 miles north of Damascus.
As the jets returned home, a barrage of Syrian anti-aircraft missiles fired at the planes causing an F-16 to crash. The Israeli pilots ejected from the plane, one in serious condition and one moderately wounded.
(worldisraelnews.com)
Israeli pilot wounded Saturday upgraded to moderate condition
A pilot involved in Saturday’s (10th) crash of an Israeli jet was upgraded to moderate condition Sunday (11th), Rambam Medical Center announced. Trauma Unit director Dr. Yaron Bar Lavie said the pilot was removed from his respirator and is fully conscious.
The second pilot, the navigator of the jet that was allegedly shot down by Syrian anti-aircraft fire, who was mildly wounded, was released on Sunday (11th).
Dr. Mickey Halbertal, deputy director of the hospital told Army Radio that the mildly wounded pilot was injured from his parachute fall, and the other pilot suffered a penetrating wound to the chest and abdomen.
(jpost.com; gglz.net)
‘Our warnings were 100% correct’ Netanyahu said about latest Iranian aggression
In response to the landing of an Iranian drone from Syria on Israeli territory Saturday morning (10th), the Israeli Air Force conducted the largest strike on Syria since the First Lebanon War.
Following the incident, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated: “I have been warning for some time about the dangers of Iran’s military entrenchment in Syria. Iran seeks to use Syrian territory to attack Israel for its professed goal of destroying us. This morning Iran brazenly violated Israel’s sovereignty. And this demonstrates that our warnings were 100% correct. We will continue to do whatever is necessary to protect our sovereignty and our security.”
(pmo.gov.il)
UN envoy Danny Danon demands UNSC put an immediate end to ‘Iranian provocations’
NEW YORK – Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon called on the UN Security Council to immediately condemn Iran for its “provocations” after an IAF jet was shot down in northern israel on Saturday (10th).
“This is not the first time we have warned you against Iran’s dangerous actions that undermine the security situation in the region,” Danon stated in a letter to the UNSC.
“This incident proves that every one of these warnings proved true. Israel will defend its citizens and will not tolerate any violation of its sovereignty,” the ambassador added.
(jpost.com; reuters.com)
Bennett: Israel must act systematically against Iranian ‘octopus’
Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett argued Sunday (11th) that Israel must work to weaken the ‘head of the octopus’ in Tehran, which sends tentacles to fight the IDF from Syria, Lebanon and Gaza.
He added that Ayatollah Khamenei is very generous with Gazan and Lebanese lives, but when it comes to Iranians paying with their own lives, ‘he tucks his tail and runs.’
Bennett argued, “We need to create an equation in which Khamenei is also paying the price.”
(ynetnews.com)
Despite missiles and sirens, Israelis weren’t worried about the northern threat
The sirens that woke up northern Israel on Saturday (10th) blared just north of Kiryat Yarn. It was Shabbat. 12 miles away an F-16 crashed and pilots ejected over the Galilee.
However, for most residents in the area, even those awakened by the crash and the sirens, things returned to normal by breakfast time. They’ve lived under Hizbullah rockets before, and they know the threat.
Even as the radio’s Reshet Bet detailed the latest injuries of the F-16 pilots and concerns that there might be more air raids on Damascus and retaliatory rocket fire, most chose to ignore breaking news.
Some residents said, “So if there are sirens we go to the shelters, right? But until that happens we prefer to spend the day eating with our family, hiking, looking at flowers and driving.”
(jpost.com)
US ‘strongly supports’ Israel’s right to defend itself
“Israel is our closest security partner in the region and we fully support Israel’s inherent right to defend itself against threats to its territory and its people,” Pentagon spokesman Adrian Rankine-Galloway stated.
“We share the concerns of many throughout the region that Iran’s destabilizing activities threaten international peace and security, and we seek greater international resolve in countering Iran’s malign activities,” Rankine-Galloway said.
(israelhayom.com)
Iranians show defiance of US, Israel in anniversary of Islamic revolution
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied on the streets Sunday (11th) to mark the 39th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, just weeks after anti-government protests rocked cities across the country. Participants burned US and Israeli flags, and shouted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
(ynetnews.com)
Indian PM lays wreath on arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat’s grave
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (10th) became the first Indian prime minister to visit Judea and Samaria, where he held talks with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas as part of a Middle East tour.
The visit, came weeks after Modi hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in India.
“India hopes that soon Palestine will become a free country in a peaceful manner,” Modi said.
The Indian prime minister and his entourage flew from Jordan to Ramallah where he laid a wreath at the mausoleum of arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat.
(israelnn.com)
Qatari envoy urges world to aid Gaza, cites cooperation with Israel
A Qatari envoy on Thursday (8th) called on the international community to send aid to the people of the Gaza Strip, saying the dire conditions in the territory could potentially spill over into renewed violence.
In an interview, Mohammed Al-Emadi, the head of Qatar’s Gaza reconstruction committee, said he hopes that his country’s support for the territory, highlighted by a $9 million pledge, will encourage other nations to join the effort. He also shared rare light on his working relationship with Israel, which does not have formal diplomatic relations with the energy-rich Gulf state.
“When we want to do work in Gaza, we will go through the Israelis – without the help of Israel, nothing happens,” he said.
(ap.com)
