israel Syria: Israel shoots down a Syrian fighter plane that has infiltrated its airspace

JERUSALEM: Israel shot down a Syrian fighter plane with surface-to-air missiles on Tuesday after the plane infiltrated its airspace, according to the army, a rare incident that could cause tension .

"A short time ago, two Patriot missiles were launched on a Syrian fighter plane Sukhoi that infiltrated Israeli airspace," Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement. communicated.

"The IDF monitored the advance of the fighter who infiltrated about two kilometers into Israeli airspace, before being intercepted by Patriot missiles."

It was the first time that Israel had shot down a Syrian fighter jet that has been inhabited since 2014.

The army said that there had been an increase in "internal fighting in Syria", including involving the air force, since the morning hours.

He stated that he was "in a state of alert and that he would continue to act against the violation" of a 1974 ceasefire agreement between the two country.

Israel has been insisting for weeks to impose a ceasefire between Israel and Syria as part of a government offensive backed by Russia in the south of the country.

Tuesday's incident comes one day after Israeli air defenses fired on Syrian rockets that, they feared, could hit its territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss the Syrian conflict.

Israel seized 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six Day War, in a movement never internationally recognized.

Israel has been on alert since June 19, when Syrian government forces launched the Russian-backed offensive to retake Quneitra and Daraa and the provinces, adjacent respectively to the Golan-held part of the country. by the Israelis and Jordan.