Israel says Russians fired at its jets over Syria in May in 'one-off'

Defense Minister Benny Gantz says 'Russian launch happened when the aircraft were no longer around'; Russian embassy in Israel did not immediately respond

Reuters|
Israel said on Tuesday that its military jets came under Russian anti-aircraft fire over Syria in May but they missed their target, describing the confrontation as a "one-off incident".
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  • The disclosure by Defense Minister Benny Gantz came amid tensions between Israel and Russia over the former's condemnation of the Ukraine war and the latter's scrutiny of a Jewish emigration agency.
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    מטוסי הF35 של חיל האויר ייתנו מענה מבצעי לאיום טילי השיוט האיראניים
    מטוסי הF35 של חיל האויר ייתנו מענה מבצעי לאיום טילי השיוט האיראניים
    Israeli F-35 jet
    (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
    Having helped Damascus turn the tide of a more than decade-old civil war, Russian forces in Syria regularly turn a blind eye to Israeli air strikes against suspected Iranian-sponsored deployments and arms transfers.
    But Israel's Channel 13 TV reported that, on May 13, a Russian-operated S-300 air defense battery fired on Israeli jets as they carried out a Syria sortie - without hitting any.
    "It was a one-off incident," Gantz told a conference hosted by the local media outlet, when asked to confirm the report. The Russian launch happened when the aircraft "were no longer around", he said.
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    ישיבת ממשלה
    ישיבת ממשלה
    Defense Minister Benny Gantz
    (Photo: Reuters)
    The Russian embassy in Israel did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
    Israel's coordination with Russia over Syria is "a situation that is stable right now, I think", Gantz said. "But we are always reviewing this story as if we only just began it now."
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