According to Bar, the last time Israeli pilots delivered such powerful strikes on Syrian air defense batteries was in 1982 during a campaign in Lebanon against Palestinian armed groups.
READ MORE: Israeli Airstrikes in Syria Have Defensive Nature — Army
"This is the most significant attack on the Syrian air defense since the Operation Peace for Galilee [1982 Lebanon War]… This is a complete operational success, both at the stage of interception of an unmanned aerial vehicle, and when suppressing sources of fire, as well as during subsequent retaliatory actions," Bar said as quoted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) press service.
According to the IDF, during the attack, "multiple anti-aircraft missiles were fired at IAF," and one F16 fighter jet crashed in Israel. An IAF pilot was severely injured and transferred to a hospital.
In the second wave of the attack, the Israeli forces struck 12 targets in Syria, including Syrian air defense batteries and Iranian military facilities, the IDF said.
