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| Russian S-400 Triumf (NATO Name SA-21 Growler) at Khmeimim Air Base, Syria |
1 December 2016: Early yesterday morning Israel time a pair of IAF strikes occurred on both a Syrian military target near Damascus, and on the Damascus-Beirut Highway against a Hezbollah-bound weapons convoy. Most reports indicate these strikes were launched while the IAF's F-15I 'Ra'am' strike aircraft were in Lebanese air space. This is likely due to an existing and very explicit understanding between Russia and Israel; had the IAF aircraft launched the strikes while in Syrian airspace the Russian S-400 air defense system at Khmeimim Air Base would have been obliged to fire upon the Israeli aircraft. The long and short of it is that Israel's red-line on the transfer of advanced weaponry to Hezbollah in Lebanon from Syria remains intact, as does the Russian commitment to defend Bashar al-Assad's military forces from airstrikes launched in Syrian airspace.
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| IAF F-15I Ra'am strike aircraft |
My only technical analysis note is that the image at the top clearly illustrates a pair of radar emitters (Kasta 2E radar on the left and PRV-13 altimeter on the right) seen between the vertically deployed missile TELARs are not normally known to be associated with a foreign deployed S-400 system. They indicate a possible reduced capability to detect targets between 20 and 65 miles distant at altitudes between 328 and 3,280 feet in altitude. These two systems may be only for point defense of the Khmeimim Air Base against low flying fixed or rotary wing aircraft and/or cruise missiles.
Details on these pre-dawn strikes strongly indicate that the main arsenal for the elite Syrian 4th Division in As-Saboura was struck simultaneously with the Hezbollah weapons convoy. One could very reasonably assume that the 4th Division arsenal was the source of the weapons transfer and the convoy the enroute weapons themselves. As is normal the Israel Ministry of Defense will neither confirm or deny the strikes took place. Nevertheless, the Israeli-Russian understanding contains no illusions as to what Israel's very real red-lines are or the fact that direct military action will be immediate when those lines are crossed. Wednesday morning's IAF action proves this beyond question.
It is also apparent to Eschatology Today that the lessons Israel gave the Syrian dictator in early 2013 have been ignored by his regime and Iranian/Hezbollah allies, who, not coincidentally, have been actually running things in Syria for quite some time now. This type of military action guarantees the greater conflagration Israel's ancient prophets tell us is soon to arrive (Isaiah 17, Jeremiah 49:23-27). These are appointments of the Lord's prophetic calendar. Of particular note right now are the very similar circumstances in Wednesday's strikes and those that occurred a mile or two away in Damascus' suburb Qudssaya in late January 2013 which came to mind immediately once As Saboura was located on the map. For reference details see the contents found in: The "Morton Salt Scenario" (When It Rains, It Pours) and Global SITREP A11-13: No 'Game Changer' for Hezbollah/IRGC .
