If the Israeli F-16 fighter jet had been struck by the Syrian missile just a few kilometers north of where it was actually hit Feb. 10, it is quite possible that Israel, Iran, Syria and Lebanon would be at war today. In fact, the plane was hit over Israeli territory (the air force does not have to fly over targets in Syria in order to bomb them), and its pilots parachuted out safely — one of them seriously wounded — in Israeli territory, preventing a serious escalation of events. There is nothing in Israel that hits a raw nerve more than when its soldiers are taken prisoner. The last time that happened along the northern front, the Second Lebanon War broke out in 2006. On Feb. 10, we were very close to the third.
For Israel, this was a day of fighting against Iran and Syria, who had the support of Hezbollah and the passive involvement of Russia. According to the Iranian-Shiite coalition, this day of fighting led to what Hezbollah called “a new strategic era.”