On Dec. 26, the Israel Air Force (IAF) held a graduation ceremony for its 177th pilot-training course at the Hatzerim Air Base in the Negev Desert. The cadets received their wings and became full-fledged pilots. The timing of the event, scheduled months in advance, proved to be particularly sensitive. Just a few hours earlier, according to foreign media reports, the air force had struck targets in the Damascus area. The reported strike followed a lengthy hiatus in similar attacks stemming from tensions between Israel and Russia over the Sept. 17 accidental downing of a Russian Ilyushin military aircraft off the Syrian coast by Syrian forces.

As is customary at such graduation ceremonies, Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech as did the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, and the highly respected IAF chief, Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin. Each referred obliquely to the events in the skies over Damascus.

“We are not prepared to accept the Iranian military entrenchment in Syria which is directed against us. We will act against it vigorously and continuously, including during the current period,” Netanyahu remarked. “I have said that we will not be deterred from doing what is necessary. Therefore, we are called upon and we act. President Trump's decision to withdraw the American soldiers from Syria will not change our policy. We are standing steadfast on our red lines in Syria and everywhere else.”

The two generals also hinted at continued Israeli activity on Israel's northern front in keeping with the “red lines” Israel had drawn. After the VIPs had spoken, the air force put on a show of force, with a flyover that included hair-raising aerobatic stunts by an F-35 Stealth fighter above the heads of the assembled guests.