The Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday that Israel expresses sorrow for the death of the aircrew members of the Russian plane that was downed Monday night due to Syrian anti-aircraft fire but it holds Syria, Iran and Hezbollah responsible.
The IDF said its fighter jets targeted a Syrian military facility "from which systems to manufacture accurate and lethal weapons were about to be transferred on behalf of Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon. These weapons were meant to attack Israel, and posed an intolerable threat against it." It said an initial inquiry suggests, the downed Russian plane had not entered the area during the operation, that Syria did not bother to ensure that no Russian planes were in the air and that the Syrian fire was indiscriminate. "Israel will share all the relevant information with the Russian Government to review the incident and to confirm the facts in this inquiry."