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The Syrian air defense forces shelled Israeli fighter jets, returning after airstrikes on targets, located on the Syrian territory.

Fighter jets of the Israeli Air Force were shelled with missiles from the ground after they attacked several targets in Syria, the press service of the Israel Defense Forces reported, claiming that there were no any losses from the Israeli side.

One of the missiles, fired from the ground, was reportedly shot down by an Israeli missile defense system.

“On the night of March 17, Israeli Air Force’s aircraft attacked several targets in Syria. After the task was completed, several anti-aircraft missiles were fired from Syria. The air defense forces intercepted one of the missiles,” a press release reads. “Security of Israeli citizens or the Air Force’s aircraft was not under threat at any stage.”

According to the Haaretz newspaper, none of the missiles hit the aircraft, however, one of them was intercepted by a missile defense system north of Jerusalem. The newspaper also stressed that there were no Israeli casualties in the incident.

At the same time, the Syrian Army claims that one of the four Israeli warplanes, breached the Syrian airspace, was shot down by Syrian air defense troops, while another one was damaged. According to the Syrian side, the Israeli military jets carried out airstrikes on a “military target” near Palmyra.

A number of Arab media reported that Israeli warplanes bombed warehouses in Syria, where Hezbollah stored its missile munitions. There is no data on losses.

According to the Reshet Bet radio station, the Hetz anti-ballistic missile system was used to intercept the Syrian missile. The Jerusalem Post newspaper reported that it was the first combat use of the Hetz 3 (Arrow 3) system, however, this information has not been officially confirmed.

At the same time, it was reported that Syrian air defense troops launched the SA-5 missile on the Israeli military aircraft, using the Soviet-made S-200 air defense missile system.

Jordanian media reported that some fragments of the missile fell in the city of Irbid, located in the north of Jordan, about 20 km from the Israeli border. It was assumed that it was fragments of the Israeli Hetz antimissile, which was used against the missile of the Syrian S-200, fired the Israeli aircraft, returning after the combat operation. Early in the morning, fragments of the missile were found in the northern suburb of Irbid.

Last night, local media reported about warning sirens and sounds of explosions that were heard on the eastern boundaries, controlled by Israel, including in the Jordan Valley. Reportedly, the sounds that were heard at night in Jerusalem, Modiin, Judea and Samaria were sounds of explosions during the interception of the missile, launched by Syrian air defense troops.

“I can say that the sirens were the result of this incident,” an employee of the Israel Defense Forces’ press service told the RIA Novosti news agency.

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