‘First ever flight' from Israel to regime-controlled Syria recorded

The Russian flight appears to be the first of its kind connecting Israel's Ben Gurion airport with Syria's Latakia governate, a regime stronghold.

MENA

2 min read

Kamal Afzali

28 April, 2021

Russia operates the Hmeimim airbase in Syria's eastern province of Latakia [TASS]

A Russian military plane has flown from Tel Aviv to the Syrian-regime controlled area of , where a Moscow-run airbase is located, according to flight tracking data.

The flight appears to be the first of its kind connecting 's Ben Gurion airport with Latakia, a Syrian regime stronghold, despite Israel and Syria technically being in a state of war since 1948.

Enab Baladi followed data from FlightRadar24.com which shows the Russian Air Force's Tupolev Tu-134AK, bearing the registration number RA-65992, departing Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport and flying north toward Syria, arriving at Latakia 17:15 local time (15:15 GMT).

Russia has waged a military campaign in support of President Bashar Assad's regime since 2015, helping him to retake control over most of the country after a devastating ten-year military campaign.

As part of its powerful military foothold in the country, Russia operates the Hmeimim airbase - 24km southeast of the port city of Latakia - on a 49-year lease from the Syrian regime.

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�� has reviewed the which shows the Russian flight departing from Tel Aviv. While its destination is unlisted, the flight path shows it ends by encircling a region near Hmeimim airbase, which is adjacent to the civilian Bassel Al-Assad International Airport.

The flight is preceded by one showing the aircraft travelling from Moscow to Tel Aviv and followed by another indicating a flight path from Latakia back to Moscow.

The rare Syria-Israel flight drew the attention of Israeli media, with Avi Sharf, the editor of the English edition of Haaretz, live-tweeting the event.

Hundreds of Israeli air strikes have struck Syria since the civil war began in 2011, mostly targeting the regime's allies - Iranian militias and Lebanese movement Hezbollah.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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