Though brief in duration, they have been described as among the most intense over the past year, and included multiple aerial intercepts of inbound missiles by Syrian air defenses. 

On Friday Russian Defense Ministry Igor Konashenkov spokesman said Israel's attack directly endangered a passenger airliner. "An Airbus-320 with 172 passengers on board could have been targeted by Syrian missile defense systems because of Israel's airstrikes on the Damascus suburbs on February 6, the plane was escorted out of the danger zone and assisted in landing at the Hmeymim air base," he told reporters, according to TASS.

The plane en route from Tehran to Damascus was reportedly preparing to land in the Syrian capital, but according to the Kremlin statement narrowly escaped "the lethal zone of artillery fire," and was diverted to a Russian air base in Latakia.