Hezbollah: downed Israeli jet marks "new strategic phase"

BEIRUT - 10 February 2018: Lebanon's Hezbollah group said on Saturday the downing of an Israeli F-16 jet by the Syrian army marked the "start of a new strategic phase" which would limit Israeli exploitation of Syrian airspace.

"Today's developments mean the old equations have categorically ended," the heavily-armed Shi'ite Muslim movement said in a statement. Hezbollah is part of a military alliance supporting President Bashar al-Assad.