Hezbollah fighters parade during a ceremony to honor fallen comrades, in Tefahta village, south Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Israeli raids on Syria targeted advanced weapons of the Hezbollah militia, stressing that Tel Aviv will not allow the transfer of these weapons and that it will continue to target potential threats.

On the other hand, Moscow summoned the Israeli ambassador Gary Coren, to ask him to clarify the circumstances and objectives of the raids.

Netanyahu stated: “Our policy is very consistent. When we notice attempts to assist Hezbollah with weapons, we put our intelligence and operational capabilities to thwart it. That’s what we’ve done previously and this is what we will do, and everyone should take that into account.”

The Israeli official recognition, which is the first of its kind, also included a statement that the Israeli forces retaliated against a rocket fired from Syria in response to these raids. It seems that it was not significantly influenced by Russia calling on Tel Aviv to clarify the nature and objectives of the strikes.

Observers saw Russia summoning the ambassador as a message from Moscow echoing its control over Syria or areas that are still under the control of Bashar al Assad. They also considered that the regime’s response of launching anti-aircraft missiles for the first time in years may come from the sense of support by Russia. While the Syrian regime stated that it shot down one of the fighters with other casualties, Israel completely denied the statement and confirmed that all planes returned to their bases safely.