ISRAEL was accused today of using two passenger jets as a shield during Wednesday’s missile strikes on Syria’s Homs province.

Russian general Vadim Kulit told a press briefing that the Syrian armed forces held back from targeting the Israeli air force F-16 tactical fighters as they launched an attack in the Palmyra region.

“The Syrian military leadership decided not to use air defence systems, since at the time of the Israeli aviation attack, two civilian passenger aircraft were in the zone of destruction of the anti-aircraft systems,” he said.

At least one soldier was killed and three injured in the missile strike, which Damascus said targeted a phosphate ore processing plant in the eastern Homs countryside.

Syria has consistently warned of Israel’s use of civilian aircraft during missile strikes.

In February 2020 an A320 passenger jet with 172 passengers on board was forced to make an emergency landing at the Russian-controlled Khmeimim air base during an Israeli air attack.

Russia’s defence ministry said Israel’s “reckless missions” prove it could not care less about possible civilian casualties, describing the use of passenger jets as a shield as “commonplace for Israeli air force pilots.”

Wednesday’s air strikes came days after Syrian defence systems thwarted a previous attack that targeted the T4 airport in Homs province.

Israel refuses to confirm or deny such attacks but acknowledges that hundreds of missiles have been launched since the start of a foreign-backed insurgency in 2011.

Tel Aviv’s fighter pilots are to be joined in the skies by the forces of seven countries on Sunday including the US, Britain and France, the Israeli Defence Force announced on Thursday.

They will take part in exercises to “learn, train and improve operational capabilities,” with Israel’s air force chief Amikam Norkin saying the operations were necessary due to threats from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Iran.