Recent airstrike in Syria shows that Israel is changing tactics.

Sputnik Brazil - The recent Israeli air strike against Syria, involving the use of civilian flights as cover for the operation, shows that the Israelis are changing tactics against Damascus, former UK ambassador to Syria Peter Ford told Sputnik.

On Wednesday (26), a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense detailed that six Israeli F-16 fighter jets used two commercial aircraft as cover while they prepared to land in Damascus and Beirut.

The Israeli company ImageSat published images of the area where the attacks destroyed a military warehouse where Iranian weapons were allegedly stored.

Wednesday's airstrike came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue military operations in Syria to counter Iran's military presence.

"This shows a new modus operandi of the Israelis, they are no longer afraid of their planes being shot down," Ford said on Thursday (27).

"Thanks to the Russians, the Syrian Army has now improved its air defenses, so the Israelis are using new tactics, and it seems that one of them is hiding behind other aircraft," he added.

In September, Israel used the same tactic and was accused by Moscow of using a Russian aircraft as a shield against Syrian anti-aircraft systems, which caused the downing of a Russian reconnaissance plane carrying 15 crew members.

"They [the Russians] have given free rein to their Syrian partners and are telling the Israelis that 'the Syrians, if they can, will shoot down their aircraft. Don't look to us for any kind of protection,'" said the former ambassador.

Ford further suggests that the announcement by the United Arab Emirates that it would reopen its embassy in Syria will pave the way for the normalization of ties between Syria and the UAE's ally, Saudi Arabia, which supported anti-government forces in Syria's 7-year civil war.

"It's only a matter of time before the Saudis resume relations and Syria is readmitted to the Arab League," he concluded.