Yisrael Beytenu chairman Gadi Eisenkot said at the 'Time for Decision: Democracy and Society' conference by Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth in collaboration with the Israel Democracy Institute that when he served as IDF Chief of Staff in 2018, after Air Force pilots ejected from a downed aircraft, he was unable to reach Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for two hours and decided on his own to strike in Syria. According to him: 'On January 10, 2018, we strike a convoy in Syria that sent a drone to Israel, and during the operation an F-16 aircraft is downed at five in the morning. I am Chief of Staff, and I decide together with the head of Military Intelligence and the Air Force commander to carry out a broad strike. I ask to update and consult with the Prime Minister, I cannot reach him for an hour or two, and I make the decision. Suddenly he shows up at the Air Force command center after three or four hours.'