Seems like there were two waves not just the one with the loss of the F-16 - the first loss since the ‘67 war.Although Israel was an early customer, the F-16 wasn't available to anyone prior to about 1978. In the 1973 war, the IAF lost planes to the SAM umbrellas of Syria and Egypt, so they adapted tactics to strike the SAMs if possible, while flying under radar to provide close air support against the Syrian tank attack (almost 1400 tanks; Syria lost roughly 1000 in the 1973 war).
Sorry you misconstrued what I said - was not saying Israel lost F-16s in the ‘67 war. Just this was the first IAF plane shot down since then.