THE HAGUE: Experts from the world’s global chemical arms watchdog are continuing their mission to probe an alleged gas attack in Douma despite Western air strikes in Syria, the body said Saturday.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has been “working in close collaboration” with UN security experts “to assess the situation and ensure the safety of the team,” it said.
It vowed in its statement that the fact-finding mission due to go to Douma later Saturday “will continue its deployment to the Syrian Arab Republic to establish facts around the allegations of chemical weapons use in Douma.”
The United States, Britain and France carried out a wave of strikes against the Syrian regime on Saturday a week after the suspected deadly gas attack on the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Douma, in which 40 people were said to have been killed.
In the biggest foreign military action so far against Syria’s regime, Western officials said a barrage of cruise and air-to-land missiles hit targets near Damascus and in Homs province including a scientific research center, storage facilities and a command post.
Syrian state media reported that internal security forces had entered Douma on Saturday and that the town would be secured within hours.
Both Syria and its ally Russia have said they would guarantee the safety and security of the OPCW mission — the first outside Damascus since 2014.
OPCW continuing mission into alleged Douma gas attack
OPCW continuing mission into alleged Douma gas attack
Senior Hamas figure reported killed in air strike in Gaza
- Israel has razed buildings and ordered residents out of more than half of Gaza where its troops remain
- Israel and Hamas have traded blame for violations of the ceasefire
CAIRO: Two Israeli airstrikes killed five people in Deir Al-Balah in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, local health authorities said, and Palestinian media reported that one of those killed was a senior figure in the armed wing of Hamas.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the incident. Palestinian media identified him as Mohammed Al-Holy, describing him as a local Hamas commander in Deir Al-Balah. The militant group did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
More than 400 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed since a fragile ceasefire took effect in October.
Israel has razed buildings and ordered residents out of more than half of Gaza where its troops remain. Nearly all of the territory’s more than 2 million people now live in makeshift homes or damaged buildings in a sliver of territory where Israeli troops have withdrawn and Hamas has reasserted control.
The United Nations children agency said on Tuesday that over 100 children have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire, including victims of drone and quadcopter attacks.
Israel and Hamas have traded blame for violations of the ceasefire and remain far apart from each other on key issues, despite the United States announcing the second phase of the ceasefire on Wednesday.
Israel launched its operations in Gaza in the wake of an attack by Hamas-led fighters on October, 2023 which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s assault has killed 71,000 people, according to health authorities in the strip, and left much of Gaza in ruins.
