Israeli fighter jets attacked three chemical weapons sites in Syria on June 8, The Washington Post reported on Monday, citing four US and Western intelligence officials “with access to sensitive intelligence at the time of the strikes.”

The Israeli strikes were carried out in the wake of intelligence reports that the Assad regime was engaging in efforts to rekindle its chemical weapons program and after it imported a chemical needed to make sarin gas. Israeli defense officials have expressed concerns about the possibility that Syrian chemical weapons could eventually end up in the hands of terrorist groups.

Seven Syrian soldiers were killed in the attacks on facilities and labs located near the cities of Damascus and Homs, including a Syrian colonel who worked at a top secret military laboratory.

The report added that Israel also carried out a previous strike on Syrian chemical sites near Homs on March 5, 2020. The Israeli government informed Presidents Trump and Biden about the attacks after they were completed.

The anonymous intelligence officials told The Post that the strikes were preemptive and part of an Israeli effort to eliminate Syria’s ability to manufacture chemical weapons before they were made. Strikes on existing nerve gases could release them into the air, endangering nearby communities.

Between 2015 to 2018, the Assad regime used sarin and other nerve agents in attacks which killed thousands of its own citizens.

There were no responses to the report by Israeli security officials.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)