Syrian chemical-weapons attack kills scores, including children

Netanyahu expressed “shock and outrage” regarding a chemical weapons attack on civilians in Syria, calling on the international community to take action.

By Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News

More than 90 people were killed in an apparent chemical weapons strike by Syrian or Russian army jets on Tuesday in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, according to British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

The Abu Dhabi-based Sky News Arabia said 67 civilians were killed and at least 200 were injured in the airstrike, which released “toxic gas.”

The Syrian government did not comment, though it has previously rejected accusations that it practices chemical warfare.

Children Writhing in Pain

SOHR reported that the attack caused many people to either choke or faint, with some foaming at the mouth. Photographs posted on social media showed rescue workers hosing down almost-naked children, who were writhing in pain on the floor.

A British doctor at the scene wrote in a Twitter post that sarin gas was released in the attack. Many Syrian opposition groups are calling on the United Nations to investigate.

The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, denounced the UN several weeks ago for failing to end the “senseless carnage” in Syria. The lack of UN action is primarily due to a stark divide between UN Security Council members.

Netanyahu: ‘No, None, No Excuse Whatsoever’

“When I saw pictures of babies suffocating from a chemical attack in Syria, I was shocked and outraged,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, addressing the state memorial ceremony Tuesday for late President Chaim Herzog at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, said in a statement

“There’s no, none, no excuse whatsoever for the deliberate attacks on civilians and on children, especially with cruel and outlawed chemical weapons. I call on the international community to fulfill its obligation from 2013 to fully and finally remove these horrible weapons from Syria.”