Middle East latest: Israeli strikes hit Gaza and also target suspected weapons sites in Syria

Israeli strikes killed at least six people in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical officials said Monday, while also hitting suspected chemical and long-range weapons sites in Syria to keep them from rebels who seized Damascus.

The U.N. Security Council on Monday held emergency closed consultations on Syria at the request of Russia, which said it granted asylum to its longtime ally Syrian leader Bashar Assad.

Russian President Vladimir Putin personally made the decision to offer asylum to Assad, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Peskov wouldn’t comment on Assad’s specific whereabouts and said that Putin wasn’t planning to meet with him.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,500 Palestinians in the Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, according to local health authorities. They say most of the dead are women and children but do not distinguish between fighters and civilians.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250, including older adults and children. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.