JERUSALEM (CBS/AP) - Israelis rushed to get government-issue gas masks Wednesday, the latest sign of mounting fears that Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles could be used against them as the crisis there deepens.
Until a few days ago, the possibility of getting dragged into Syria's civil war was not a major issue in Israel, whose leaders have had a laser-like focus on the potential threat posed by Iran's suspect nuclear program. That changed when Syrian President Bashar Assad's grip on his country turned more doubtful last week, following startling military gains by rebels and a bomb attack that killed four top officials.
Syria on Monday threatened to unleash chemical and biological weapons if the country faces a foreign attack.
Besides biological agents such as anthrax, Syria is believed to have hundreds of tons worth of chemical weapons ranging from paralyzing nerve agents like Sarin and VX to old-fashioned blister agents like mustard gas, CBS News correspondent David Martin reports. They can be launched by missiles, fired by artillery, or dropped from airplanes. It would take more than gas masks to protect against them
Reflecting the fears, Israeli officials reported a run on gas masks in recent days. Demand has almost doubled in the past few days, to 4,200 requests on Tuesday from a years-old average of about 2,200, said Merav Lapidot, a spokeswoman for the Israeli postal service, which distributes the masks.
CBS
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