Day: October 8, 2026

Bassam al-Hassan oversaw Syria’s chemical weapons program and is accused of sharing responsibility for the 2013 sarin attack on Ghouta, near Damascus, which killed hundreds of civilians, many of them children.

A BBC and NPR investigation found he’s living in Beirut under a deal with the FBI, CIA and Lebanese security, getting “residency,” “protection” and help with his “living needs” in exchange for information on missing American journalist Austin Tice.

The money reportedly reaches him through an intermediary, which comes in handy, since he’s under U.S. sanctions.

Syria’s new government wants him back to stand trial, but says Washington wants him kept in Beirut.

So far the intel hasn’t been worth much. Hassan claims Tice was executed on Assad’s orders, but when investigators dug at the site he pointed them to, they found nothing.

Tice’s family called the arrangement “aiding and abetting the escape of a wanted war criminal.”

Source: BBC / Writer: Julie

“Following talks with the Israeli government, the consulate general will not be closed, and will be named the British Mission, Jerusalem, from today. This will ensure that we preserve our long-standing presence and Britain’s role in supporting the two-state solution.”Open Source Intel (@Osint613)Israel and the United Kingdom have reached an understanding on the closure of the British Consulate in East Jerusalem, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said. The consulate concluded its operations Thursday, and the Consul General along with 20 diplomats are ending their assignments and leaving Israel. Israel agreed to let London keep a seven member task force in the building, which the British government owns, with a significantly reduced scope of activity. Both governments will continue dialogue.—  https://x.com/Osint613/status/2108079417784164768