Government forces fired artillery point-blank into residences in the Damascus suburb of Al-Tel Wednesday morning as the local population tried desperately to flee. The city of 100,000 had until now been a place of refuge for Syrians who fled government attacks in Homs and other Damascus suburbs. Opposition forces took over Al-Tel last week and Assad’s troops launched the new offensive to take it back. New fighting broke out in and around Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. The Syrian army brought in fresh troops backed by tanks, artillery and helicopter gun ships. In a village near Hama, 30 people were gunned down as they entered a mosque for Ramadan prayers. Syria’s ambassador to Cyprus became the second diplomat to defect when he left for Qatar. In Israel on Tuesday, the army chief-of-staff briefed the parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on possible scenarios for moving against Syria’s chemical weapons. Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz told lawmakers that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad remains in control of the weapons stockpiles but that transferring them into dangerous hands remains a possibility. Gantz also warned that an assault on the actual stockpiles could lead to a “broader campaign.”