Fresh air strikes killed 23 civilians including five children in a rural part of the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta enclave near Damascus on Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The area suffered some of its worst bloodshed in years Tuesday and the toll continued to mount overnight. "The death toll from air strikes that targeted Eastern Ghouta villages increased to 23 people, including five children," the Britain-based war monitor said in a statement. Civilians had been bracing for more raids as the regime appeared intent on ratcheting up the pressure on the area. Home to an estimated 400,000 people, the Eastern Ghouta region has been included in a de-escalation deal that was meant to bring calm to several zones across the country. But bombardment there has increased in recent days, including with suspected chlorine-filled munitions. On Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that "all indications" pointed to the Syrian regimes use of chlorine weapons in Syria.  "All indications... tell us today that chlorine is being used by the regime at present in Syria," he told BFM television. Chlorine is suspected of having been used on two occasions this month alone on Eastern Ghouta. The US State Department said on Monday it had recorded six suspected chemical attacks in Syria in the past 30 days.