Relief of camp in works

DAMASCUS, Syria — A senior Palestinian official said Thursday that an agreement has been reached with the Syrian government to use military force to expel Islamic State militants from an embattled Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus.

IS fighters overran much of the Yarmouk camp last week, marking their deepest foray yet into the Syrian capital. The incursion is the latest trial for Yarmouk and its estimated 18,000 remaining residents, who have already survived a devastating two-year government siege, starvation and disease.

The International Committee of the Red Cross called Thursday for immediate access to the camp, saying that emergency medical care was urgently needed.