BEIRUT — Doctors and nurses at a pediatric hospital in eastern Aleppo scrambled Friday to evacuate babies in incubators to safety from underground shelters after the facility in the besieged Syrian city was bombed for the second time this week.

Medics and aid workers also reported a suspected attack involving toxic gas in a district on the western edge of the rebel-held area. At least 12 people, including children, were treated for breathing difficulties, said Adham Sahloul of the Syrian American Medical Society, which supports health facilities in Aleppo.

Claims of toxic gas attacks are common in Syria, and reports by international inspectors have held the government responsible for using chemicals in attacks on civilians, which Damascus denies.

Friday was the fourth day of renewed assaults by Syrian warplanes on eastern Aleppo districts, a rebel-held enclave of 275,000 people. The onslaught began Tuesday, when Syria's ally Russia announced its own offensive on the northern rebel-controlled Idlib province and Homs province in central Syria.

Friday's airstrikes in Aleppo hit a complex of four hospitals that had been attacked two days earlier. The latest strikes forced the pediatric hospital and a facility to stop operating.

"Now it is being bombed. ... I am sorry. ... I have to go to transfer the children," the head of the pediatric hospital wrote in a text message to The Associated Press. The doctor identified himself only by his first name of Hatem because he fears for reprisals against his family.

The incubators already had been moved underground for safety, but with bombs falling all around the facility, hospital workers had to rush them to a safer place despite the danger.

"As we drove out with the ambulance, warplanes were firing and artillery were shelling," he wrote. "But thank God we were not hurt."

The cameras of Al-Jazeera, which was broadcasting from the facility as the airstrikes occurred, went dark for a moment. When video resumed, dust was swirling and debris was strewn in the corridors.

Nurses scurried to get babies to safety, and one was seen carrying a blanket-wrapped infant. She then hugged and comforted another nurse who was sobbing as she picked up a baby.

Another hospital in a different Aleppo was bombed Thursday night, the doctor told AP. The entrance was set on fire but no one was hurt.

Government bombings have targeted with medical facilities, including the children's hospital and a nearby clinic that has one of the few remaining intensive care units in eastern Aleppo, the Observatory said.

Many hospitals and clinics in the besieged area have moved their operations underground after months of relentless bombardment. The World Health Organization said that in 2016, it recorded 126 attacks on health facilities, a common tactic over the five years of Syria's civil war. Russia and the Syrian government deny targeting hospitals.

Ibrahim al-Haj, a member of the Syria Civil rescue unit in Aleppo, said the city "is a mess." The group of rescuers and first responders said they are struggling to put out fires set off by the bombings in at least 10 areas. </s> BEIRUT — Doctors and nurses at a pediatric hospital in eastern Aleppo scrambled Friday to evacuate babies in incubators to safety from underground shelters after the facility in the besieged Syrian city was bombed for the second time this week.

Medics and aid workers also reported a suspected attack involving toxic gas in a district on the western edge of the rebel-held area. At least 12 people, including children, were treated for breathing difficulties, said Adham Sahloul of the Syrian American Medical Society, which supports health facilities in Aleppo.

Claims of toxic gas attacks are common in Syria, and reports by international inspectors have held the government responsible for using chemicals in attacks on civilians, which Damascus denies.

Airstrikes also hit a village in rural areas Aleppo province, killing seven members of a family, including four children, opposition activists said.

Friday was the fourth day of renewed assaults by Syrian warplanes on eastern Aleppo districts, a rebel-held enclave of 275,000 people. The onslaught began Tuesday, when Syria's ally Russia announced its own offensive on the northern rebel-controlled Idlib province and Homs province in central Syria.

Since then, more than 100 people have been killed across northern Syria.

Friday's airstrikes in Aleppo hit a complex of four hospitals that had been attacked two days earlier. The latest strikes forced the pediatric hospital and a neighboring facility to stop operating.

"Now it is being bombed. ... I am sorry. ... I have to go to transfer the children," the head of the pediatric hospital wrote in a text message to The Associated Press. The doctor identified himself only by his first name of Hatem because he fears for reprisals against his family.

The incubators already had been moved underground for safety, but with bombs falling all around the facility, hospital workers had to rush them to a safer place despite the danger.

Hatem rushed 14 babies in incubators to another facility a 10-minute drive away while airstrikes continued, he said in a later message.

"As we drove out with the ambulance, warplanes were firing and artillery were shelling," he wrote. "But thank God we were not hurt."

Some of the survivors of the suspected gas attack were taken to the children's hospital.

The cameras of Al-Jazeera, which was broadcasting from the facility as the airstrikes occurred, went dark for a moment. When video resumed, dust was swirling and debris was strewn in the corridors.

Nurses scurried to get babies to safety, and one was seen carrying a blanket-wrapped infant. She then hugged and comforted another nurse who was sobbing as she picked up a baby.

Another hospital in a different Aleppo neighborhood was bombed Thursday night, the doctor told AP. The entrance was set on fire but no one was hurt.

Only four of seven hospitals are still operating in the district, Sahloul said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of airstrikes, artillery and barrel bombs hit 18 different neighborhoods of eastern Aleppo.

Government bombings have targeted neighborhoods with medical facilities, including the children's hospital and a nearby clinic that has one of the few remaining intensive care units in eastern Aleppo, the Observatory said.

Many hospitals and clinics in the besieged area have moved their operations underground after months of relentless bombardment. The World Health Organization said that in 2016, it recorded 126 attacks on health facilities, a common tactic over the five years of Syria's civil war. Russia and the Syrian government deny targeting hospitals.

The city of Aleppo, once Syria's commercial hub, has been divided since 2012, with the eastern half in rebel hands and the western half controlled by government forces.

Ibrahim al-Haj, a member of the Syria Civil Defense rescue unit in Aleppo, said the city "is a mess." The group of rescuers and first responders said they are struggling to put out fires set off by the bombings in at least 10 areas.

The Observatory said at least four people were killed in the city's districts.

It also said the strike that killed the seven family members took place in southwestern Aleppo province. Syrian Civil Defense posted photos showing the bodies of children covered with dust and blood. </s> Warning: The above video contains scenes some may find distressing.

An air raid has hit a children's hospital in Syria's rebel-held east Aleppo, forcing medical staff to evacuate patients, including several newborn babies still in incubators.

The moment of the attack on Friday was captured by an Al Jazeera crew, including journalist Amro Halabi, who was reporting on survivors of previous Syrian and Russian bombing raids on rebel-held parts of the city.

Halabi was filming a man and his two children, who were suffered breathing problems from an earlier attack, when the room suddenly went dark immediately after a loud explosion.

Nurses and other medical staff were seen scrambling through the blackness, trying to rush the patients out of the badly damaged hospital as children cried out for help.

In another room, nurses grabbed babies from damaged incubators, with one staff member using a cloth to protect a visibly undernourished child before trying to console a weeping colleague, who was also carrying a newborn.

The nurses later moved the babies to another room, putting them on the floor next to each other and covering them with blankets. At least one of the infants still had medical tubes attached.

Staff told Al Jazeera that all of the babies survived the attack.

READ MORE: In east Aleppo, there is no way out

The city of Aleppo, once Syria's commercial centre, has been divided since 2012, with the eastern half largely in rebel hands and the western half largely controlled by government forces.

More than 250,000 civilians are still trapped in the east, which is under near constant aerial bombardment, with dwindling food supplies and extremely limited medical care.

Hospitals hide underground

Earlier, it was reported that at least 49 people were killed in east Aleppo in a bombardment that started late on Thursday, according to witnesses and activists. Friday was the fourth day of renewed bombing raids by Syrian government jets.

The onslaught began as Syria's ally Russia announced its own offensive on the rebel-controlled Idlib province in the country's north and Homs province in the centre.

Since then, more than 100 people have been killed across the north of the country.

A hospital in another Aleppo neighbourhood was also bombed on Thursday night, media reports said.

Only four of seven hospitals are still operating in the district, according to Adham Sahloul, of the Syrian American Medical Society, which supports health facilities in Aleppo.

READ MORE: What will Trump do about Syria?

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists in the country to monitor the war, said dozens of air raids, artillery attacks and barrel bombs hit 18 different neighbourhoods of eastern Aleppo.

Government bombs targeted neighbourhoods with medical facilities, including the children's hospital and a nearby clinic that has one of the few remaining intensive care units in the east of the city, the Observatory said.

Many hospitals and clinics in the besieged area have moved their operations underground after months of relentless bombardment.

The World Health Organization said it recorded 126 attacks on health facilities in 2016, a common tactic over the five years of a war that is estimated to have killed more than 400,000 people.

The Russian and Syrian governments deny deliberately targeting hospitals. </s> BEIRUT -- Doctors and nurses at a pediatric hospital in eastern Aleppo scrambled Friday to evacuate babies in incubators to safety from underground shelters after the facility in the besieged Syrian city was bombed for the second time this week.

Medics and aid workers also reported what was believed to be an attack involving toxic gas in a district on the western edge of the rebel-held area. At least 12 people, including children, were treated for breathing difficulties, said Adham Sahloul of the Syrian American Medical Society, which supports health facilities in Aleppo.

Claims of toxic-gas attacks are common in Syria, and reports by international inspectors have held the government responsible for using chemicals in attacks on civilians, which Damascus denies.

Airstrikes also hit a village in a rural area of Aleppo province, killing seven members of a family, including four children, opposition activists said.

Friday was the fourth day of renewed assaults by Syrian warplanes on eastern Aleppo districts, a rebel-held enclave of 275,000 people. The onslaught began Tuesday when Syria's ally Russia announced its own offensive on the northern rebel-controlled Idlib province and on the Homs province in central Syria.

Since then, more than 100 people have been killed across northern Syria.

Friday's airstrikes in Aleppo hit a complex of four hospitals that had been attacked two days earlier. The latest strikes forced the pediatric hospital and a neighboring facility to stop operating.

"Now it is being bombed. ... I am sorry. ... I have to go to transfer the children," the head of the pediatric hospital wrote in a text message. The doctor identified himself only by his first name of Hatem because he fears reprisals against his family.

The incubators already had been moved underground for safety, but with bombs falling all around the hospital, workers had to rush them to a safer place despite the danger.

Hatem rushed 14 babies in incubators to another facility a 10-minute drive away while airstrikes continued, he said in a later message.

"As we drove out with the ambulance, warplanes were firing and artillery were shelling," he wrote. "But thank God we were not hurt."

Some of the survivors of the suspected gas attack were taken to the children's hospital.

Images from Al-Jazeera, which was broadcasting from the facility as the airstrikes occurred, went dark for a moment. When video resumed, dust was swirling and debris was strewn in the corridors.

Nurses scurried to get babies to safety, and one was seen carrying a blanket-wrapped infant. She then hugged and comforted another nurse who was sobbing as she picked up a baby.

Another hospital in a different Aleppo neighborhood was bombed Thursday night, the doctor said. The entrance was set on fire, but no one was hurt.

Only four of seven hospitals are still operating in the district, Sahloul said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of airstrikes, artillery and barrel bombs hit 18 different neighborhoods of eastern Aleppo.

Government bombings have targeted neighborhoods with medical facilities, including the children's hospital and a nearby clinic that has one of the few remaining intensive care units in eastern Aleppo, the Observatory said.

Many hospitals and clinics in the besieged area have moved their operations underground after months of relentless bombardment. The World Health Organization said that in 2016, it recorded 126 attacks on health facilities, a common tactic over the five years of Syria's civil war. Russia and the Syrian government deny targeting hospitals.

The city of Aleppo, once Syria's commercial hub, has been divided since 2012, with the eastern half in rebel hands and the western half controlled by government forces.

Ibrahim al-Haj, a member of the Syria Civil Defense rescue unit in Aleppo, said the city "is a mess." The group of rescuers and first responders said they are struggling to put out fires set off by the bombings in at least 10 areas.

The Observatory said at least four people were killed in the city's districts.

It also said the strike that killed the seven family members took place in southwestern Aleppo province. Syrian Civil Defense posted photos showing the bodies of children covered with dust and blood. </s> All hospitals in Syria’s besieged rebel-held eastern Aleppo are out of service after days of heavy air strikes, its health directorate and the World Health Organization (WHO) said, though a war monitor said some were still functioning.

White House national security adviser Susan Rice said the United States condemned “in the strongest terms” the latest air strikes against hospitals and urged Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to take steps to halt the violence.

Intense air strikes have battered the eastern part of the city since Tuesday, when the Syrian army and its allies resumed operations after a pause lasting weeks. They launched ground attacks against insurgent positions on Friday.

The war monitor, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said 48 people, including at least five children, had been killed in eastern Aleppo on Saturday by dozens of air strikes and barrel bombs and dozens of artillery rounds.

That brings the number of people killed by the increased bombardment of Aleppo and the surrounding countryside over the past five days to about 180, including 97 in the city’s besieged eastern sector, the observatory added.

Warplanes, artillery and helicopters continued bombarding eastern Aleppo on Saturday, hitting many of its densely populated residential districts, the Observatory said. There were intense clashes in the Bustan al-Basha district, it added.

“This destruction of infrastructure essential to life leaves the besieged, resolute people, including all children and elderly men and women, without any health facilities offering life-saving treatment ... leaving them to die,” said Aleppo’s health directorate in a statement sent to Reuters late on Friday by an opposition official.

Elizabeth Hoff, the WHO representative in Syria, said on Saturday that a U.N.-led group of aid agencies based over the border in Turkey “confirmed today that all hospitals in eastern Aleppo are out of service”.

The monitoring group said some hospitals were still operating in besieged parts of Aleppo but said many residents were frightened to use them because of the heavy shelling.

Medical sources, residents and rebels in eastern Aleppo say hospitals have been damaged by air strikes and helicopter barrel bombs in recent days, including direct hits on the buildings.

“The United States again joins our partners ... in demanding the immediate cessation of these bombardments and calling on Russia to immediately deescalate violence and facilitate humanitarian aid and access for the Syrian people,” Rice said in a statement.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweeted that reports of air strikes hitting civilians and hospitals in east Aleppo were “sickening” and called for a return to diplomacy.

However, with the United States awaiting the inauguration in late January of President-elect Donald Trump, who has been critical of Washington’s Syria policy without laying out detailed plans himself, diplomatic efforts appear stalled.

Staffan De Mistura, the special envoy of the U.N. secretary general, is likely to meet Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moalem in Damascus on Sunday after recent talks in Turkey and Iran, another diplomat said.

“He will push on Aleppo, perhaps on a ceasefire, but on the political file there won’t be anything until (U.N. Secretary– General Ban Ki-moon’s successor Antonio) Guterres is in office, the diplomat said.

Both Russia and Assad’s government have denied deliberately targeting hospitals and other civilian infrastructure during the war, which began in 2011 and was joined by Russia’s air force in September 2015.

Russia unilaterally called a ceasefire in late October and said on Saturday it was now only striking against groups that are not also observing it. Rebel groups in Aleppo have all said they do not recognize the Russian ceasefire.

The charity Doctors Without Borders said in a message there had been more than 30 hits on hospitals in eastern Aleppo since early July. “Doctors are few and medical supplies are depleted, with no possibility of sending more supplies in,” it said.

Health and rescue workers have previously been able to bring damaged hospitals back into operation but a lack of supplies is making that harder.

The Syrian war pits Assad and his allies Russia, Iran and Shi’ite militias against Sunni rebels including groups supported by the United States, Turkey and the Gulf monarchies and also jihadist groups.

Aleppo, for years split between a rebel-held east and government-held western sector, has become the fiercest front.

An army offensive backed by a major aerial bombardment from late September to late October killed hundreds, according to the United Nations, and tightened the siege, leaving eastern Aleppo with little food, medicine or fuel.

A rebel counter-attack early this month involved shelling that killed dozens of civilians, the U.N. said, but it quickly petered out and the army and its allies, including Hezbollah and Iraqi militias, reversed all insurgent gains in about two weeks.

Syrian state television said on Tuesday the air force had targeted “terrorist strongholds and supply depots” in Aleppo. Russia has said its air force is only conducting air strikes in other parts of Syria. The Damascus government describes all the rebels fighting it as terrorists. </s> (CNN) Days of heavy airstrikes have left Syria's rebel-held eastern Aleppo without a single hospital operating at full capacity, the Syrian American Medical Society told CNN on Saturday.

A number of major trauma hospitals were knocked out of service during recent attacks, according to the medical society.

However, activists working in the city said up to five other hospitals in eastern neighborhoods are still functioning.

"For the first time, eastern Aleppo is out of hospitals operating at full capacity," said Dr. Mazen Kewara, director of the medical society's Turkey office. "There are remaining medical facilities, but they are not operating at full capacity."

One of those hit was a children's hospital, forcing staff to evacuate babies to safety.

Hospitals are desperately needed as an estimated 250,000 people remain trapped while the Syrian regime bombards the city's rebel-held east, which faces dwindling reserves of food, fuel and medical supplies.

On Saturday, at least 38 civilians were killed by the extensive bombardment of eastern Aleppo, according to the Syrian Civil Defense, a volunteer group also known as the White Helmets. The barrage included 250 airstrikes and more than 2,000 artillery rounds.

Powerful video footage that the activist group Aleppo Media Center posted online showed what it said was the immediate aftermath of a bombing at eastern Aleppo's M2 hospital on Friday evening.

A man covered with dust and blood is carried past a body toward a stairwell filled with rubble and splintered wood. Another bandaged, dust-covered patient follows holding what looks like his own IV drip. Patients confined to bed are given face masks to cope with the dust.

A man who appears to be a doctor tells the cameraman, "Everyone in the hospital got injured, even already injured patients have been injured again, God help us."

Another man who seems to be a doctor says the hospital was bombarded, and there has been a direct hit on the intensive care unit, which he says was full of patients, "(especially) those who were transferred from hospitals that have been struck today morning and yesterday evening."

He says staff have had to transfer patients to other hospitals when they don't even know if they are operational, adding "the material damage is so huge in the hospital, unbelievable horror among patients and the medical staff, the ambulances outside can't rescue patients, people can't rescue each other, people are afraid of coming to the hospitals."

The humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders condemned the airstrikes, saying entire hospitals, electric generators, emergency rooms and wards have been destroyed in eastern Aleppo in more than 30 attacks since July.

"It is not only MSF that condemns indiscriminate attacks on civilians or civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, but also humanitarian law," said Teresa Sancristoval, emergency coordinator for the group also known as Médecins Sans Frontières.

"The message is simple, and I don´t know how to say it any louder: Stop bombing hospitals."

In Washington, national security adviser Susan Rice said in a statement: "The United States condemns in the strongest terms these horrific attacks against medical infrastructure and humanitarian aid workers. There is no excuse for these heinous actions."

An activist with the Aleppo Media Center told CNN on Saturday that up to five hospitals are now operating in the northern Syrian City.

The group said there were minor injuries to patients and staff at the M1 surgical hospital after artillery shelling and airstrikes that caused major fires Friday.

At a second facility, the al-Hakim children's hospital, the group told CNN that medical crew and children were evacuated with no injuries and that all babies survived the attacks.

The UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday that some hospitals struck in recent airstrikes were out of service for a time but are now operating to some extent.

Syria's grinding five-year conflict has devastated the city, divided between government-controlled areas in the west and rebel positions in the east.

Moscow has sought to distance itself from the latest blitz, with Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov saying this week that the Russian air force had not carried out the Aleppo strikes, according to state-run news agency Tass. </s> However, activists working inside the city said up to five other hospitals in eastern neighborhoods are still functioning.

"For the first time, eastern Aleppo is out of hospitals operating at full capacity," Dr Mazen Kewara, Director of the SAMS Turkey Office, told CNN. "There are remaining medical facilities but they are not operating at full capacity," he said.

One of those hit was a children's hospital, forcing staff to evacuate babies to safety.

The Aleppo Media Center activist group and medical crews reported that 46 people were killed and 75 injured Friday in airstrikes and shelling in the city and surrounding countryside, with the activists describing the fighting as some of the bloodiest yet. An AMC activist told CNN on Saturday that there are up to five hospitals now operating in Aleppo. The AMC said there were minor injuries to patients and staff at the M1 surgical hospital after artillery shelling and airstrikes caused major fires on Friday. One of the few doctors left in Aleppo speaks to CNN One of the few doctors left in Aleppo speaks to CNN At the second hospital the group visited, the al-Hakim children's hospital, the AMC told CNN that the medical crew and children were evacuated with no injuries and that all babies survived the attacks. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told CNN on Saturday that some of the hospitals struck in airstrikes in recent days were out of service for a time but are now operating to some extent in the besieged parts of Aleppo. The hospitals are desperately needed by an estimated 250,000 people trapped under bombardment in the eastern side of the city with dwindling reserves of food, fuel and medical supplies. A UK-based monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Friday that more than 1,000 people have died in airstrikes and shelling across Aleppo and surrounding areas since a short-lived US and Russian-brokered ceasefire broke down on September 19. Syria's grinding five-year conflict has devastated the city, divided between government-controlled areas in the west and rebel positions in the east. Moscow has sought to distance itself from the latest blitz, with Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov saying Wednesday that the Russian air force had not carried out the Aleppo strikes, according to state-run news agency Tass. </s> Syrian civilians and a rescue worker evacuate children in the Maadi district of eastern Aleppo after regime aircrafts reportedly dropped explosive-packed barrel bombs on August 27, 2016. At least 15 civilians were reported killed when two bombs fell several minutes apart, near a tent where people were receiving condolences for those killed this week. / AFP PHOTO / AMEER ALHALBI

In the besieged parts of the city, children face dire food and medicine shortages, besides air strikes

They cannot play, sleep or attend school. Increasingly, they cannot eat. Injury or illness could be fatal. Many just huddle with their parents in windowless underground shelters — which offer no protection from the powerful bombs that have turned east Aleppo into a kill zone.

Among the roughly 250,000 people trapped in the insurgent redoubt of the divided northern Syrian city are 100,000 children, the most vulnerable victims of intensified bombings by Syrian forces and their Russian allies.

The routine in east Aleppo, where shellshocked children are exhumed from rubble and left writhing in bloody clothes on dirty hospital gurneys, is a confluence of Syria’s young population, failed diplomacy and the reality of a war that appears to be worsening after more than five years.

“They’re trapped, and they have no way of escaping,” said Alun McDonald, a spokesman for the Middle East operations of Save the Children, the international charity. “That’s one reason we’re seeing such big numbers of child casualties.”

The people living in besieged rebel-held areas of Aleppo have shown a high level of resilience, moving schools and hospitals underground for protection. So too, life has continued on the government-held western side of the city, where, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 49 children were killed by rebel mortar fire in July alone.

But lately on the eastern side, Mr. McDonald said, “the bombing has become so intense that even underground shelters aren’t safe any more.” Save the Children has said that at several hospitals and ambulance centres it supports in eastern Aleppo, half of the casualties have been children since the bombings escalated after the collapse of a short-lived cease-fire last week.

Hanaa Singer, the UNICEF representative in Syria, said precise numbers of child casualties in east Aleppo had yet to be determined. Nonetheless, she said by telephone from Damascus, “it’s definitely the worst we have seen for children.” Just a few weeks ago, Ms. Singer said, UNICEF planned to publicise how east Aleppo children were enrolled to go back to school, with photos of students walking to class past piles of rubble. That plan was scrapped. “Children are not going to school now,” she said.

Children in the besieged parts of Aleppo also face dire food and medicine shortages. Surgery and blood transfusions required for treating bomb wounds are, by many accounts, practically impossible now. Medical workers have left children to die on hospital floors for lack of supplies. The New York Times News Service </s> BEIRUT (AP) — Intensive bombings pummeled Syria’s rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of the city of Aleppo on Friday, residents and rescuers said, hitting an area housing several hospitals and sending the chief of a pediatrics clinic in a frantic search for a place to move his young patients.

Earlier Friday, airstrikes on a village in the rural Aleppo province killed seven members of the same family, including four children, opposition activists said.

The attacks mark the fourth day of renewed assault by Syrian government warplanes on eastern Aleppo districts, a rebel-held enclave of 275,000 people. The onslaught began with a Russian announcement of its own offensive on the northern rebel-controlled Idlib province and the central Homs province.

So far, more than 100 people have been killed across northern Syria since Tuesday.

A physician who identified himself as Dr. Hatem, the head of the only pediatric hospital remaining in besieged rebel-held part of Aleppo, said his facility has been targeted once more on Friday, causing damages to its exterior. The hospital was also hit during a wave of airstrikes on the complex housing four hospitals on Wednesday.

“Now it is being bombed … I am sorry … I have to go to transfer the children” to a safe area, he said in a text message. He uses his first name fearing for his family’s safety.

Another Aleppo hospital in a different neighborhood also came under intense bombing late Thursday, he said, though no one was wounded.

Many hospitals and clinics in the besieged area have moved their operations underground after months of relentless bombings and airstrikes.

The city of Aleppo, once Syria’s commercial hub, has been divided since 2012, with the eastern half in rebel hands and the western half controlled by government forces.

Ibrahim al-Haj, a member of the Syria Civil Defense rescuers in Aleppo said the city “is a mess.” The group of rescuers and first responders said they were struggling to put out fires set off by the bombings in at least 10 different areas of eastern Aleppo.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the strike that killed the seven from one family took place in southwestern Aleppo. Syrian Civil Defense posted photographs online showing children’s bodies covered with dust and blood.
Syrian government air raid hits a children's hospital in rebel-held east Aleppo, forcing medical staff to evacuate patients, including several newborn babies still in incubators.