Medical workers say that two critically-needed hospitals in East Aleppo were targeted in air raids on Wednesday, leaving them inoperable as regime bombing and a ground offensive continues.
Air raids have targeted the two largest hospitals in opposition-held East Aleppo, putting the urgently needed Syrian medical centres out of service and further worsening the situation for civilians in the besieged districts.
The Syrian American Medical Society which supports the two hospitals, said that the two hospitals had been rendered out of service by the strikes.
As a result of the attack, only six hospitals in East Aleppo were still in service.
"The attack happened at 4am. One warplane targeted both of them directly," said Adham Sahloul of the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS).
According to Sahloul three employees were injured in the attack on the second hospital: a nurse, an ambulance driver, and an accountant.
"Two patients died. We are still trying to figure out if it was directly because of the attack or because treatment was cut off," Sahloul adde.
If further medical facilities in East Aleppo were rendered out of service there would be devastating medical consequences for civilians, he added.
"With these two hospitals gone, if today there is another offensive like Saturday or Sunday, this is signing the death warrant for hundreds of people," said Sahloul.
Speaking to The New Arab before the attacks, Mohammed Abu Rajab, a medic based in East Aleppo, said that staff in his hospital were overwhelmed by the influx of new patients, mostly women and children.
"We need blood for operations, and there is a lack of ventilating equipment, it has to be shared between patients. There is no room to treat people, we have to treat people on the floors in the corridors," said Abu Rajab.
Activists in the city had reported the use of munitions including cluster, bunker-busting bombs, and even white phosphorus in recent attacks on Aleppo.
Since the collapse of a US-Russian brokered ceasefire for Syria collapsed on 19 September, forces loyal to the Syrian regimehave embarked on a new offensive on rebel-held Aleppo.
Intense bombardments of residential areas by Syrian and Russian warplanes have also been accompanied by advances on the ground.
As a result of the attack, only six hospitals in East Aleppo were still in service.
"The attack happened at 4am. One warplane targeted both of them directly," said Adham Sahloul of the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS).
According to Sahloul three employees were injured in the attack on the second hospital: a nurse, an ambulance driver, and an accountant.
"Two patients died. We are still trying to figure out if it was directly because of the attack or because treatment was cut off," Sahloul adde.
If further medical facilities in East Aleppo were rendered out of service there would be devastating medical consequences for civilians, he added.
"With these two hospitals gone, if today there is another offensive like Saturday or Sunday, this is signing the death warrant for hundreds of people," said Sahloul.
Speaking to The New Arab before the attacks, Mohammed Abu Rajab, a medic based in East Aleppo, said that staff in his hospital were overwhelmed by the influx of new patients, mostly women and children.
"We need blood for operations, and there is a lack of ventilating equipment, it has to be shared between patients. There is no room to treat people, we have to treat people on the floors in the corridors," said Abu Rajab.
Activists in the city had reported the use of munitions including cluster, bunker-busting bombs, and even white phosphorus in recent attacks on Aleppo.
Since the collapse of a US-Russian brokered ceasefire for Syria collapsed on 19 September, forces loyal to the Syrian regimehave embarked on a new offensive on rebel-held Aleppo.
Intense bombardments of residential areas by Syrian and Russian warplanes have also been accompanied by advances on the ground.
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