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| Airstrikes in Aleppo Hit Hospital and Prompt Syrian Rebel Attack | Airstrikes in Aleppo Hit Hospital and Prompt Syrian Rebel Attack |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BEIRUT, Lebanon — The boom of airstrikes and missile attacks echoed across Aleppo, Syria, through the night on Wednesday and into Thursday, as the government and its allies continued their attacks on the rebel-controlled half of the city. | |
| The rebel reply came Thursday morning with a barrage of mortar rounds and missile attacks that struck at least three districts along the front line, leaving at least eight people dead and 46 wounded by midday. | |
| Casualties streamed into Al Razi Hospital in the government-controlled sector of the city, as the wail of ambulance sirens mixed with the thud of explosions in the streets. Most of the wounded were civilians, but some were soldiers. At least three children were killed. | Casualties streamed into Al Razi Hospital in the government-controlled sector of the city, as the wail of ambulance sirens mixed with the thud of explosions in the streets. Most of the wounded were civilians, but some were soldiers. At least three children were killed. |
| A wounded soldier writhed on the ground, kicking and yelling as a commander comforted him. A man walked down a corridor, carrying his limping son. “We will kill them today,” he shouted to a reporter. | A wounded soldier writhed on the ground, kicking and yelling as a commander comforted him. A man walked down a corridor, carrying his limping son. “We will kill them today,” he shouted to a reporter. |
| Hassan Anees, the hospital’s executive director, said the violence had been rising steadily through the week. Most days, the hospital treats about 20 casualties, but on Wednesday the number reached 39, including five people who died. On Thursday, it had treated 54 by midday, of whom eight died. | Hassan Anees, the hospital’s executive director, said the violence had been rising steadily through the week. Most days, the hospital treats about 20 casualties, but on Wednesday the number reached 39, including five people who died. On Thursday, it had treated 54 by midday, of whom eight died. |
| Mr. Anees said the insurgents appeared to have started using more powerful munitions since the cease-fire in the city crumbled over a week ago. “First it was mortars, then it was gas canister bombs, and now it is missiles,” he said. | Mr. Anees said the insurgents appeared to have started using more powerful munitions since the cease-fire in the city crumbled over a week ago. “First it was mortars, then it was gas canister bombs, and now it is missiles,” he said. |
| As he spoke, the rattle of gunfire drifted through his office window, a reminder that the nearest front line to the hospital was only about half a mile away. | As he spoke, the rattle of gunfire drifted through his office window, a reminder that the nearest front line to the hospital was only about half a mile away. |
| On the other side of that line, in rebel-held territory, at least 27 people were killed in a Syrian government airstrike on a hospital late Wednesday, including three children and six staff members, health workers and witnesses said. Among the dead was one of the area’s last remaining pediatricians. | |
| Over the past week, the Syrian government and its Russian allies have sharply stepped up airstrikes on rebel-held areas in Aleppo, and rebels have increased shelling of government-held areas. | Over the past week, the Syrian government and its Russian allies have sharply stepped up airstrikes on rebel-held areas in Aleppo, and rebels have increased shelling of government-held areas. |
| Well over 100 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in all, according to tallies by the local news outlets and by activists on both sides — a sharp increase from the respite of a two-month partial truce. | |
| The location of the destroyed hospital in rebel territory was well known, the international charity Doctors Without Borders, which supported it, said in a statement calling for an end to the targeting of health facilities. The death toll from the strike late Wednesday was expected to rise. | |
| Already this year, in the eastern town of Maarat al-Noaman, two hospitals, including one that worked with Doctors Without Borders, were hit by multiple strikes on the same day. Groups like Physicians for Human Rights have tracked what they call a pattern of deliberate targeting of health services by government forces. | Already this year, in the eastern town of Maarat al-Noaman, two hospitals, including one that worked with Doctors Without Borders, were hit by multiple strikes on the same day. Groups like Physicians for Human Rights have tracked what they call a pattern of deliberate targeting of health services by government forces. |
| Witnesses contended that the same appeared to be true of the Wednesday night strike on Al Quds Hospital in Sukkari, a neighborhood of Aleppo. | |
| “Those were multiple airstrikes targeting the same area with less than two-minute gaps,” Adnan Hadad, an opposition journalist, said shortly after returning from the scene. | |
| Aleppo is controlled mostly by insurgent groups that have no affiliation with the two extremist groups excluded from the rapidly crumbling cease-fire: the Nusra Front, an organization with links to Al Qaeda, and the Islamic State, which Russia nominally intervened in Syria to fight. | Aleppo is controlled mostly by insurgent groups that have no affiliation with the two extremist groups excluded from the rapidly crumbling cease-fire: the Nusra Front, an organization with links to Al Qaeda, and the Islamic State, which Russia nominally intervened in Syria to fight. |
| The International Committee of the Red Cross called the overnight hospital attack unacceptable. It also asked all parties to stop indiscriminate attacks and to avoid harming civilians, warning that Aleppo could face what it called a new humanitarian disaster. | The International Committee of the Red Cross called the overnight hospital attack unacceptable. It also asked all parties to stop indiscriminate attacks and to avoid harming civilians, warning that Aleppo could face what it called a new humanitarian disaster. |
| “Wherever you are, you hear explosions of mortars, shelling and planes flying over,” said Valter Gros, who leads the Aleppo office of the International Committee of the Red Cross. “Everyone here fears for their lives and nobody knows what is coming next.” | “Wherever you are, you hear explosions of mortars, shelling and planes flying over,” said Valter Gros, who leads the Aleppo office of the International Committee of the Red Cross. “Everyone here fears for their lives and nobody knows what is coming next.” |
| Much of the Quds hospital building collapsed, and in videos and photographs from the scene, bodies could be seen pinned under rubble and what looked like the metal frames of beds. | Much of the Quds hospital building collapsed, and in videos and photographs from the scene, bodies could be seen pinned under rubble and what looked like the metal frames of beds. |
| A man rushed from the scene carrying the limp body of a small girl in pink clothing, her skin gray with the dust of pulverized concrete. Another girl in pink, her eyes glassy with tears, clung to the shoulder of a man in a red tank top who howled in grief: “Those are my family! I lost my family!” | |
| The hospital was hit when it was already full of victims from government shelling, Hadi Abdullah, an opposition journalist, reported in a video from the scene. | The hospital was hit when it was already full of victims from government shelling, Hadi Abdullah, an opposition journalist, reported in a video from the scene. |
| One of the casualties was Mohammad Wassim Mo’az, known as Abu Abdulrahman, one of the only pediatricians in the area. A dentist, Ahmad Abulyaman, was also killed. | |
| “I’m crying,” Louay Barakat, a journalist and photographer, said by phone after visiting the scene. “My baby’s doctor died. About 11 nurses and hospital staff died. Most of them are my friends.” | “I’m crying,” Louay Barakat, a journalist and photographer, said by phone after visiting the scene. “My baby’s doctor died. About 11 nurses and hospital staff died. Most of them are my friends.” |
| The hospital was the main referral center for pediatrics, with eight doctors, 28 nurses, an emergency room, an intensive care unit and an operating room, all now destroyed. | |
| In another area, a small boy was captured on video crying over the body of his brother. Stroking his body, he said, “I wish it was me, not you.” | In another area, a small boy was captured on video crying over the body of his brother. Stroking his body, he said, “I wish it was me, not you.” |