An airstrike on a pediatric hospital in Syria killed 27 people, including children, rights groups say, as the U.N. warns that a nationwide "cessation of hostilities" is under serious threat of collapse. The U.N. special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, warned at a news conference in Geneva Thursday that a humanitarian disaster was unfolding in Syria with increased fighting in Aleppo and three other locations. Al Quds field hospital, situated in a rebel-held neighborhood in Aleppo, was hit by a missile from a fighter jet Wednesday, witnesses said. It's unclear for which side in the conflict the fighter jet was flying.
At least 148 civilians have been killed in Aleppo in the past six days, according to the Observatory."In the last 48 hours, we have had an average of one Syrian killed every 25 minutes, one Syrian wounded every 13 minutes," he said. Jan Egeland, chair of the U.N. task force on humanitarian access in Syria, said that there had been a "catastrophic deterioration" in Aleppo and parts of Homs over the past day or two. He said that if strikes continued, the U.N. would not be able to carry out a planned delivery of aid to 35 besieged locations.
