The medical system in eastern Ghouta is near collapse, medics and doctors say, after nearly a week of airstrikes that have hit 22 hospitals and clinics and led to widespread claims that civilian healthcare in the besieged area is being systematically annihilated.

Medics inside Ghouta claimed only three medical facilities remained fully operational and all were overwhelmed with mass casualties that continued to arrive throughout Thursday – the fifth day of a blitz by Russian and Syrian jets across the opposition enclave. Médecins Sans Frontières said 13 hospitals it supported had been destroyed or damaged in the past three days alone.As the damage and death toll from the strikes continued to mount, international organisations that monitor the Syria crisis alleged there was clear evidence that hospitals were deliberately targeted.(theguardian)…[+]