Airstrikes kill 3 in Idlib hospital attack

The Syrian opposition-run rescue service known as the White Helmets said that three civilians were killed in Russian airstrikes on hospitals in Idlib as fighting between the Syrian government and rebels rages on.

It said two of the three civilians died after respiratory devices were shut down in an intensive-care unit.

Drone footage released by the White Helmets showed smoke rising and damage over the Idlib university hospital.

In a video released on social media the Syrian opposition-run rescue service known as the White Helmets said they conducted rescue operations in Idlib after what they said were airstrikes.

The video released shows the White Helmets rescuing a man from the rubble as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government fights rebels in the country's northwest since last week.

The assault in northwestern Syria was launched November 27, the day that Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah began a truce ending more than a year of fighting.

The rebel operation is the biggest challenge to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in years in a civil war where front lines had largely been frozen since 2020.

The UN said that at least 48,500 people have been displaced across Syria's Idlib and Northern Aleppo.

The White Helmets said that at least 25 people were killed in northwestern Syria in air strikes carried out by the Syrian government and Russia.

Syria's civil war had been frozen since 2020, with president Bashar al-Assad in control of most territory and all major cities. Rebels still held an enclave in the northwest, Turkey-backed forces held a strip along the northern border and US-backed, Kurdish-led forces controlled a pocket in the northeast.

The rebel storm of Aleppo is the biggest success of anti-Assad fighters for years.