Patients at a Gift of the Givers run hospital in Darkoush in northern Syria will be relocated to Turkey, following an airstrike on Monday. Medical staff and patients were jolted by the missile, which was fired 300 metres away from the Ar Rahma Hospital.

While there were no injuries or fatalities, the attack left windows, doors and vital medical machines damaged. The organisation’s coordinator in Syria, Fekri Shaban said it was a government missile that targeted the hospital.

“It’s not the first time… ten days ago we were targeted. No one expected the Assad regime would target the hospital as it’s in the city where many civilians live. Allah (swt) saved the hospital and it didn’t hit us directly,” he told VOC News.

The hospital has been closed until the damage is repaired. In the meantime, a Turkish NGO has donated a field hospital near the border between Turkey and Syria, which could be ready in two weeks time. The patients will now travel to Turkey where they will be treated.

“This is difficult as many people are badly injured. They might also die on the way to the hospitals inside Turkey,” said Shaban.

Dr Ahmed Ghandour, who serves as head of the hospital, on a visit to VOC in February, said due to limited access to hospitals, as well as the facility being the best equipped in the region, Syrians were often coming from great distances to receive treatment at the centre. The hospital takes on an average of 350 patients a day, with all treatments and medication provided free of charge.

According to Shaban, Darkoush residents, aid volunteers and the medical team at the hospital are shocked by the attack.

“When the Free Syrian Army defeated Assad and took control of some places in Syria, immediately he [Assad] started taking revenge against civilians. He [Assad] starts with the hospitals and schools,” Shaban said, referring to last week’s military bombardment which killed at least 65 civilians. The Syrian army has suffered a series of recent setbacks from an offensive by allied factions, including al-Qaida’s Nusra Front.

Shabaan lambasted the international community for its silence and “allowing Bashar Al Assad to do whatever he wants”.

“We hope the South African community will support us and stand with us. The hospital can be broken but we will fix it and go on. It’s the only hospital where civilians are getting treatment. Even FSA fighters and Assad’s men are also getting treatment. We don’t ask them who they are and where they from…everyone gets treatment.” VOC