(CNN) Premature twin boys born into chaos. An oncologist without medicine to treat her cancer patients. And a mother's last wish -- for her children not to die hungry.

These are just a few stories from activists at the Ghouta Media Center in Eastern Ghouta, a rebel-held enclave outside Damascus that has been besieged by the Syrian regime for years.

At least 260 people were killed and 500 injured in a dramatic uptick in the bombardment this week, the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) said Wednesday. Other reports put the death toll above 300.

Nearly 400,000 people remain trapped in Eastern Ghouta, many of them in desperate need of humanitarian aid. As bombing has intensified in recent days, families have retreated underground, to makeshift shelters and remaining hospitals.

But without basic medical supplies, limited food and water, they're running out of options.

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