Dozens of people have been killed in airstrikes on the besieged, rebel-held Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta since the Syrian regime launched a new offensive a week ago, and others are dying from malnutrition and lack of medicine, according to doctors and emergency responders.

The attacks come as the latest round of diplomatic talks begins to search for a political solution to end the Syrian war. However, residents of Eastern Ghouta said they weren’t hopeful that talks this week in Russia and next week in Geneva would alleviate their suffering.

Instead, residents say they fear they are headed for the same fate as many opposition-held areas in the conflict: being forced to surrender to the regime amid sieges and bombardments.

“Where are all the people going to go? To homes that aren’t theirs? To tent camps?” said Anas Al-Khole, an antigovernment activist and journalist in Eastern Ghouta. “Most of the people say that death is more merciful than leaving my home.”

Human rights monitors compare the worsening humanitarian situation in Eastern Ghouta to Aleppo, the Syrian city whose rebel-held eastern half was besieged and bombarded into surrender last year by Syrian forces and their allies. Tens of thousands of civilians and hundreds of rebels were evacuated from Aleppo in December, and the regime retook control of the entire city.

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“The situation is very similar [to Aleppo] but it is even worse,” said Ammar Alselmo, director of Syrian civil defense group the White Helmets. “It is the same planned scenario playing out of forced displacement.”


Four White Helmet first responders have been killed in Eastern Ghouta in the past week while trying to rescue victims of government airstrikes, said Anas Altaan, a member of the group based in the suburb.

Eastern Ghouta is covered under a de-escalation deal brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran in May meant to allow access to aid and stop the violence. The suburb, which encompasses several towns and villages, is home to about 400,000 people.

Syrian state media on Tuesday accused rebel groups of violating the de-escalation agreement by firing rockets at Damascus neighborhoods and killing a young man.

The regime launched an offensive on Eastern Ghouta on Nov. 14 and since then more than 118 civilians have been killed in airstrikes or mortar attacks, said Dr. Faiz Orabi, a spokesman for the area’s health directorate. Three hospitals have been hit by airstrikes during that same time, other medical staff.


The day before the regime launched its offensive, a United Nations aid convoy was allowed to bring in assistance including food baskets. The next day, an airstrike struck the warehouse where some of the food was being stored, according to residents who posted photos showing World Food Program bags amid the debris.

Write to Raja Abdulrahim at raja.abdulrahim@wsj.com