Aid workers call the situation in Madaya, Syria, 'heartbreaking'

Aid workers who delivered food, medicine, and blankets to the besieged town of Madaya, Syria, on Monday say that what they saw was "heartbreaking."

Madaya has not received a commercial or humanitarian delivery since October, and has been under siege by the Assad regime for seven months. Workers said the hospitals no longer have medicine, children are so hungry they're physically unable to play, and new mothers are suffering from malnutrition and unable to produce milk, The Wall Street Journal reports. Residents of the town told aid workers they have been eating stray cats and dogs and trying to survive off of boiling water with spices.

At least 23 people, including six children, have died from starvation, doctors say, and hundreds are suffering from severe malnutrition. Residents told aid workers that people have tried to leave Madaya, but have been killed by pro-regime forces or died after stepping on landmines. The UN and other agencies sent 44 trucks to the town on Monday, and items were distributed on Tuesday, but the organizations said in order to improve the situation, they have to be able to make regular deliveries. Red Cross spokesman Pawel Krzysiek was part of the convoy, and said "the health situation here is tragic. I can't explain how bad it is. It's heartbreaking."

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