A/HRC/37/72 — an area comprising 73 villages and located 70 kilometres east of Hamah city — were primarily displaced towards northern Hamah, southern Idlib, and Atarib (Aleppo). 20. By mid-July, and with air support, Government ground forces and affiliated militias began advancing from the west towards Oqeirbat. Owing to the heightened intensity and frequency of attacks, many fleeing civilians gathered in Wadi al-Azib (Hamah), a desert terrain near the Salamiyah-Raqqah highway, hoping that evacuations would be facilitated. Instead, those internally displaced ended up trapped with very little food or water as Government forces blocked all roads and laid landmines surrounding both sides of the highway. Up to 10 children perished under severe living conditions in the area, including due to heatstroke, in addition to three elderly persons. By August, civilians unable to subsist in Wadi al-Azib began to risk fleeing at night. Pro-Government snipers targeted fleeing civilians, killing and injuring dozens. On 25 August alone, pro-Government snipers killed at least 70 internally displaced persons. Others were killed in landmine detonations, while up to 25 civilians were arrested by pro-Government forces and have not been heard from since. 21. Oqeirbat is now under Government control, and no civilians remain in the subdistrict. Those displaced described how schools, pharmacies, shops, and residential areas were all but destroyed by aerial and ground attacks. Some came to know that proGovernment militias looted their homes, or set fire to them in acts of reprisal. Fearing revenge attacks, civilians displaced from Oqeirbat maintained they would not return to the area even if given the opportunity. On 19 September, armed groups led by Hay’at Tahrir alSham launched a large-scale offensive on Government-held areas north of Hamah city, with pro-Government forces’ counteroffensives having since killed and injured dozens. On 26 September, in al-Sheikh al-Hilal village, a pro-Government forces ground attack reportedly killed over 60 internally displaced persons, and injured many more. On the night of 12 November, the Syrian Expatriate Medical Centre in al-Jezdaniya, eastern Hamah countryside, was destroyed in an airstrike. While no civilians were affected, an ambulance centre endured severe material damage, and vital medical supplies were damaged. ProGovernment forces continue to deliberately target medical infrastructure as part of a warring strategy, constituting the war crime of intentionally targeting protected objects. Deliberate attacks against ambulances further amount to the war crimes of intentionally attacking medical transport. At the time of writing, fighting in Hamah rages on. 31