DAMASCUS, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Barrel bombs slammed the largest hospital in the rebel-held part of Aleppo city in northern Syria, a monitor group reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the barrel bombs were dropped by government aircrafts, which targeted the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo city.

The situation in Aleppo has dramatically escalated over the past few days, when the Syrian army unleashed a wide-scale offensive to recapture the rebel-held part of Aleppo, following a crumbled truce, blamed by the Syrian government on the U.S. and the rebels it's backing on ground.

Opposition activists have sent outcries about the terrible humanitarian situation in Aleppo, with hospitals being destroyed and children being killed.

A day earlier, the Syrian army was said to have advanced into several rebel-held areas in eastern Aleppo, namely the Slaiman al-Halabi area, and Bustan al-Basha.

The Syrian official media accused the rebels of firing several mortar shells and explosive-laden gas cylinders on the government-controlled areas in western Aleppo, killing at least 20 civilians on Friday and wounding 60 others.

Aleppo has a strategic importance for the warring parties due to its location near the Turkish borders, and being Syria's largest province, and once the economic hub of Syria.