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March 2 (UPI) -- More than 670 Syrian civilians have been killed in 13 days in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta. The White Helmets, a Syrian volunteer rescue group, reported on Friday that 674 civilians had died since the beginning of air attacks on Feb. 18 by Syrian government and Russian forces. Airstrikes have continued to pummel Eastern Ghouta despite the United Nations Security Council unanimously approving a 30-day cease-fire last week.
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"Since the so-called ceasefire up until now, 103 people have been killed," Mahmood Adam, a member of the White Helmets, told Al Jazeera, adding that 22 children and 43 women were among the dead.
Daily five-hour cease-fires, ordered by Russia, have failed to stop air and artillery strikes in the Damascus suburb.
No civilians have used the "humanitarian corridor" imposed by Russia to leave the suburb, while U.N. agencies and partners say its impossible to deliver necessary supplies and materials given the circumstances.
Eastern Ghouta, which has been besieged since 2013, is the last major rebel stronghold near Syria's capital and is home to almost 400,000 people.
Civilian infrastructure and services have seen some of the greatest destruction, with a water tower in the Harasta neighborhood targeted in the region.
The Jobar neighborhood -- the hardest hit in the area -- has seen 93 percent of its buildings damaged by December.
Meanwhile, one school in rebel-held Eastern Ghouta continues to operate despite the violence.
"It is hard" to focus on education, Samoa Chammas, an English teacher at the school told CBS, "but we will go on."
Chammas has continued to lose students, many of whom stay home with parents as the violence continues. In one class, there was just one girl in attendance.
