Left behind in Libya

>>> overseas now to libya where nato admitted today its air strikes are not enough to stop the daily assault on libya 's third largest city, misrata , where the rebels there are desperately trying to hold on. nbc's stephanie gosk is in benghazi tonight with more on this siege going on in misrata . stephanie , good evening.

>> reporter: good evening, brian. well, nato says that the fighting over the last ten days in misrata has been intense. their most recent air strikes have destroyed dozens of tanks and armored vehicles , but commanders admit that gadhafi still has considerable strength on the ground. seven weeks under siege, and the fighting is only getting worse. government forces attempting to beat down not just the rebel fighters but the people of misrata themselves. there's no safe way in or out by road. the deep water port is the city's only lifeline. ships dock daily, bringing in food, medicine, and sometimes weapons. waiting to get out, human cargo . there are an estimated 5,000 migrant workers of many nationalities stuck since the fighting began, living in dirty and dangerous conditions.

>> we are praying for god so that they can take us back to our country.

>> reporter: when the opportunity comes to leave, there is a crush to get on board. no one wants to be left behind . this ferry boat chartered by a humanitarian group is evacuating migrant workers and the seriously injured. one man brings what is left of the rocket that shattered his friend's leg. a rebel fighter hurt in battle. unlike 9-year-old mohammed, who was struck in the face by shrapnel while playing outside.

>> this is what happens when you randomly bomb a city with innocent people.

>> reporter: on board the boat doctors do what they can in cramped, unsanitary conditions. until they arrive at the port in benghazi . the trip took them 24 hours . they were in rough seas. there was very little painkiller. it's hard to imagine that they are the lucky ones . with the evacuees now in relative safety the boat loads up again, ready to return despite the danger to the fiercest battleground in libya 's civil war . hoping to end the military stalemate, the british government is sending military advisers here to benghazi to help the rebels organize their army. they were careful to point out, brian, that they will not be arming them and they will not be participating in any military activities.

>> nbc's stephanie gosk in benghazi . we'll watch that latest development in this story. stephanie , thanks.