Syria denies asking Israel for quake relief aid 

A Syrian official source has categorically denied Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claims that Damascus has requested earthquake relief aid from Tel Aviv, Al-Watan newspaper reported.

The paper quoted the unnamed official source as saying that if Netanyahu had received such a request, it is certainly from his allies and friends in Daesh, Jabhat Al-Nusra and terrorist organisations, adding: “The [Israeli] occupation entity is the cause of woes, wars and tensions in the region, and it is the last person who has the right to talk about providing aid and assistance.”

“It is disgraceful that Netanyahu exploits the earthquake catastrophe that had struck Syria to mislead public opinion and cover up the occupation’s expansionist and aggressive policies,” the source added.

Multiple Syrian official sources also denied Netanyahu’s claims. They told Al-Watan that everything published in the Israeli media is a “propaganda campaign” by Netanyahu.

READ: Arabs in Israel prepare relief aid to quake victims in Turkiye, Syria

“How can Syria ask for help from an entity that killed and participated in killing Syrians over the past decades and years?” the sources said.

In a speech yesterday, Netanyahu said he had ordered aid to be sent to Turkiye, the epicentre of yesterday’s earthquake. “Since a request was also received to do this for many victims of the earthquake in Syria, I instructed to do this as well,” he said.

At least 3,600 people have been killed by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkiye and Syria yesterday. The quake was so strong, residents in Lebanon, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Israel and Cyprus could also feel the ground shake.