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Earthquake hits Palestine, with its epicentre in Nablus

February 8, 2023 at 9:42 am

An aerial view shows search and rescue operation carried out at the debris of a building on February 6, 2023 [Eren Bozkurt/Anadolu Agency]

An earthquake hit Palestine yesterday evening and was felt in several governorates, including Ramallah, Al-Bireh and Nablus.

The Director of Seismic Engineering Unit at An-Najah National University in Nablus, Dr Jalal Dabbeek, stated that the epicentre of the earthquake was 13 kilometres north of the city of Nablus, in the Fara’a-Carmel rift, with a magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter scale, and a depth of ten kilometres, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

The Middle East region is witnessing aftershocks, following the devastating earthquake that hit Turkiye and Syria at dawn on Monday, which has claimed the lives of more than 7,800 people so far.

The first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.8, occurred on Monday at 3:17 (01:17 GMT) and was felt by the residents of Lebanon, Palestine, Cyprus and northern Iraq. This was followed by at least 185 aftershocks, one of which had a magnitude of 7.5 at noon on Monday and another with a 5.5magnitude at dawn on Tuesday.

READ: Palestinian refugees killed in Turkiye earthquake