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73-member Palestine team heads to Turkiye, Syria for quake relief

February 9, 2023 at 2:20 pm

A view of the collapsed building in Azez [ Omer Alven – Anadolu Agency ]

A 73-member Palestinian team departed for Turkiye and Syria on Thursday to help out in the ongoing quake relief efforts, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The team, which includes rescuers, doctors and first-aid providers from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, will split into two groups, with one heading to Turkiye and the other to Syria.

“Palestine stands ready to use all its available means to help the brothers in Turkiye and Syria,” Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki said in a ceremony before the team’s departure.

The Palestinian personnel will be particularly helpful in response missions, as they include experts in rescue operations, Imad Al-Zuhairi, head of the Palestinian International Cooperation Agency, told Anadolu.

More than 14,300 people have been killed and over 63,700 injured after two strong earthquakes jolted southern Turkiye on Monday, according to latest official figures.

The 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude quakes, centred in the Kahramanmaras province, have impacted some 13 million people across 10 Turkish provinces.

In neighbouring Syria, the death toll has climbed to at least 3,150, with more than 5,200 people wounded.

READ: In black body bags, Syrians in Turkiye make final journey home