Earthquake Strikes Syria, Rattling Nerves amid Memories of Last Year's Deadly Temblor

People look amid rubble as the search for survivors continues following an earthquake in Hatay, Türkiye, February 7, 2023. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
People look amid rubble as the search for survivors continues following an earthquake in Hatay, Türkiye, February 7, 2023. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
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Earthquake Strikes Syria, Rattling Nerves amid Memories of Last Year's Deadly Temblor

People look amid rubble as the search for survivors continues following an earthquake in Hatay, Türkiye, February 7, 2023. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
People look amid rubble as the search for survivors continues following an earthquake in Hatay, Türkiye, February 7, 2023. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

An earthquake shook central Syria late Monday, local authorities said, causing no major damages but rattling the nerves of residents who remembered last year’s devastating temblor that struck northern Syria and Türkiye, The AP reported.

Syria’s National Center for Earthquakes said a 5.5 magnitude quake struck 28 kilometers (17 miles) east of the city of Hama at 11:56 p.m. local time. The US Geological Survey put the quake's magnitude at 5.0 and said it had a depth of 10 kilometers.

There were no immediate reports of deaths. Local authorities in Hama and surrounding government-held areas reported no damages, Syria’s state-run news agency SANA said. In the country’s opposition-held northwest, the local civil defense agency known as the White Helmets also said there were no damages.

In Damascus and Beirut — the capital of neighboring Lebanon, where the earthquake was also felt — residents descended to the streets fearing a stronger quake that would collapse buildings. In Lebanon, nerves were already on edge due to fears of an escalation in the ongoing conflict between the militant group Hezbollah and Israeli forces that could pull the country into a full-on war.

On Feb. 6, 2023, a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Syria and Türkiye, killing more than 59,000 people and worsening the devastation in already war-torn Syria.

Hama Health Director Maher Younes told the Sham FM radio station that 25 people suffered “minor and moderate injuries” as they panicked and attempted to escape the temblor.



Polio Vaccination Starts in North Gaza Despite Obstacles

A medic administers a polio vaccine to a Palestinian girl at the al-Daraj neighborhood clinic in Gaza City on September 10, 2024. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A medic administers a polio vaccine to a Palestinian girl at the al-Daraj neighborhood clinic in Gaza City on September 10, 2024. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Polio Vaccination Starts in North Gaza Despite Obstacles

A medic administers a polio vaccine to a Palestinian girl at the al-Daraj neighborhood clinic in Gaza City on September 10, 2024. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A medic administers a polio vaccine to a Palestinian girl at the al-Daraj neighborhood clinic in Gaza City on September 10, 2024. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

A campaign to vaccinate a final 200,000 children in north Gaza against polio began on Tuesday although health and aid officials said the operation was complicated by access restrictions, evacuation orders and shortages of fuel.

The campaign in north Gaza, the part of the territory hardest hit by Israel's 11-month military offensive against Hamas militants, follows the vaccination of more than 446,000 Palestinian children in central and south Gaza earlier this month.

Medical staff had started administering vaccines in the north despite a dire need for fuel, among other challenges, said Dr. Moussa Abed of the primary care unit in Gaza's health ministry.
Vaccination centers are in areas that are militarily very active, difficult to reach and isolated if things go wrong, said Sam Rose, a deputy director of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
"There are some nerves, but we'll have to make it work," he told Reuters by text message.
On Monday, Israel stopped a convoy that included vehicles and fuel for the vaccination campaign as well as a World Health Organization team trying to get to Gaza's Al Shifa hospital and the mission had to be aborted, the WHO's Tarik Jasarevic told reporters in a briefing.
'EXTREMELY DIFFICULT'
Israel also issued an evacuation order in north Gaza, the first in more than two weeks, that included areas that are part of humanitarian pause zones agreed upon for the polio vaccinations, according to a UN update on Monday.
"The centralization of services in the south makes it extremely difficult for us to get fuel, to get access to vaccinations, and to all other logistics," Mahmoud Shalabi of Medical Aid for Palestinians, a UK-based charity, told Reuters via a spokesperson.
"There is still no fuel for the movement of vehicles for vaccination teams in the north."
The campaign to vaccinate some 640,000 children in Gaza began on Sept. 1, following confirmation by the WHO last month that a baby had been partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.
The campaign in north Gaza aims to conclude a first vaccination round, with a second set to commence after a month.