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.



UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says Israeli forces raided four of its schools in east Jerusalem, ordering their closure.

Israel has severed all ties with the agency, known as UNRWA, and bars it from operating in its territory. It says the agency allowed itself to be infiltrated by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, allegations denied by UN officials.

UNRWA said police entered a training center by force on Tuesday, firing tear gas and sound grenades and ordering its evacuation. It said 350 students and 30 staff were present during the raid on the Qalandiya Training Center.

It said police and city officials ordered the closure of three other schools in east Jerusalem, two of which proceeded with the school day.

Israeli police spokesman Dean Elsdunne said police did not enter the UN buildings and that Jerusalem municipal authorities carried out the closures. He said police were deployed to protect the city workers, using “riot dispersal” means in one case where a crowd threw stones at them outside a UN facility.

Roland Friedrich, UNRWA director for the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, said the raids were an “unacceptable violation of United Nations privileges and immunities,” and a “denial of the right to education for children and trainees.”