As Quake Death Toll Rises, Arab Leaders Offer Condolences to Syria’s Assad

Russian and Syrian soldiers inspect an earthquake-damaged building in Aleppo, northern Syria. (AP)
Russian and Syrian soldiers inspect an earthquake-damaged building in Aleppo, northern Syria. (AP)
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As Quake Death Toll Rises, Arab Leaders Offer Condolences to Syria’s Assad

Russian and Syrian soldiers inspect an earthquake-damaged building in Aleppo, northern Syria. (AP)
Russian and Syrian soldiers inspect an earthquake-damaged building in Aleppo, northern Syria. (AP)

The death toll from Monday’s devastating earthquakes climbed to 812 in the Syrian governorates of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, Idlib Countryside and Tartous, according to the Syrian Health Ministry. At least 1,449 people have also been injured in the quake.

Figures released by the ministry are not final as they don’t include victims residing outside regime-controlled areas.

Condolences have poured in and dozens of nations have offered aid since the pre-dawn earthquake that wiped out entire sections of cities in both Türkiye and Syria.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called Syria’s Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday to offer support after the devastating earthquake.

Ahmed Fahmy, spokesman for the Egyptian presidency, said Sisi “expressed his sincere condolences” in the wake of the 7.8-magnitude quake that hit Syria and neighboring Türkiye early Monday.

“President Sisi reiterated Egypt’s solidarity with Syria and its brotherly people in this calamity. He also directed that all possible aid be provided to Syria,” Fahmy said.

Syrian state news agency SANA said that “President Assad thanked Egypt for this position, which reflects the fraternal relations that bind the two brotherly countries.”

Assad on Tuesday also received a phone call from Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik bin Taimur al Said.

During the phone call, the Sultan conveyed the people of Oman’s solidarity with the brotherly people of Syria in the wake of the destructive earthquake.

“The Sultanate will stand with Syria in everything necessary to overcome this ordeal, and will send urgent aid to support the Syrian government’s efforts to overcome the effects of this disaster and provide relief to those affected by it,” said Sultan Haitham.

Moreover, Assad received a phone call from the King of Bahrain.

During the phone call, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa emphasized Bahrain’s solidarity and standing by Syria and its people in this difficult situation.

Assad received similar phone calls from leaders in Algeria and Iran.



Israeli Troops, Palestinian Fighters Clash in West Bank after Incidents Near Settlements

Israeli troops move inside the Jenin refugee camp on the fourth day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 31 August 2024. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
Israeli troops move inside the Jenin refugee camp on the fourth day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 31 August 2024. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
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Israeli Troops, Palestinian Fighters Clash in West Bank after Incidents Near Settlements

Israeli troops move inside the Jenin refugee camp on the fourth day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 31 August 2024. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
Israeli troops move inside the Jenin refugee camp on the fourth day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 31 August 2024. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH

Clashes broke out between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters in the occupied West Bank on Saturday as Israel pushed ahead with a military operation in the flashpoint city of Jenin.
Israeli troops searched areas around Jewish settlements after two separate security incidents on Friday evening. In Jenin itself, drones and helicopters circled overhead while the sound of sporadic firing could be heard in the city, said Reuters.
Hundreds of Israeli troops have been carrying out raids since Wednesday in one of their largest actions in the West Bank in months.
The operation, which Israel says was mounted to block Iranian-backed militant groups from attacking its citizens, has drawn international calls for a halt.
At least 19 Palestinians, including armed fighters and civilians, have now been killed since it began. The Israeli military said on Saturday a soldier had been killed during the fighting in the West Bank.
The Israeli forces were battling Palestinian fighters from armed factions that have long had a strong presence in Jenin and the adjoining refugee camp, a densely populated township housing families driven from their homes in the 1948 Middle East war around the creation of Israel.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Saturday a child had been taken to hospital in Jenin with a bullet wound to the head.
The escalation in hostilities in the West Bank takes place as fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas group still rages in the coastal Gaza Strip nearly 11 months since it began, and hostilities with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in the Israel-Lebanon border area have intensified.
Late on Friday, Israeli forces said two men were killed in separate incidents near Gush Etzion, a large West Bank settlement cluster located south of Jerusalem, that the military assessed were both attempted attacks on Israelis.
In the first, a car exploded at a petrol station in what the army said was an attempted car bombing attack. The military said a man was shot dead after he got out of the car and tried to attack soldiers.
In the second incident, a man was killed after the military said a car attempted to ram a security guard and infiltrate the Karmei Tzur settlement. The car was chased by security forces and crashed and an explosive device in it was detonated, the military said in a statement.
The two deaths were confirmed by Palestinian health authorities but they gave no details on how they died.
Troops combed the area following the two incidents. Security forces also carried out raids in the city of Hebron, where the two men came from.
Hamas praised what it called a "double heroic operation" in the West Bank. It said in a statement it was "a clear message that resistance will remain striking, prolonged and sustained as long as the brutal occupation's aggression and targeting of our people and land continue".
The group, however, did not claim direct responsibility for the attacks.
Israeli army chief General Herzi Halevi said on Saturday Israel would step up defensive measures as well as offensive actions like the Jenin operation.
Amid the gunfire, armored bulldozers searching for roadside bombs have ploughed up large stretches of paved roads and water pipes have been damaged, leading to flooding in some areas.
Since the Hamas attack on Israel last October that triggered the Gaza war, at least 660 Palestinian combatants and civilians have been killed in the West Bank, according to Palestinian tallies, some by Israeli troops and some by Jewish settlers who have carried out frequent attacks on Palestinian communities.
Israel says Iran provides weapons and support to militant factions in the West Bank - under Israeli occupation since the 1967 Middle East war - and the military has as a result cranked up its operations there.