Death Toll of Palestinians In Türkiye-Syria Earthquake Climbs to 73

 Palestinian urgent intervention and response team headed Thursday to Syria and Türkiye to help in ongoing rescue efforts (WAFA)
Palestinian urgent intervention and response team headed Thursday to Syria and Türkiye to help in ongoing rescue efforts (WAFA)
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Death Toll of Palestinians In Türkiye-Syria Earthquake Climbs to 73

 Palestinian urgent intervention and response team headed Thursday to Syria and Türkiye to help in ongoing rescue efforts (WAFA)
Palestinian urgent intervention and response team headed Thursday to Syria and Türkiye to help in ongoing rescue efforts (WAFA)

The death toll of Palestinians from the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake which hit Türkiye and Syria at dawn last Monday has reached 73 after the bodies of one Palestinian and his wife were recovered from under the rubble in Türkiye on Thursday.

According to the official Palestinian News Agency, WAFA, 22 Palestinians were killed in the deadly earthquake in Türkiye and 51 others in Syria.

Meanwhile, Palestine's Rapid Response and Rescue team, supervised by the Palestinian Agency for International Cooperation (PICA), headed Thursday to both countries to take part in ongoing quake relief efforts.

Local officials said the team of 73 members departed through the Jordanian crossing border. It includes rescuers, doctors, and first-aid providers from the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

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

He said the team will split into two groups, with one heading to Türkiye and the other to Syria.

“Upon their arrival in the areas affected by the earthquake, the Palestinian urgent response team will be working with other international teams working in field hospitals, and will also participate in rescue and evacuation operations in coordination with the relevant authorities in the two countries,” the Minister affirmed.

Also, Palestinian Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs Sheikh Hatem Al-Bakri announced that a relief campaign will kick off next Friday for the victims of the earthquake under the slogan “Rescue Them.”

In a press release, he said the campaign will collect donations in mosques after Friday prayers.

“The Ministry of Awqaf will donate $100,000 to the campaign,” he affirmed, adding that the ministry has also formed a committee to arrange the delivery of donations through the Palestinian embassies in Syria and Türkiye, according to the legal procedures.



Israel Says it Killed a Hezbollah Member in Drone Strike in South Lebanon

A picture taken from the southern Lebanese region of Marjayoun, shows the destruction in Khiam on November 28, 2024, a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)
A picture taken from the southern Lebanese region of Marjayoun, shows the destruction in Khiam on November 28, 2024, a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)
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Israel Says it Killed a Hezbollah Member in Drone Strike in South Lebanon

A picture taken from the southern Lebanese region of Marjayoun, shows the destruction in Khiam on November 28, 2024, a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)
A picture taken from the southern Lebanese region of Marjayoun, shows the destruction in Khiam on November 28, 2024, a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)

An Israeli drone strike hit a car in south Lebanon on Saturday, killing one person who the Israeli military said was a member of Hezbollah.

State-run National News Agency did not give further details about the strike in the village of Bourj el-Mlouk.

The airstrike was the latest in a wave of such attacks since a US-brokered ceasefire went into effect in late November ending the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war.

The Israeli military said the Hezbollah member who was killed was active in the border village of Kfar Kila.

The strike came a day after Lebanon’s military court sentenced two people to prison terms for giving digital information to Israel.

Four judicial officials told The Associated Press Saturday that one of those sentenced received a 15-year prison term while the other was sentenced to 10 years in jail. A third was set free for lack of evidence against him, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share information with the media.

The officials said the two scanned the cellular telephones network in wide areas of Beirut and its southern suburbs that is home to Hezbollah’s headquarters using sophisticated equipment.

The officials said the two, who were detained last year, also supplied Israel with about 1,500 photographs from Beirut’s southern suburbs.