Countries in Mideast pledge aid, solidarity after powerful quakes jolted Türkiye, Syria

People transfer a victim of a powerful earthquake in the al-Arbaeen neighborhood in Hama province, Syria, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)

CAIRO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Countries in the Middle East have pledged help and assistance to Türkiye and Syria after powerful earthquakes rocked large swathes of areas along the Turkish-Syrian border.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi sent two separate messages to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after the earthquakes, expressing Tehran's readiness to provide immediate rescue and relief aid to the two countries.

In Beirut, where the tremors of earthquakes could be clearly felt, Lebanese caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassin said on Monday that "a Lebanese rescue team will depart later in the day to Türkiye, at the request of Turkish authorities, to help with rescue operations."

The Lebanese Army Command announced that it will send 20 members of the Engineering Regiment to Türkiye to contribute to the search and rescue work.

Israel also said it has dispatched two rescue teams to Türkiye and sent rescue equipment to Syria.

People search for survivors among the rubble of a building destroyed in a powerful earthquake in the city of Jableh, Latakia province, Syria, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)

"We are sending two teams of professionals in order to help the victims," Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said in the statement. "Today, Israel stands by Türkiye in this difficult hour," he said.

In a separate statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the teams would be sent following the request of the Turkish government. "I have directed the dispatch of search and rescue, and medical teams," he said.

The prime minister said that Israel will also send equipment to Syria, which would be a rare act of cooperation between Israel and Syria, two neighboring countries that have been in an official state of war.

People injured in a powerful earthquake are treated at a hospital in Hama province, Syria, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)

Also on Monday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry offered to help Türkiye and Syria, saying that "Egypt is ready to provide aid to face the horrifying repercussions of the deadly earthquake."

The foreign ministry also expressed condolences and solidarity with the two countries.

Meanwhile, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said that his country had sent a team of skilled rescue workers to help Türkiye.

The Algerian rescue team, consisting of 89 experienced search and rescue personnel in addition to medical professionals, is scheduled to arrive in Türkiye on Monday, he noted.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamed Dbeibah also offered condolences to the victims of the earthquakes in Syria and Türkiye, noting that he has ordered to send 55 rescue and safety specialists as well as four tracing dogs to "help authorities in Türkiye deal with the consequences of the earthquakes."

Rescuers work around a damaged building after a powerful earthquake in the al-Arbaeen neighborhood in Hama province, Syria, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)

Powerful earthquakes rocked southern Türkiye and its neighbor Syria early Monday, killing at least 1,762 and injuring 12,068 in Türkiye so far, according to statistics released by Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority.

According to the Syrian health ministry and the Britain-based pro-rebel Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake jolted the northern Syrian provinces of Latakia, Tartous, Hama, Aleppo and Idlib on Monday, killing at least 870 and injuring 1,326.

The earthquakes were also strongly felt in Israel and Lebanon.