Palestinians launch new donation campaign for quake victims in Türkiye, Syria

By Awad al-Rujoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Palestinians staged a new donation campaign on Saturday for the victims of two deadly earthquakes that killed thousands in Türkiye and Syria.

The campaign “is a humanitarian message to our people in Syria and Türkiye,” Abdo Idris, the head of the Hebron Chamber of Commerce, told Anadolu.

He said the chamber, an organizer of the campaign, has begun to communicate with businessmen to collect donations for the quake victims.

Last week, the Palestinian Waqf Ministry launched a donation campaign that managed to collect nearly $1.37 million for the quake victims in Türkiye and Syria. Palestinians also sent two rescue missions to join search efforts for survivors.

At least 40,642 people were killed and over 108,000 others injured in two powerful earthquakes that rocked southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, according to the latest official figures.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa and Elazig.

In Syria, at least 5,840 people were killed in the earthquake disaster.