Turkey grants $5M support to Palestine amid pandemic

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey has granted $5 million to Palestine to fight the novel coronavirus outbreak, according to a ruling published in the Official Gazette on Friday.

The agreement on providing financial contribution to Palestine amid pandemic was signed on June 11 in the Turkish capital city of Ankara with Palestinian envoy to Turkey Faed Mustafa.

With this agreement, it was desired to "strengthen and further enhance the long existing good relations within the spirit of historical and cultural ties," said the ruling.

The grant will be paid in a single tranche, it added.

In a statement on Thursday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said 34 COVID-19 cases were reported over the past 24 hours, pushing the figure to 1,568.

Palestinian authorities have so far confirmed five deaths from the disease and 616 recoveries.

Since originating in China last December, the pandemic has claimed more than 489,500 lives in 188 countries and regions.

Nearly 9.62 million cases have been reported worldwide, while close to 4.85 million patients have recovered, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.