Palestine sends 20,000 sleeping bags to quake victims in Türkiye

By Awad Rajoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Palestine plans to transport 20,000 sleeping bags for the victims of last month’s deadly earthquakes that killed thousands in Türkiye.

Trucks carrying Palestinian aid departed the West Bank city of Hebron to Ben Gurion International Airport in central Israel to be transported to Türkiye.

"The necessary procedures for transporting the 20,000 sleeping bags to our brothers in Türkiye and Syria have been completed," Raed al-Saafin, the owner of the Palestinian Super-Tex al-Saafin textile factory in Hebron, told Anadolu.

Al-Saafin said an extra shipment of 3,000 sleeping bags will be later sent to Türkiye as a donation from various Palestinian parties.

Director-General of the Palestinian Zakat Fund at the Ministry of Religious Endowments, Khaled Khallaf, said 20,000 sleeping bags were donated by the ministry for the quake victims.

Minister of Religious Endowments, Hatem al-Bakri, said, "The Palestinians have not forgotten Türkiye’s support for Palestinian rights over the past century."

“Today, Palestine stands by Türkiye in these difficult times,” he added.

More than 47,900 people have been killed in Türkiye by the earthquakes that struck on Feb. 6, according to official figures.

More than 13 million people in Türkiye have been affected by the powerful quakes that rocked 11 provinces, including Kahramanmaras, Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Elazig, and Sanliurfa.

* Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report