Palestinian painting shows solidarity with quake victims in Türkiye, Syria

By Mohamed Abu Don

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – A Palestinian artist painted the names of Türkiye and Syria on the sands of Gaza beach on Saturday, in an expression of solidarity with the victims of two violent earthquakes that jolted the two countries on Monday.

“This painting aims to express our solidarity with the Turkish and Syrian peoples in their tragedy,” Mohamed Totah told Anadolu.

The painting shows the names of Türkiye and Syria written on the sand, with a fist wrapped in the flag of Palestine in the middle.

"We, the Palestinian people, have tasted pain and suffering and we feel the calamity that befell our people in Syria and Türkiye,” said Totah, who lost a leg in an Israeli military offensive on Gaza in 2009.

At least 22,327 people were killed and more than 80,278 others injured by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Monday, according to the latest official figures.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, were felt by 13 million people across 10 provinces in Türkiye, and also affected several countries in the region.

In Syria, government and rescue officials reported that nearly 3,553 people were killed and more than 5,270 others wounded in the quakes.

* Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report