Palestine plans to transport 20,000 sleeping bags for the victims of last month’s deadly earthquakes that killed thousands in Türkiye.
More than 47,900 killed by last month’s deadly earthquakes 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.
According to a report, Palestinians donated 20,000 sleeping bags worth $500,000 to earthquake survivors in Türkiye.
“The donation is part of a Palestinian relief drive announced by the Ministry of Religious Endowments,” Minister Hatem al-Bakri told a news conference in the West Bank city of Hebron.
He said around 4,800,000 shekels ($1.37 million) had been collected for the quake victims.
“Around $500,000 of these donations were allocated for the purchase of 20,000 sleeping bags, and we may increase the number of bags based on the Turkish view,” the minister added.
According to al-Bakri, the Palestinian donation campaign is scheduled to last until Friday.
The Palestinian minister will visit Türkiye on Sunday to meet officials of the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and Turkish officials to follow up on the aid delivery to Türkiye and Syria.
Palestine has already dispatched a 73-member team to help quake victims in the two countries.
At least 31,974 people were killed and more than 81,000 others injured in two powerful earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, according to the country’s disaster agency AFAD.
The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaraş province, were felt by 13 million people across 10 areas in Türkiye and affected several countries in the region.
In Syria, at least 3,688 people were killed and over 14,749 injured in the earthquake.
