The United States has called on countries worldwide to “do everything they can” to support the people of Türkiye and Syria in the wake of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks that left more than 35,000 people dead.
"We're doing that in this country. This is an effort that transcends the federal government," State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters on Monday.
"This is an effort where, once again, we've seen the generosity of spirit of the American people rise to the occasion," he said, adding that the National Football League (NFL) encouraged American football fans on Sunday to contribute to ongoing earthquake relief efforts in Türkiye and Syria.
“Looking at the destruction and loss of human life, this earthquake affected not only Türkiye and Syria but the whole world,” he said.
"The U.S. continues to support search, rescue, recovery and relief efforts and to mobilize additional equipment and resources to assist in the recovery and humanitarian response efforts in both Türkiye and Syria," he said, reaffirming the White House’s commitment to providing all necessary assistance to the stricken countries.
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) search and rescue squads arrived at Incirlik Air Base last Wednesday to help with earthquake efforts in Türkiye following the disaster, consisting of 159 people, 12 rescue dogs and 77,110 kilograms (170,000 pounds) of specialized equipment and adding to the 79-person teams previously deployed and personnel already on the ground.
On humanitarian aid to Syria, Price stressed that the international community has a "moral obligation" to do everything in its power to deliver aid to earthquake-hit areas.
"That includes urgently coming together in the United Nations Security Council to authorize additional crossing points from Türkiye," he said.
“This is not a political but a humanitarian issue,” Price stressed. "As we saw this past week, having only one crossing means there's a single point of failure," he added, noting that more aid crossings would save more lives.
"To our friend and ally Türkiye: We will be with you every step of the way. To the people of Syria: We are sending you precisely the same message," Price further said.
For years, the U.N. has sent humanitarian aid to Syria through just one border crossing, Cilvegozu, in the southern Turkish province of Hatay, but it was damaged in the massive earthquakes last Monday.
At least 31,643 people were killed in Türkiye and over 80,000 others injured after the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes struck southern Türkiye within a span of less than 10 hours on Feb. 6, affecting around 13 million people, according to the latest official figures.
The earthquakes, centered in Kahramanmaraş, also hit nine other provinces-Hatay, Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakır, Kilis, Osmaniye and Şanlıurfa.
Several countries in the region, as far as Lebanon and the island of Cyprus, also felt the strong tremors, with neighboring Syria taking the biggest damage after Türkiye.
The already war-ravaged country’s death toll has climbed above 3,500, with more than 5,200 people injured. Authorities expect casualties to increase as hope for unearthing more survivors in the rubble fades on the ninth day.
