The World Food Programme's (WFP) chief referred to the scenes in Türkiye following the two massive earthquakes as "apocalyptic" after visiting the area.
Strong earthquakes on Feb. 6, struck both Türkiye and neighboring Syria, killed more than 50,000 people according to the latest figures released on Friday.
"There is only one way to describe what I saw today: Apocalyptic," WFP Executive Director David Beasley said after visiting Antakya district in Türkiye's Hatay province.
"Entire neighborhoods have been flattened; homes destroyed, schools and shops closed; lives torn apart. The scale of devastation here is truly incomprehensible," he said.
The official added in a statement that the situation on the Syrian side amounted to a "catastrophe on top of a catastrophe," referring to the past 12 years of civil war.
The WFP said Beasley visited a U.N. logistics hub where trucks are loaded with food and other emergency supplies before crossing over into northwest Syria.
He stressed the urgency of scaling up food deliveries to Syria "through all routes – without any restriction", and called for "all parties to facilitate access."
Northwest Syria, which is controlled by opposition groups at war with Bashar Assad regime, and which has a population that was already dependent on aid for basic needs, was the country's worst hit area.
Increasing aid deliveries are linked to the opening of additional crossings from Türkiye into opposition-held areas.
One of these, Bab al-Hawa, was already in use under U.N. Security Council authorization and Assad has given exceptional clearance for two others to be opened for three months.
