The Syrian Network for Human Rights announced that it had documented the death of 7,259 citizens at home and abroad as a result of the earthquakes that struck the north of the country and south of Turkey early this month, adding that 2,534 were killed in areas outside the control of the regime, 394 in areas under its control, and 4,331 refugees in Turkey.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights announced that it had documented the death of 7,259 citizens at home and abroad as a result of the earthquakes that struck the north of the country and south of Turkey at the beginning of the month.
In a report on Tuesday, it stated that 2,534 of the victims died in areas outside the control of the Syrian regime, 394 in areas under its control, and 4,331 refugees in Turkey.
It indicated that "among the victims are 2,153 children and 1,524 women, and among them are 73 medical personnel, 5 media personnel, 62 workers in humanitarian organizations, and 4 civil defense personnel in northwestern Syria."
The network stated that its report is "an update on the death toll of the Syrian victims who died due to the earthquake and the delay in UN and international aid in response to the exceptional circumstance."
She explained that "in general cases, the network team does not record extrajudicial killings, nor does it record cases of natural deaths or due to disasters."
She explained that "what the report documented represents the minimum, and the death toll is still rising."
The report concluded that "there is an urgent need to increase humanitarian aid for the families of the victims and the displaced in various regions, especially northwestern Syria, which suffers from overpopulation due to hundreds of thousands of forcibly displaced persons as a result of the Syrian regime's violations."
On February 6, a double earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, the first measuring 7.7 and the second 7.6 degrees, followed by thousands of violent aftershocks, killing tens of thousands, mostly in southern Turkey, in addition to massive destruction.
The West Bank The village of Hawara is a witness to the brutality of the settlers and the West's bias towards Israel
The village of Hawara in the northern occupied West Bank has become a witness to the brutality of settlers after the destruction they left behind on Palestinian property the night before last, while several Western countries sided with Israel, forgetting at the same time the role of the extremist Israeli government in fueling the situation.
On Monday morning, the residents of the village of Hawara in the northern occupied West Bank woke up to the effects of the destruction that occurred during the night hours at the hands of Israeli settlers who wanted to avenge the killing of two settlers.
On Monday, tension was still prevailing, as the Israeli army reported a new attack that killed an Israeli driver near Jericho in the occupied West Bank, indicating that the search was underway for the perpetrators of the attack.
In Washington, US State Department spokesman Ned Price announced that the Israeli who was killed in the city of Jericho also holds American citizenship.
"We condemn the horrific killing of two Israeli brothers near Nablus and of an Israeli near Jericho, who, according to our information, is also an American citizen," Price said.
"We also condemn the widespread and indiscriminate violence perpetrated by settlers against Palestinian civilians in the aftermath of the killings," Price continued.
Glowing sky
The sky of Hawara glowed on the night of Sunday-Monday, as the village was destroyed by fire, according to Wajih Odeh, a member of its municipal council, and they burned "more than 30 houses and 100 vehicles."
The Palestinian Red Crescent Ambulance Society confirmed that 350 injuries were recorded in Hawara during the night, most of them due to tear gas inhalation fired by the Israeli army.
On Monday morning, an AFP photographer spotted burnt houses, their walls blackened by the flames, as well as cars, charred trees and shattered windows.
Kamal Odeh, a resident of the village, said, "Dozens of shops and dozens of homes were burned and destroyed."
"Even the trees were not spared. They burned everything, everything in front of them," he told AFP.
Settlers who came from different parts of the village attacked the village following an armed attack that killed two settlers (20 and 22 years old) from Har Bracha settlement.
The army is still chasing the shooter who shot them while they were driving their vehicle near the Hawara junction on the road between Ramallah and Nablus.
Tensions continue to rise in the West Bank. On Wednesday, the Israeli army carried out a military operation in the city of Nablus, killing 11 Palestinians and wounding more than 80 with live bullets.
Other villages were attacked on the night of Sunday-Monday by settlers, especially Za'tara and Burin, which are near Nablus, according to the Ministry of Health and officials in the Palestinian Authority.
On Sunday evening, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced, "The death of Sameh Hamdallah Aqtash (37 years old) from severe wounds he sustained with live bullets in the abdomen as a result of the occupation forces and settlers attacking the village of Za'tara" near Nablus. Aqtash's funeral took place that same night.
His brother Abdel Moneim said, "It was the army, not the settlers, that shot my brother." He added, "My brother and I were standing in front of the blacksmith's workshop adjacent to the main road. The settlers came and tried to attack us, but we resisted them, so they left and then returned with the occupation army."
As for Diaa Odeh, who lives in Hawara, he said, "Yesterday, the war was here."
The 25-year-old added, "They were between 200 and 300 settlers, carrying stones and petrol cans. They burned cars and houses and broke everything."
Odeh said, "The army was watching without moving a finger. We began to push back the settlers while the army was firing tear gas at us."
For its part, the army reported that it had evacuated dozens of Palestinians whose homes were threatened by fires in Hawara, and closed the main road leading to it.
A police spokesman told AFP that eight Israelis had been arrested over the violence, most of whom were released.
A hard day's Night
As for the village of Burin, south of Nablus, it did not sleep. "Even the sheep were not spared from the brutality of the extremist settlers, who invaded our village last night," Ibrahim Omran, head of its village council, told AFP.
He added, "The people of my village lived a difficult night, as the village turned into a real battlefield. The settlers who attacked us burned four houses, six vehicles, and a room in the high school. They were not content with that, but stormed a sheepfold and slaughtered two sheep with knives, while they stole eight heads of sheep."
Burin is located between the settlements of It's Har in the south and Bracha in the northeast, both of which were built on the lands of Burin and a number of other Palestinian villages.
Omran expressed his fear of an expansion of settler attacks on his village, especially since the two settlers who were killed on Sunday were residents of the nearby Bracha settlement.
"Chaos"
On Sunday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for calm.
On Monday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he expected "difficult days ahead" and ordered the reinforcement of security forces. "With this, I call on everyone to restore calm. We cannot allow a situation in which citizens take the law into their own hands," he said.
The heads of settlement councils in the occupied West Bank said in a statement, "We will not take the law into our own hands. The pain is great. We call on the Israeli government to move as quickly as possible to ensure the safety and lives of the settlers."
"The village of Hawara must be erased today," David Ben-Zion, deputy head of the settlement council in the northern West Bank, wrote on Twitter.
The two dead settlers were buried on the beat of prayers, and their mother, Esti Yaniv, said, "Instead of accompanying them to their wedding, we will bury them."
"We love this country and we love the army. We want security, and the responsibility for ensuring security lies with the army alone," she said in a statement issued by the Shomron Council of Settlements in the northern West Bank.
On Monday, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid spoke of "total chaos" and wrote on Twitter that "the government has lost control over Arab terrorism, Jewish terrorism, the cabinet, the Knesset and the settlers."
"war crime"
For its part, the ruling Islamic Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, speaking of Nablus, called on "our people to continue mobilizing in support of the city and its people in the face of the herds of extremist settlers who are supported by the occupation forces and their fascist government."
On Sunday, the Palestinian presidency condemned "the terrorist acts carried out by settlers," stressing that "this terrorism and those behind it aim to destroy and thwart the international efforts exerted to try to get out of the current crisis."
US State Department spokesman Ned Price condemned "the violence in the West Bank, including the terrorist attack that killed two Israelis, settler violence that resulted in the death of a Palestinian, the injury of more than 100 others, and the widespread destruction of property."
The French Foreign Ministry also condemned the attack, which killed two Israelis, and considered "violence against Palestinian civilians unacceptable."
Germany called on "everyone" not to "ignite a very tense situation."
For its part, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned the "continuous crimes" carried out by the settlers. "The continued Israeli violations in the occupied Palestinian territory. constitute a grave war crime and crimes against humanity," it said in a statement.
The escalation coincided with the "Aqaba Summit" on Sunday, when the Palestinians and the Israelis stressed "the need to adhere to de-escalation and prevent further violence."
Since the beginning of this year, violence and confrontations have claimed the lives of 63 Palestinians, including fighters and civilians, some of whom are minors, and 11 Israelis, including three minors, as well as a Ukrainian woman, according to official Israeli and Palestinian sources.
Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 1967. The Israeli settlements, where about 475,000 settlers live, are considered illegal under international law, while the number of Palestinians in the West Bank is 2.9 million.