A 7.8 magnitude earthquake, followed shortly by a 7.7 tremor, struck southern Turkey Monday morning, causing tens of thousands of casualties in the country as well as neighboring Syria.
According to Reuters, “Exhausted rescuers pulled dwindling numbers of survivors from earthquake rubble in Turkey and Syria on Saturday five days after one of the region’s worst natural disasters whose death toll neared 26,000 and looked set to rise far higher.”
Amir Tsarfati, Founder and President of Behold Israel, noted that 5,000 buildings in Turkey collapsed from the earthquake and aftershocks as Social Media accounts show numerous pictures and videos documenting the destruction.
According to TV7, Israel was one of the first countries to offer aid in response to the earthquakes, which were felt in northern Israel, Lebanon, and Cyprus.
“On behalf of all citizens of Israel, I send condolences to the citizens of Türkiye at this difficult time for them following the earthquake that struck our region,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday morning. “At the request of the Turkish government, I have instructed all authorities to make immediate preparations to provide medical, and search and rescue assistance.”
President Erdogan called the earthquake a historic disaster, comparing it to the destructive power of Turkey’s 1939 earthquake, which killed over 30,000 individuals.
As Christian leaders across the globe have called for ongoing prayer for Turkey and Syria, the Christian Relief organization Samaritan’s Purse is responding to the need, offering help in Jesus’ name.
“We are working through local partners on the ground to assess needs in the Kahramanmaraş region of southern Turkey near the border with Syria,” Samaritan’s purse announced Monday. “This is among the strongest earthquakes to strike this area in nearly a century.”
In Matthew 24 and Luke 21, Jesus warned His disciples that before His return, “nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places” (Matt. 24:7).
Additionally, the region in which the devastation has occurred is significant, being called by the WHO to be a “perfect storm” considering the current state of crisis in Syria.
Those familiar with Bible Prophecy know that Scripture states in Isaiah 17:1 that Damascus, the longest continually inhabited city in the world and capital of Syria, will, in the not too distant future, become a “ruinous heap.”
This verse has been at the forefront of the minds of many as the State of Israel has been conducting air strikes in and around Damascus to thwart Iran’s stockpiling of weaponry in the city.
TV7 Israel News reported, that in an “unexpected” move, Israel will be helping the relief effort in Damascus following the deadly earthquake.
“Jerusalem confirmed that it is also preparing to aid Damascus in the wake of the tragedy, following a request Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reportedly conveyed through a third-party state official,” Erin Viner, writing for TV7, described. “The two neighboring countries are in a formal state of war, and the earthquake relief marks rare cooperation between the two sides.”
