Aerial Footage Shows Syria's Earthquake-Ravaged Town of Atarib

A week after the major earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, the toll of dead in both countries rose to nearly 34,000 and looked set to keep increasing as hopes for finding any more survivors faded.

The first European aid shipment arrived in government-held areas of Syria, according to the Syrian Red Crescent. The shipment, which arrived from Italy, included four ambulances and 13 pallets of medical equipment weighing a total of 30 tons.

Meanwhile, a UN spokesperson noted that earthquake aid from government-held parts of Syria into opposition-controlled territory has faced "approval issues" with one armed group. Of the 3,500 reported deaths so far in Syria, the majority occurred in the northwest, largely held by Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) terrorist group.

An HTS source in Idlib told Reuters the group would not allow any shipments from government-held areas and that aid would be coming in from Turkey to the north.

The International Movement for a Just World (JUST) called on the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, and some EU and Arab League governments to lift the unjust and immoral sanctions against Syria in order to alleviate the suffering caused by the earthquake. The Syrian Red Crescent Society and other local groups have also made the same call. The US and EU have temporarily suspended their sanctions, but JUST called for their termination once and for all.