Palestinian artist shows solidarity with quake victims in Türkiye and Syria

A Palestinian artist painted the names of Türkiye and Syria on the sands of Gaza beach on Saturday, in an expression of solidarity with the victims of two violent earthquakes that hit southeastern Türkiye on Monday and jolted the two countries.

“This painting aims to express our solidarity with the Turkish and Syrian peoples in their tragedy,” Mohamed Totah told Anadolu.

In Türkiye, the death toll has climbed to 22,327 with more than 80,000 others injured, according to the latest official figures. 

The death toll in Syria late on Friday climbed to 3,553 people - 1,387 in regime-run areas and 2,166 in the opposition-controlled territories. At least 5,270 others have been wounded. 

The painting shows the names of Türkiye and Syria written on the sand, with a fist wrapped in the flag of Palestine in the middle.

"We, the Palestinian people, have tasted pain and suffering and we feel the calamity that befell our people in Syria and Türkiye,” said Totah, who lost a leg in Israeli war on Gaza in 2009.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, were felt by 13 million people across 10 provinces in Türkiye, and also hit northern Syria hard. The quakes were felt by several countries in the region.

READ MORE: "12 years after escaping war, Palestinian family die in Türkiye earthquakes"