Lebanon sends official delegation to Syria following earthquake

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Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad received on Wednesday an official Lebanese delegation headed by caretaker Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib in the wake of the devastating earthquake that hit Syria on Monday.

The Lebanese delegation offered the "condolences and support of Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and all his ministers for Syria," an official statement said.

This visit, according to the delegation, came because the Lebanese people stand in solidarity with their brothers in Syria, grieving with them and offering them their support throughout this ordeal.

The delegation's members showcased the measures and decisions taken by the caretaker government to offer help to Syria, including coordination with Syrian organizations partaking in the search and rescue efforts. They announced the Lebanese state's "preparedness to open its airports and seaports to facilitate the reception of aid bound for Syria from anywhere around the world."

The Syrian President thanked the delegation for the practical measures taken by Beirut to give aid to Syria and facilitate the arrival of aid bound for the country, stressing that they had a real impact, especially on the Syrian people's morale.

Al-Assad, furthermore, stressed the importance of "cooperation between Lebanon and Syria in all fields based on the capabilities that the two countries possess and the common interests that unite them." 

The Lebanese delegation, chaired by Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib, included Public Works and Transport Minister Ali Hamieh, Social Affairs and Labor Minister Hector Hajjar, Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan, as well as the Head of the High Relief Commission, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, and the Director of the Arab Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants.

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Moreover, the commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps' Quds Force, Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, visited Aleppo, one of the cities most impacted by the earthquake.

Video footage showed the commander of the Quds Force visiting a shelter housing for those damaged by the earthquake and assuring the families in the facilities. He also inspected Iranian aid, which was one of the first to arrive in Syria.

The first Iranian plane carrying humanitarian aid landed at Damascus International Airport on Tuesday, to help the quake-stricken Syrian people. 

Iran’s Ambassador to Damascus Mehdi Sobhani, who was at the airport, said Tehran would send more planes carrying relief aid to Syria.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi extended his condolences to his Turkish and Syrian counterparts, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Bashar al-Assad, in separate calls over the tragic loss of lives in the earthquake and promised his country's help and assistance. 

Also on Tuesday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson urged the different countries to exert pressure on the US government to lift the cruel siege of Syria so that international humanitarian aid can be delivered to the quake-stricken people, without any obstacles, in the shortest possible time.

The shelter was opened as "a gift from the Islamic Republic of Iran to the disaster-afflicted brother Syrian people."

Iranian aid continues to arrive at Syrian airports, as the first plane landed at Damascus airport hours after the earthquake occurred, carrying about 45 tons of medical, food, and relief aid.

The Syrian Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Mohammad Saif Al-Din, confirmed that there are massive food, medical, and relief shortages, in addition to the fuel and equipment needed to save the victims of the devastating earthquake. The minister explained that the shortage was the result of the economic blockade imposed on Syria, which targets the Syrian people and prevents them from accessing their most basic necessities.

Seif El-Din called on Arab and foreign countries to "provide greater support to Syria to help save the lives of those who are still under the rubble."

Due to the inhumane sanctions imposed on Syria, the country is being deprived of humanitarian aid. At a time that calls for unity, Western nations turned away from Syria.

In these defining moments and amid this humanitarian catastrophe, it was expected that all political rifts and rivalries would be brought aside for a short while at least, mainly because the destructive event has directly affected civilians.

Following the earthquakes, several Western countries mobilized rapidly to send aid and rescue workers to Turkey but decided to exclude Syria and neglect it, by only offering condolences and merely expressing readiness to support the affected Syrians, with nothing done on the ground, in a clear show of double standards.

Read more: Western selective humanitarianism, Syria earthquake falls on deaf ears

The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Syria has risen to more than 2,800, while rescue teams continue extensive search efforts to find survivors under the rubble.

On Monday, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine, killing thousands, mainly in Turkey and Syria, and leveling houses and other facilities, including public infrastructure.