Egypt Sends 5 Planes Carrying Medical Aid to Turkey & Syria

On Tuesday, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi issued his directives to send five military planes carrying emergency medical aid to Turkey and Syria to contribute to relief efforts following the devastating earthquake that killed more than 5,400 in both countries on Monday. 

On Monday, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and multiple aftershocks struck eastern Turkey and neighboring Syria, toppling hundreds of buildings and killing more than 5,400 people according to the most recent figures.

Earlier on Tuesday, President El-Sisi presented his condolences over the victims of the earthquake in two separate phone calls to both Syrian President Bashar Assad and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stressing that Egypt is ready to send in humanitarian assistance and relief to help both the Syrian and Turkish and people.

On Monday, shortly after the devastating earthquake struck the two countries, El-Sisi expressed Egypt's "full solidarity" with the people of Syria and Turkey as well as the country's readiness to provide aid to face the impacts of the deadly earthquake.

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Egypt is ready to provide assistance to help both Syria and Turkey face the horrifying impacts of the deadly earthquake that struck both countries as well as a number of eastern Mediterranean countries.