Palestinian refugees among the dead in Syria, Turkey following massive earthquake

As the death toll from Monday’s devastating earthquake in Syria and Turkey continues to climb into the thousands, dozens of the dead have been identified as Palestinian refugees, according to Palestinian officials. 

Palestine’s Ambassador to Turkey confirmed to Wafa News Agency that as of Tuesday afternoon, 55 Palestinian refugees had been killed in the earthquake so far, and the number continues to climb.

On Monday, February 6, a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the region, with the epicenter in Turkey’s southeastern region, and northwest Syria. 

The latest reports indicate that the death toll between Turkey and Syria have surpassed 5,000 people, though that number is expected to rise dramatically in the coming days, as rescue workers continue to pull people from the rubble. 

In Syria, at least 1,559 people have been killed and over 3,600 injured, according to Middle East Eye. The provinces primarily struck in Syria are Idlib, Aleppo, Latakia, Tartus and Hama, which fall under the control of rebel forces. 

Northern Syria is home to an estimated 62,000 Palestinian refugees, who live in four different camps: Latakia camp in the coastal city of Latakia, Ein al-Tal (also known as Handrat) and Neirab camps in Aleppo, and Hama camp 200 kilometers north of Damascus.  

Of the 55 people reported to be dead by Wafa, 22 were from Syria, including 13 who were reportedly pulled from the rubble in the Latakia camp. 

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) reported that the Neirab and Latakia camps suffered the most damage from the earthquake. As of Tuesday afternoon the agency had only confirmed the deaths of six refugees in Latakia, and two young girls in the Neirab camp, ages nine and 11. 

UNRWA said in a statement that in addition to the two girls who died in Neirab, two more children, a girl and a boy, died alongside their parents as they were trapped under a house in Latakia. Two other children in Latakia are reportedly in intensive care for injuries sustained during the earthquake, while many others continue to be trapped under the rubble. 

The agency added that “there are reports of fatalities amongst Palestine refugees in Türkiye and in northwest Syria- these have not yet been confirmed by UNRWA.”

Three times displaced

Syria is home to a significant Palestinian refugee population, with 575,234 Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA in the country. However, since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, the agency estimates that only 438,000 Palestinian refugees remain in the country after significant numbers fled to the neighboring countries of Jordan and Lebanon. 

Of the Palestinian refugees who remain in Syria, many have been displaced several times, including their original displacement during the Nakba in 1948, and once again following the eruption of the Syrian civil war in 2011. 

UNRWA estimates that over half the Palestinian refugee population in Syria has been displaced at least once since 2011.

Some of the country’s largest and most densely populated refugee camps, like Yarmouk, once considered the “capital of the Palestinian diaspora,” were effectively depopulated over the course of years of fighting between government-backed forces and various armed groups in Syria that drove the civilian refugee population out of their homes. 

According to UNRWA, since 2011, the Latakia camp, which was devastated by Monday’s earthquake, has become somewhat of a safe haven for internally displaced Palestinian refugees in Syria, like those from Yarmouk and Aleppo, as Latakia remained relatively unaffected by the conflict in terms of physical damages. 

Over the past 12 years, it is estimated that thousands of Palestinians sought refuge in the city and the camp. UNRWA estimates that 12,000 Palestinian refugees live in the Latakia area, including 9,000 who live inside the camp.