Syria earthquake aid turns political after Israel says it will help

Damascus denies requesting relief from Israel after at least 800 deaths in Syria

A child being rescued from the rubble in this screengrab obtained from social media, in Bisnia in Syria. Reuters

A rescued boy is given water in a bottle cap in Hatay, Turkey. Reuters

A woman carries a box of food in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. Reuters

'We were screaming for help until people came to help us and they took us to the hospital', said Hamid from Homs who was injured in a building collapse. Matt Kynaston / The National

Palestinians attend a vigil to exress solidarity with the people of Turkey and Syria in Khan Yunius in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP

A collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey after a major earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6. EPA

A Syrian man cries as he sits on the rubble of a collapsed building in the rebel-held town of Jindayris. AFP

A man carries a girl who was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building in Hatay. EPA

Members of the Turkish community in Berlin gather humanitarian aid. EPA

A Turkish soldier in front of a collapsed building in Hatay. EPA

The rubble of buildings in the village of Besnaya in Syria's Idlib province. AFP

Russian rescuers search for survivors in the town of Jableh in Syria's Latakia province. AFP

A photo taken with a drone shows an aerial view over collapsed buildings after an earthquake in Hatay, Turkey. EPA

Destruction in Hatay city centre. AP

Members of the Turkish community in Berlin collect aid to support victims. Reuters

An injured man is carried to an ambulance after being rescued from the rubble in Hatay. Reuters

A man carries an aid box in Hatay. Getty

Bags of wood for fires are distributed in Hatay Turkey. Getty

A man trapped in rubble waits while debris is removed in Hatay. AFP

Residents look for their relatives in Hatay. AFP

Rescuers look for survivors under the rubble of collapsed buildings in Kahramanmaras, close to the quake's epicentre. AFP

Emergency personnel search for victims at the site of a collapsed building in the city of Iskenderun. EPA

Muhammet Ruzgar, five, is carried by rescuers from the site of a damaged building in Hatay. Reuters

A newborn found attached by her umbilical cord to her mother and pulled alive from the rubble of a home in northern Syria receives care at a clinic in Afrin. AFP

Women grieve in Hatay, Turkey. Reuters

Smoke billows at the site of a collapsed building in Iskenderun, Turkey. Getty

An Iraqi plane offloads aid at Damascus airport in Syria. Reuters

Two people cry near rubble in Turkey's Hatay province. Reuters

A damaged building in Iskenderun. EPA

Rescuers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building in Iskenderun. EPA

Cennet Sucu is rescued from beneath the rubble of collapsed hospital in Iskenderun. Reuters

Security forces load Red Crescent aid on to a plane destined for Syria at a military base in Baghdad, Iraq. Reuters

People rest next to fire amid the rubble in Hatay, after a 7. 8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey's south-east. AFP

Rescuers board a charter plane in Cologne, Germany, as they head to Turkey to assist in the search for find survivors of the quake. Reuters

Injured survivors wait to be treated at a field hospital in Iskenderun,Turkey. Getty

Residents of Turkish city Adana gather at the scene of a collapsed building. The death toll in Turkey and Syria has risen to more than 2,000 after the region's strongest quake in nearly a century. AFP

Residents search for survivors amid the rubble of collapsed buildings in the village of Besnia, in Syria's north-western Idlib province. AFP

A rescuer carries a Syrian toddler, Raghad Ismail, away from the rubble of a building. Reuters

Residents wait anxiously as rescue operations take place in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Reuters

Rescue workers search for survivors under the rubble in Diyarbakir. Reuters

Residents search for survivors in Besnia, Syria. AFP

A Syrian man weeps as he carries the body of his son who was killed in an earthquake in the town of Jandaris. AFP

A wounded man in Jandaris. AFP

Rescue workers search for survivors in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Reuters

A man carries a girl to safety following the earthquake, in Jandaris, Syria. Reuters

People receive treatment at Al Rahma hospital in the Syrian town of Darkush. AFP

Rescuers carry a girl from a collapsed building, in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Reuters

A survivor is extracted from the rubble in Diyarbakir. AFP

The aftermath of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on February 6 in Adana, Turkey. Reuters

Rescuers work near the site of a collapsed building in Hama, Syria. Reuters

Turkish sweet vendors at Dubai Waterfront Market watch earthquake updates on a phone. Victor Besa / The National

Hayri Aggül and Ismet Guven watch the latest news on the disaster. Victor Besa / The National

Syrian President Bashar Al Assad (C) leads an emergency cabinet meeting in the capital, Damascus. EPA

Hundreds of people were killed as they slept. Abd Almajed Alkarh for The National

Rescue teams search for survivors in Idlib, Syria. Abd Almajed Alkarh for The National

Rescue teams look for survivors under the rubble of a collapsed building in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. AFP

A desperate search for survivors in Aleppo. AFP

Despair in Diyarbakir, south-eastern Turkey. AFP

An injured survivor is pulled from the rubble in Diyarbakir. AFP

Relatives face an anxious wait as emergency teams search for survivors in Diyarbakir. EPA

Damage caused by the earthquake in Idlib, north-western Syria. Moawia Atrash for The National

An injured child is plucked from the rubble of a building following the earthquake in rebel-held Azaz, Syria. Reuters

A Syrian Civil Defence team recovering victims of the earthquake in Idlib. Moawia Atrash for The National

Tremors were felt as far away as Cyprus, Egypt and Iraq. Moawia Atrash for The National

Destruction in the rebel-held town of Jandaris, Syria. Reuters

People search through rubble in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Reuters

A car is smashed up by fallen debris in Azaz. Reuters

Damaged vehicles after the powerful earthquake in Diyarbakir. EPA

Severe damage to a mosque in Malatya, Turkey. AP

Several buildings collapsed, trapping many people underneath the rubble. AP

Hospitals in north-eastern Syria were full of injured people. AFP

An injured man waits for treatment at Bab Al Hawa hospital in Syria's Idlib province. AFP

A car is buried underneath the rubble of a collapsed building in Azmarin, a town in Syria's Idlib province. AP

Rescuers search for victims as an ambulance waits. AFP

An injured child awaits treatment at Bab Al Hawa hospital. AFP

Rescuers search through the rubble for survivors. EPA

The US Geological Survey said the quake began at 4.17am local time. EPA

People at the site of a collapsed building. EPA

The earthquake in Turkey caused widespread destruction. AP

People gather around a collapsed building in Pazarcik, in Turkey's Kahramanmaras province. AP

At least 130 buildings collapsed in the Turkish city of Malatya. Reuters

Rescuers search for victims in Diyarbakir. AFP

Rescuers carry a victim at the site of a collapsed building in Hama, Syria. AFP

Rescuers search for survivors in Hama. AFP

Rescuers carry a victim pulled out from under the rubble of an eight-storey building. AFP

Damaged buildings in Hama. The aftershocks of the quake were felt in Syria and other neighbouring countries. Reuters

A Syrian Civil Defence representative said the situation in the city was catastrophic. Reuters

The death toll is expected to rise in Turkey and Syria. Reuters

Follow the latest on the earthquake in Turkey

Humanitarian aid following a devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria became political on Monday as Syria’s government denied that it had requested Israeli assistance.

Earlier in the day, Israel said it received a call from Damascus for assistance with earthquake relief and that it was prepared to oblige, in what would be rare co-operation between the neighbouring countries.

Syria’s pro-government newspaper Al Watan quoted an official source as saying Damascus did not request Israel’s help following the aftermath of the quake that has shocked the region.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early on Monday that he had given the go-ahead to send aid to Syria.

Israel "received a request from a diplomatic source for humanitarian aid to Syria, and I approved it", Mr Netanyahu told politicians from his hawkish Likud party, adding that the aid would be sent soon.

An official in Damascus denied the claims. "How can Syria ask for help from an entity that has killed ... Syrians for decades?"

Since Israel's creation in 1948, Syria's government has not recognised the state and the two countries have fought several wars.

"If Netanyahu had received such a request, it was certainly from his allies and friends in ISIS and other terrorist groups," said the Syrian official.

“The Israeli occupation is the cause of wars, and tensions in the region, and it should be the last person who has the right to talk about providing aid and assistance."

More than 2,300 people have been killed by the 7.8-magnitude quake, in both Syria and Turkey.

The toll is expected to grow as aftershocks reverberate throughout the day.

Mr Netanyahu said aid would be sent to Turkey with a team of search and rescue specialists on Monday.

Another delegation equipped with humanitarian supplies would follow on Tuesday, he said.