President Isaac Herzog spoke today with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of the Republic of Türkiye (Turkey) and asked to give him and the whole Turkish people encouragement following the disaster of the terrible earthquake that struck Türkiye and the region overnight.
The President expressed his condolences on behalf of the Israeli people to President Erdoğan and noted that on the instructions of the Prime Minister and the relevant authorities, a large and well-equipped search and rescue mission on behalf of the State of Israel will depart tonight to the disaster zone. The President added that at an event he attended today, he spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and they agreed that we in Israel are united in our desire to assist Türkiye inasmuch as is needed.
President Erdoğan thanked President Herzog for his condolences and for the rescue mission, and he underscored that this assistance will greatly aid the many forces that have been operating on the ground for many hours already. He also emphasized his gratitude for Israel's stand alongside its friend, Türkiye, at this difficult hour. In their conversation, President Erdoğan updated President Herzog on the latest figures about the scale of the disaster, noting that this was the biggest earthquake in the history of the Republic of Türkiye.
At the end of their conversation, President Erdoğan expressed his deepest condolences to the Israeli people for last week's terror attack at a synagogue in Neve Yaakov in Jerusalem.