A 5.4 magnitude earthquake originating near Damascus reverberated through several regions of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and various parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv and the country's northern areas, late Monday night. Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's national emergency medical service, reported no injuries or damage. The organization received only a handful of calls to its 101 emergency line, primarily from citizens reporting feelings of anxiety.
In Lebanon, the tremors were felt in the capital Beirut, the eastern Bekaa Valley, and the northern regions of the country. The sudden jolt prompted some Beirut residents to hastily leave their homes in vehicles, amid the ongoing tension over a possible regional conflagration in the wake of tensions between Israel and Hezbollah and Iran over recent assassinations. Jordan reported minimal impact from the quake, which was felt approximately 217 miles from the capital, Amman, near the Syrian border.
Dr. Raed Ahmed, who heads the Syrian Seismology Center, pinpointed the earthquake's origin to the east of Hama, a city in central Syria. He reported that the quake struck with a magnitude of 5.5 around midnight. A Syrian resident described the scene: "As soon as the earthquake was felt, people rushed to the streets, fearing their homes might collapse."
The civil defense apparatus of the Assad regime announced that search and rescue teams were placed on high alert in several areas of northwestern Syria. However, as of the latest update, no reports of significant damage had been received.
