Thank you for following The New Arab's live coverage of the Turkey-Syria earthquake. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and developments.
Among the rubble, hundreds of thousands of homeless people face cold and hunger as authorities in Turkey and Syria tackle the dire humanitarian disaster caused by the earthquake that has left more than 37,000 dead by the latest count.
As hopes of finding people alive under the debris fade more than a week after the quake struck, the focus has switched to providing food and shelter to the vast numbers of survivors.
A first convoy of UN aid entered rebel-held northwest Syria from Turkey via the newly-opened Bab al-Salameh crossing on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the UN's humanitarian affairs office said.
The aid was being delivered by the International Organization for Migration.
They did not provide details of its size or what kind of aid it was carrying for areas struck by last week's deadly earthquake.
The UN said late Monday night that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - isolated and subject to Western sanctions - had approved the opening of two new border crossings between Turkey and Syria "for an initial period of three months to allow for the timely delivery of humanitarian aid".
He has called for international assistance to help rebuild infrastructure in the war-torn country, where the UN estimates more than five million have been left homeless.