Live updates | Turkey's neighbors offer help after quake

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The death toll is rising from a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit southeast Turkey and northern Syria early on Monday. Hundreds were killed in the two countries, thousands were injured and the toll was expected to rise further.

Here is the latest:

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Turkey's neighbor Greece and other countries in the region have offered to send immediate assistance to help with the rescue effort after Monday's devastating earthquake that struck southeast Turkey and northern Syria.

“Greece is mobilizing its resources and will assist immediately ... (we are) deeply saddened by the devastating earthquake disaster,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote in a tweet. Writing in Turkish, Israeli President Isaac Herzog offered help in a message on Twitter, adding: “The State of Israel is always ready to send aid by any means possible. Our hearts go out to the families and Turkish people who are grieving at this painful time.” The Egyptian Foreign Ministry, in a statement early Monday, offered help to both Turkey and Syria following the powerful earthquake.

The deadly quake was felt in the Egyptian capital of Cairo and across parts of the region. The offers assistance were made despite strained relations between Turkey and several countries in the area including Greece and Egypt.

___ The death toll from a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit southern Turkey and northern Syria has reached at least 568 people. The number of dead rose as Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said the death toll has reached 284 in Turkey. He said at least 2,300 people were injured across 10 provinces affected by the quake and 1,700 buildings collapsed. “Unfortunately, at the same time, we are also struggling with extremely severe weather conditions. Despite these weather conditions, we are trying to reach the region as quickly as possible,” Oktay told reporters.

Oktay said close to 2,800 search and rescue teams have been deployed in the disaster-stricken areas. On top of 1,150 teams from the country’s disaster management agency, the gendarmerie, police and military rescue teams were also deployed. More than a 1,000 rescuers attached to volunteer search and rescue groups were also involved in the efforts. ___ The president of war-torn Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has sent a message of support to Turkey to offer assistance in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that hit southeastern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday. “I am shocked to learn of deaths and injuries of hundreds of people as a result of the earthquake in Turkey,” Zelenskyy wrote in a tweet. “We send our condolences to the families of the victims and wish the injured a speedy recovery. At this time, we stand by the friendly Turkish people and are ready to provide the necessary assistance.” Ukraine has close ties with Turkey, which helped negotiate a Black Sea grain agreement last summer to resume vital exports as the war in the country continues. ___ Syria's health officials say the death toll from Monday's earthquake in government-held areas of the country has risen to to 237, with 639 reported injured. The announcement brought the combined death toll in Turkey and Syria to total 360, and includes 76 people reported killed in Turkey and 47 in opposition-held areas of Syria. In Turkey, the powerful quake destroyed a historic castle perched on top a hill in the Turkish city of Gaziantep.

Parts of the Gaziantep Castle’s walls and watch towers were levelled while other areas of the structure were damaged, images from the region showed.

The castle was first used as a watch tower and was expanded into a castle during Roman times. It underwent renovation numerous times, the last time in the early 2000s.

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White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says he has told Turkish officials the United States is ready to provide assistance to help with the earthquake rescue effort. In a tweet, Sullivan said the U.S. was “profoundly concerned by today’s destructive earthquake” in Turkey and Syria.

“I have been in touch with Turkish officials to relay that we stand ready to provide any and all needed assistance. We will continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with (Turkey),” Sullivan said.

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Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management agency said the 7.8 magnitude earthquake has killed at least 76 people were killed in seven Turkish provinces. The agency said 440 people were injured.

The news was announced as rescuers scrambled in areas across southeast Turkey to search for people trapped in toppled apartment blocks and other buildings. Suleyman Soylu, the Turkish interior minister, called the shock a “devastating earthquake” and said the armed forces were assisting civilian agencies in the rescue effort.

Meanwhile, the death toll in government-held areas of Syria from Monday’s quake climbed to 99, according to Syrian state media citing the Health Ministry. In addition, at least 334 people were injured in Syria. Earlier, 20 people were reported killed in rebel-held areas of Syria.

This raises the overall death toll to 195 in Turkey and Syria.

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Syrian officials say at least 99 people have been killed in government-held areas of the country following a powerful earthquake that hit Syria and neighboring Turkey, raising the death toll to 119 in Syria.

Assistant Health Minister Ahmad Dumeira told a state news agency that 200 people were also injured by the quake in the provinces of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia.

At least 20 other people were killed in the rebel-held northwest. The quake was centered north of the city of Gaziantep in southeastern Turkey and an about 90 kilometers (60 miles) from the Syrian border.

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Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu has issued a public appeal for people in quake-hit areas in southeast Turkey not to enter damaged buildings due to the risks and to help keep roads clear to give ambulances and rescuers access to damaged buildings.

“Our priority is to bring out people trapped under ruined buildings and to transfer them to hospitals,” Soylu said.

At least 130 buildings tumbled down in Turkey’s Malatya province, neighboring the epicenter, Gov. Hulusi Sahin said. In the Turkish city of Diyarbakir, at least 15 buildings collapsed.