Residents on edge from Hezbollah-Israel conflict as earthquake hits Syria, felt in Lebanon and Israel

Some residents in Lebanon feared the quake was an Israeli attack

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An earthquake struck central Syria late on Monday night, causing tremors in the neighboring countries of Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Turkey.

The German Research Centre for Geosciences reported that the earthquake had a magnitude of approximately 4.8 on the Richter Scale and occurred at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6 miles). Syria’s National Center for Earthquakes detected a 5.5 magnitude quake and stated that it struck 28 kilometers (17 miles) east of the city of Hama.

An earthquake of magnitude 5.46 struck the Jordan-Syria region on Tuesday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said.
The quake was at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), GFZ said.
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Jordan's state news agency reported a 3.9 magnitude aftershock shortly after the initial quake.

There were no reports of injuries or damage in Israel. Videos posted on social media showed light fixtures shaking as far south as Tel Aviv during the earthquake.

Monday night's earthquake is the largest to hit Syria since a deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed thousands in northern Syria and southern Turkey in February 2023.

Residents of several Syrian and Lebanese cities ran into the streets amid fears that a stronger aftershock could cause the collapse of buildings.

There were scattered reports on social media that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used the aftermath of the earthquake to attack several towns currently under the control of rebel groups, however, the opposition-linked Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) did not report any such regime-led attacks.

There were reports of collapsed houses near the epicenter, and a couple of dozen people reportedly suffered varying degrees of injuries.

According to Al-Arabiya newspaper, the police chief of Hama, near the epicenter, Maj.-Gen. Hussein Jumaa told Syrian state media there were no significant injuries.

Umm Hamzah, a resident of the Syrian capital Damascus, told Al-Arabiya that the earthquake reminded her of last year’s deadly quake.

“It was the same sound, as if it was coming out of the earth,” she said. “I got dizzy just like last time, but the scare was worse because I knew what happened the previous quake.”

Several people in Lebanon were reported as saying they initially thought the earthquake was an Israeli strike.

The populations of Lebanon and Israel have been on edge, waiting to see whether Hezbollah's retaliation for the IDF's elimination of Fuad Shukr in Beirut two weeks ago will lead to a further escalation between Israel and the terror group.