Syria earthquake aid held up as millions suffer in freezing conditions

White Helmet rescue workers distribute aid in a makeshift camp in the rebel-held north-western province of Idlib, Syria, after last week’s earthquake. Photograph: Omar Haj Kadour/AFP/Getty Images

The US has called on all parties on the ground in Syria to immediately grant humanitarian assistance to those in need, after last week’s earthquake and major aftershocks that have killed at least 33,000 people.

“All humanitarian assistance must be permitted to move through all border crossings,” a spokesperson for the White House national security council said on Sunday.