hours since the devastating earthquake that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, efforts are redoubling to save the millions of wounded and displaced people.

The death toll from the earthquake has risen to more than 11,700, according to the latest official and medical reports, with 9,057 people dying in Turkey and 2,662 in Syria.

The United Nations called on Wednesday to "put politics aside" and facilitate the delivery of aid to the earthquake-stricken areas in northwestern Syria.

"My appeal is to put politics aside and let's do our humanitarian work," the UN Resident Coordinator in Syria, Mustafa bin Al-Malih, told AFP, stressing that "we cannot afford to wait and negotiate. By the time we negotiate, it is over."

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Humanitarian aid intended for northwestern Syria is usually transported from Turkey through Bab al-Hawa, the only crossing point guaranteed by a Security Council resolution.

However, the roads leading to the crossing were damaged by the earthquake, which temporarily affects the ability of the United Nations to use it.

"The destruction in Aleppo, Homs, Latakia and other areas and in the countryside of these provinces is massive, but we also know that the destruction in the northwest of the country is also massive, and we have to go there in order to assess it," Bin Al-Malih said.

For her part, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Wednesday that the European Union intends to host a donors' conference in early March in Brussels to collect international aid for Syria and Turkey after the devastating earthquake that struck them on Monday.