Local and foreign Christians have joined in relief efforts following last week’s massive earthquake in Morocco.

Nearly 3,000 people have died, with more than 5,000 injured. Registering 6.8 on the Richter scale, it is the North African nation’s most powerful quake since 1969 and its deadliest since 1960.

But far from the epicenter near the historic city of Marrakesh, gathered believers all had the same question.

The large rotary blades of a military helicopter fire up, lifting emergency supplies towards villages otherwise cut off from the world.

They’re also shuttling the injured and dead away from the epicenter.

An enormous cloud of dust engulfs dozens of survivors and emergency teams who have descended on the town of Talat Nyakoub, at the epicenter of the earthquake to dig for the living and recover the dead.

Tayeb ait Ighenbaz was forced to choose whether to save his 11-year-old son or his parents when they became trapped under rubble after Morocco's earthquake struck.

The goat herder from a tiny community in the Atlas Mountains says he is haunted by the decision he had to make.

Tayeb was with his wife, two children and parents on Friday night in their small stone home when it was rocked by the country's biggest earthquake in 60 years.

He leads me to his former home, which now lies in ruins.

Moroccan authorities declared three days of official mourning Saturday when a rare, powerful earthquake ripped through the Atlas Mountains and the historic city of Marrakech, leaving more 2,000 dead, some 2,100 injured and first responders struggling to reach survivors. 

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI also ordered the country’s armed forces to mobilize air and land rescue teams and construct a field hospital after the 6.8 magnitude quake, according to a statement from the country’s military.

A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco late Friday night, killing hundreds of people and damaging buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of Marrakech.

Morocco’s Interior Ministry said Saturday morning that at least 632 people had died, mostly in Marrakech and five provinces near the quake’s epicenter. Another 329 people were injured. Casualty figures were expected to rise more as the search continues and as rescuers reach remote areas.

A video clip is circulating online showing a border fence overwhelmed by hundreds of people trying to climb to the other side. Social media users are circulating the clip alongside claims that the footage is of the border separating the United States and Mexico. This is false. The border fence shown in the video clip separates Melilla, an autonomous Spanish city in North Africa, from Morocco. 

At least 23 people seeking refuge in Europe have died at a border fence between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla. Many were beaten by Moroccan forces. Others died in a stampede. One NGO group put the death toll at at least 37. The deaths occurred when as many 2,000 asylum seekers attempted to cross from Morocco into Spain on Friday morning. Video shows hundreds of people lying on the ground, many motionless, near the border fence as Moroccan security forces looked on.

Out here in the Negev desert, the Israeli government says, history is being made.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid hosted for the first time on Israeli soil the foreign ministers of four Arab countries that now have close ties with the Jewish state -- a new reality for a region realigned in recent years, especially by the threat from Iran.

President Donald Trump and his administration facilitated another historic breakthrough for peace in the Middle East on Thursday between Morocco and Israel who have agreed to normalize relations.

Trump announced the deal on Twitter, noting the major victory in foreign policy for all countries involved.

According to Trump, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI agreed that his country would “resume diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel and expand economic and cultural cooperation to advance regional stability.”

Israel asked the U.S. to open a consulate in Moroccan-annexed Western Sahara to help it normalize ties with the North African nation, an official said, a move that would bolster both Morocco’s territorial claim and the Israeli leader’s re-election bid.

It’s not clear if Morocco’s government or Washington is on board with Israel’s effort to leverage its closeness to the Trump administration to make the U.S. the only major power with a mission there, the Moroccan official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss secret communications.