Israel Sends Humanitarian Rescue Mission to Venezuela Following Devastating Earthquake

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released footage on Tuesday evening showing teams of Home Front Command experts and members of Israel's humanitarian aid delegation operating in Venezuela following the country's devastating earthquake.

As part of the relief mission, Israeli specialists conducted structural assessments of residential neighborhoods, hospitals, and heavily damaged sites in close cooperation with local authorities.

The inspections were designed to evaluate the safety of buildings, provide an accurate picture of the destruction, and help develop plans to restore critical infrastructure and enable displaced residents to return safely to their homes.

According to the Venezuelan government, the disaster has claimed the lives of more than 3,500 people, left approximately 18,000 residents homeless, and resulted in tens of thousands of people still missing.

Despite Venezuela severing diplomatic relations with Israel nearly a decade ago, an Israeli search-and-rescue delegation was granted permission to enter the country.

The delegation includes structural engineers and dozens of rescue specialists working on the ground to search collapsed buildings. In addition, a separate team of approximately 20 experts is operating remotely from Israel.

The Israel-based team analyzes incoming information from the field and assists in developing a comprehensive reconstruction plan. The proposal has already been presented to the Venezuelan minister overseeing the disaster response and is expected to be presented in the coming days to the country's president, Delcy Rodríguez.

Local media also documented President Rodríguez expressing her appreciation for the Israeli delegation, describing it as "a highly trained and exceptionally professional team."

According to her remarks, the mission was made possible through connections established by Venezuela's Jewish community. She thanked those involved "for the coordination that made it possible to establish contact with the Government of Israel and bring this team of experts here."