IDF Conducts Longest Home Front Command Aid Mission in Venezuela

The IDF is conducting the longest humanitarian assistance mission in Home Front Command history, with 32 Israeli experts helping Venezuela recover from the devastating earthquakes that struck the country last month.

The mission is especially unusual because Israel and Venezuela have no diplomatic relations. The Israeli delegation is now working with local authorities to move from the initial emergency response into the rehabilitation phase, which officials say could continue for months or years.

Two earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 struck northern Venezuela on June 24, just 39 seconds apart. The coastal state of La Guaira, near Caracas, suffered the heaviest destruction. Venezuelan authorities said Saturday that 5,069 people had been confirmed dead and 16,740 injured, while 190 buildings had collapsed and another 856 sustained damage.

The Israeli team is operating in the most heavily damaged area of La Guaira, where hundreds of buildings were destroyed along the coastline, according to Brig. Gen. (Res.) Yossi Pinto, commander of the IDF National Search and Rescue Unit and head of the emergency mission.

The experts are helping Venezuelan authorities build a national assessment of the damage, establish priorities, support decision-making and prepare the foundations for long-term reconstruction. The current stage is focused primarily on technical guidance and rehabilitation planning rather than the search-and-rescue work that dominated the immediate aftermath.

“Our goal is to provide them with the best professional tools available to help them address the complex challenges ahead,” Pinto said.

He said the delegation’s continued presence has added significant value because most international emergency teams have already left the country. Venezuelan officials have been highly receptive to the Israeli recommendations and are working closely with the delegation, he added.

The Israeli mission was extended at the request of Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez. Rodríguez met with the delegation earlier this month and asked that it remain for an additional two weeks, a request approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The meeting and continued cooperation created a rare official channel between the countries, which have not maintained diplomatic relations since 2009. The humanitarian operation has not led to an announced restoration of formal ties, and Israeli officials have presented its work as focused on disaster response, reconstruction and the transfer of professional expertise.

The delegation includes Home Front Command personnel and other Israeli specialists in emergency management, engineering and structural assessment. Separate Israeli civilian organizations, including ZAKA, also participated in recovery efforts following the earthquakes.

The Home Front Command has deployed rescue and medical teams to disasters around the world, but the IDF said the length of the Venezuela operation has now surpassed all of its previous humanitarian missions.

Israeli experts are expected to continue helping authorities organize the rehabilitation effort while local agencies prepare to implement the recommendations. The IDF has not publicly announced a final departure date.