World
Israel ends Venezuela quake mission, will continue assisting remotely
Israel’s aid delegation to earthquake-stricken Venezuela has completed its mission and returned to Israel after around three weeks operating in the South American country, the Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday.
Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez — at whose request the delegation had extended its stay and who had approved a national reconstruction plan prepared by the Israeli team — held a meeting with representatives from the IDF and Foreign Ministry ahead of their departure, expressing her appreciation for their efforts, according to a ministry statement.
Following the delegation’s return to Israel, Israeli expert teams will continue providing professional guidance and support to the Venezuelan authorities remotely, the ministry added.
During the meeting, Rodriguez “thanked the members of the delegation for their contribution.”
She said members of the Israeli delegation “presented key elements of the recovery plan developed jointly with the Venezuelan authorities, which will continue to serve as the framework for the professional support provided after the completion of the field mission,” the ministry said.
The delegation — initially led by the chief of staff of the Home Front Command, Elad Edri, and Israel’s ambassador-designate to Mexico, Yoed Magen, and later by commander of the IDF National Search and Rescue Unit, Yossi Pinto, and Ambassador Gil Artzyeli — operated in several earthquake-hit areas at the request of the Venezuelan government.
The team was tasked with assessing and classifying damaged buildings and assisting with reconstruction efforts following the twin earthquakes that have been estimated to have killed at least 5,069 people.
Nearly 17,000 people were also injured in the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes on June 24, while almost 18,000 more lost their homes.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the Israeli delegation for not only helping the country recover but also “rebuilding relations” with Caracas on a diplomatic level, nearly two decades after it severed ties with the Jewish state.
Venezuela broke off diplomatic ties with Israel over the 2008-2009 war in Gaza, and under then-leader Hugo Chavez it was one of the world’s most vocal critics of Israel during the war in Gaza that was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror onslaught.
However, Israel has expressed hope for better ties with Caracas since the US captured Venezuela’s then-president Nicolas Maduro in January and supported Rodriguez taking power.
