World
Israel making ‘immediate preparations’ to send aid team to quake-stricken Venezuela
Israel is making “immediate preparations” for the possible deployment of an aid delegation to Venezuela, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday, as thousands of people are potentially missing following powerful earthquakes in the South American country.
Separately, a number of Israeli nonprofits said they were mobilizing to respond to the devastating quake in Venezuela, with at least 164 people declared dead and many more feared trapped under the rubble.
The Foreign Ministry said it is “conducting a situational assessment with the relevant authorities in Israel and is examining possible avenues for assistance.”
There is currently no knowledge of any hurt or missing Israelis in the country amid the natural disaster.
The pledge comes despite Israel not having diplomatic ties with Venezuela.
Venezuela broke diplomatic ties with Israel over Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2008-2009, and under then-leader Nicolas Maduro, it has been one of the world’s most vocal countries in its opposition to Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror invasion.
However, Israel has expressed hope for better ties with Caracas since the US captured Maduro in January.
Israeli nonprofit NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief said Thursday it was sending an emergency team to Venezuela.
Six to eight professional volunteers, including medical and social workers, will deploy to the South American country and open mobile clinics “wherever needed,” the organization told The Times of Israel.
Israel’s ZAKA emergency response organization said its teams in the United States, Mexico and Israel are preparing to possibly be sent to help local authorities rescue people from the rubble.
The organization said that as of Thursday afternoon, it had not received information of casualties among the country’s small Jewish community, but it is in contact with local community leaders and other officials.
Fellow rescue organization IsraAid also said it was “urgently responding” to the unfolding disaster, promising more updates as the situation develops.
The Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry sent a delegation of experts to Thailand last year to assist in search and rescue efforts following a major earthquake in the region. Israel’s highly trained search-and-rescue experts regularly respond to natural disasters around the globe.
Meanwhile the KKL-JNF Jewish National Fund announced Thursday an initial NIS 300,000 ($100,000) to help the Jewish community in Venezuela following the twin major earthquakes there.
Half of this sum will be spent on immediate emergency needs, such as food, mattresses, hygiene, medical equipment and clothing. The other half is earmarked for therapy, as well as respite and educational activities.
The country had a 45,000-strong Jewish community before far-left firebrand Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999. In the years that followed, Venezuelans fled the country in droves as the government openly punished political opponents and nationalized the economy, vaporizing wealth and leading to rampant poverty, a trend that escalated after Maduro replaced Chávez in 2013. As much as 25 percent of the country’s total population is believed to have left in the last two decades, and the Jewish community dwindled to just 4,000 to 6,000, according to the latest estimates.
An international outpouring of aid quickly followed the tremors on Wednesday evening, which the United States Geological Survey measured as magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, centered west of the capital Caracas.
The toll has climbed quickly, with interim President Delcy Rodriguez reporting at least 164 dead and over 970 hurt, noting that the state of La Guaira north of Caracas was hit hard.
The 7.5-magnitude earthquake was Venezuela’s most powerful since October 29, 1900, when a 7.7-magnitude tremor struck offshore.
Threatening to complicate the relief effort, the international airport near Caracas was closed due to “serious damage,” Rodriguez said, with social media video showing the terminal’s ceiling collapsing over panicked travelers.
The United Nations is “fully mobilized” to provide assistance, the UN’s aid chief said Thursday, stressing the response would require “massive collective efforts.”
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said he had spoken Thursday morning with Rodriguez, and “we are assessing urgently what is needed.”
The UN humanitarian agency OCHA was meanwhile “coordinating the rapid deployment of urban search and rescue teams from across the international community,” Fletcher said.
“I am surging a rapid response team to reinforce the OCHA team in country,” he added.
Fletcher welcomed the international outpouring of aid and assistance already on display.
“The coming days will require a massive collective effort to support the Government-led response and help communities,” he said.
