The extraordinary rescue of 43-year-old security guard Hernán Alberto Gil Flores after eight days trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed shopping center offered Venezuela a rare moment of hope this week. Carried to safety by an international rescue team after surviving inside a tiny air pocket created by his security booth, Gil Flores became a symbol of hope amid one of the country’s deadliest natural disasters.
On the evening of June 24, two powerful earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 ripped through northwestern and central Venezuela just 39 seconds apart, flattening neighborhoods in the coastal state of La Guaira and causing widespread destruction in Caracas. The quakes, among the most powerful to strike the country in more than a century, have killed more than 2,600 people, injured over 12,000 and left an estimated 15,000-16,000 homeless. Officials agree that these numbers are set to grow significantly.
For the Israeli humanitarian volunteers working in the disaster zone, however, the rescue also underscored another reality: Even as search-and-rescue operations continue, the far longer process of caring for survivors has just begun.
One week after deploying to Venezuela following the earthquakes, NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief said it entered a new phase of its mission.
Israeli doctors, nurses and mental health professionals are working alongside local healthcare providers in La Guaira and Caracas, treating survivors while helping hospitals stretched beyond capacity cope with the continuing influx of patients.
The organization announced Thursday that a second team of volunteer professionals is preparing to join the mission, including two physicians, a nurse and two social workers. Their arrival reflects the changing needs on the ground as emergency rescue efforts gradually give way to sustained medical and psychological care.
“Behind every statistic from this earthquake is a family without access to medical care,” said Alice Miller, CEO of NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief.
“The scale of this disaster is larger than any single organization can address. What we can do is be present where the need is greatest, in damaged hospitals, in makeshift clinics, in the communities hardest to reach. Our doctors, nurses, psychologists and social workers are doing exactly that.”
The inclusion of mental health professionals alongside medical teams has become a hallmark of Israeli disaster response. While broken bones and crush injuries require immediate treatment, survivors often face psychological trauma that can persist long after the physical wounds have healed. Families who have lost loved ones, children displaced from their homes and exhausted first responders all require support as communities begin rebuilding.
Overcrowded emergency departments
Beyond providing direct patient care, NATAN is also preparing for what could become one of its most significant contributions to the recovery effort.
Two senior physicians are being deployed to assess hospitals that have suffered structural damage while struggling with overwhelming patient numbers.
Working together with local hospital leadership, they will evaluate whether to establish an Emergency Ambulatory Surge Extension, or EASE International, a temporary medical facility designed to relieve pressure on overcrowded emergency departments by treating patients with less critical injuries outside the main hospital.
Such facilities allow emergency rooms to focus their resources on critically ill and severely injured patients while ensuring that those with less urgent medical needs continue to receive timely treatment.
Dr. Sharon Shaul, NATAN’s medical director, will also accompany an official Israeli engineering delegation traveling to Venezuela in coordination with local authorities. While engineers assess damaged infrastructure, Shaul will serve as the delegation’s physician, reflecting the close relationship between engineering and medicine in disaster zones where the safety of healthcare facilities directly affects patient care.
At the same time, NATAN continues to work closely with leaders of Venezuela’s Jewish community and other humanitarian organizations operating in the country, helping direct medical resources toward the communities with the greatest need while strengthening local capacity to continue providing care after the Israeli teams eventually depart.
The approach reflects NATAN’s long-standing philosophy that successful humanitarian missions are measured not only by the number of patients treated, but by how effectively local healthcare systems are supported during and after an emergency.
That work has become increasingly important as the scale of the disaster has become clearer. Thousands of people remain hospitalized or displaced, while damaged medical facilities continue operating under enormous pressure. Although dramatic rescues such as that of Gil Flores capture international attention, the medical consequences of major earthquakes often unfold over weeks and months rather than days.
For NATAN’s volunteers, the mission has evolved beyond emergency deployment. Instead, it has become an effort to help stabilize a healthcare system facing one of the greatest challenges in its history, treating patients in hospitals and temporary clinics while helping local professionals build the capacity needed for the long recovery ahead.
