Israel will extend the deployment of its humanitarian aid delegation in Venezuela for another two weeks after Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez asked Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to keep the team in the country, Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on Wednesday.
The extension follows a meeting in Caracas between the Israeli delegation and Rodríguez, which came after a direct phone call between Sa’ar and the interim president. During the call, Rodríguez requested that the delegation remain so it could begin implementing a national reconstruction plan drawn up by Israeli experts. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the extension in coordination with Sa’ar.
The mission is notable because Israel and Venezuela have had no diplomatic relations since Caracas severed ties with Jerusalem in 2009 following the Gaza war of 2008 and 2009 (“Operation Cast Lead”). Despite the absence of formal relations, Venezuelan authorities requested additional assistance, with Israeli experts contributing to a recovery strategy for regions devastated by the recent earthquakes. The Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the relief operation was entering a new phase, and the effort has drawn attention from senior Venezuelan officials as well as extensive local media coverage.
Venezuela is home to a small Jewish community estimated at between 3,000 and 5,000 people, although the Israeli delegation’s mission is focused on humanitarian assistance for the broader population.
In addition to the dozens of personnel already on the ground, about 20 specialists are assisting remotely from Israel, analyzing field data and helping refine long-term recommendations for rebuilding. The plan has been presented to Venezuela’s infrastructure minister and is expected to be submitted to Rodríguez in the coming days.
The delegation, composed of personnel from the Foreign Ministry, the Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command and the National Emergency Management Authority, continues working with local authorities to assess damaged buildings, determine which structures can be safely restored, and help displaced residents return home.
The earthquakes’ death toll currently stands at more than 3,600, with over 16,700 injured and more than 17,000 homeless.
A member of the Israeli aid delegation, Yosef Garmon, told The Press Service of Israel from Venezuela on Tuesday that many locals had expressed gratitude for the Israeli team’s work. Garmon is the director of ZAKA in Latin America.
He described an encounter with a grieving son who asked Israeli volunteers to pray for his mother after rescuers recovered her body from the ruins.
“After we prayed together, he told us that he could not believe that people from Israel, a country so far away, had come to help him when, in his words, no one else had come,” Garmon told TPS-IL. “Standing together in the middle of the ruins, we prayed with him. It was a powerful reminder that humanitarian work is not only about rescue and medical care, it is also about restoring dignity.”
