Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said an Israeli relief delegation in Venezuela is helping with post-earthquake recovery while also creating an opening for renewed diplomatic ties, nearly 17 years after Caracas severed relations with Israel. Venezuelan officials have reported that back-to-back earthquakes on June 24 killed more than 3,800 people.
Israel has dispatched a delegation of more than 30 officials from the Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command, the Foreign Ministry and other agencies to Venezuela following the June 24 earthquakes, according to Israeli and Venezuelan officials cited in local and international reporting.
The team has been working with Venezuela’s Infrastructure Ministry to assess and classify damaged buildings and to help develop a national reconstruction strategy, Israeli officials said. The mission is led on the military side by Brig. Gen. Elad Edri, the Home Front Command’s chief of staff, with Foreign Ministry participation that includes diplomat Yoed Magen, according to Israeli media reports.
Netanyahu, speaking Thursday in a call with Edri and Magen, said the mission was demonstrating “the true face of the State of Israel.”
“You are rebuilding ruins, and you are also rebuilding relations,” Netanyahu said, according to Israeli media accounts of the call.
Israeli officials have said the delegation drafted a nationwide reconstruction plan that was later approved by acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez.
Venezuela severed diplomatic relations with Israel in 2009 under then-President Hugo Chávez, after Israel’s military operation in Gaza, Israeli media reported.
The Daily Wire, citing Israeli reporting, said Israeli officials have expressed optimism about improving ties after the United States captured Nicolás Maduro in January 2026 and backed Rodríguez as Venezuela’s acting president. A U.S. Congressional Research Service brief has also described the U.S. operation as resulting in Maduro’s capture and subsequent claims by the U.S. government regarding Rodríguez’s role.
Venezuelan authorities and humanitarian groups have continued to report major humanitarian needs in the quake zone. The Associated Press has reported that Venezuelan officials said 190 buildings collapsed and 856 were damaged in the back-to-back earthquakes, and that the death toll has been reported in the 3,800-plus range, with figures updated in subsequent days.
