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Colombian President thanks Netanyahu for rescue teams sent after earthquake
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Disasters & Emergencies

Colombian President thanks Netanyahu for rescue teams sent after earthquake

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Colombia's President Abelardo de la Espriella thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for sending rescue teams after a recent earthquake.
  • De la Espriella stated that the Israeli aid marks a new beginning for bilateral relations, which had deteriorated under the previous administration.
  • Israel sent a contingent of 82 military personnel, including rescuers and specialists, to assist in recovery efforts in Cali.

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella expressed deep gratitude to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the humanitarian aid and rescue teams dispatched following a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck the country. De la Espriella conveyed his thanks during a phone call, describing it as "very warm and enriching."

I thanked him (Netanyahu) profoundly for all the humanitarian aid and for the rescuers that Israel has sent to Colombia in these difficult times.

— Abelardo de la EspriellaPresident of Colombia, expressing gratitude for Israeli assistance after the earthquake.

The Colombian president emphasized that Israel's support signifies a fresh start for relations between the two nations. These ties had previously soured when his predecessor, Gustavo Petro, ordered a break in diplomatic relations with Israel in May 2024 due to the conflict in Gaza. "This is a new era for relations between Colombia and Israel: a relationship based on friendship, solidarity, cooperation, and mutual respect," De la Espriella stated.

This is a new era for relations between Colombia and Israel: a relationship based on friendship, solidarity, cooperation, and mutual respect.

— Abelardo de la Espriellacommenting on the renewed ties between the two countries.

Israel deployed a team of 82 military personnel from its Defense Forces (IDF), comprising rescuers, engineers, and specialists. This contingent arrived in Cali, one of the cities hardest hit by the earthquake. Major Rony Kaplan, an IDF spokesperson, confirmed that the team would coordinate with local authorities to enter collapsed structures and search for survivors.

We will be in different points of the city coordinated with the local authorities to enter the collapsed places and, God willing, find people alive.

— Rony KaplanMajor and spokesperson for the IDF, describing the mission of the rescue team in Cali.

The Israeli delegation is part of the National Rescue and Salvage Unit, which has conducted 39 international operations since 1953. President De la Espriella also extended his thanks to Paraguayan President Santiago Peña for sending over 50 tons of medicine, medical supplies, and food, calling it a "generous gesture filled with solidarity."

Thank you from the heart for this generous gesture filled with solidarity. In these difficult times for Colombia, feeling the embrace of a brotherly people like Paraguay moves me deeply.

— Abelardo de la Espriellathanking the President of Paraguay for his country's aid.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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