Israeli aid delegation extends work in Venezuela after rare call from President Rodriguez to Sa'ar

Israel's aid delegation in Venezuela will continue its work for an additional two weeks, extending its mission beyond the original July 12 departure date. The extension was requested by interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who met with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to discuss the ongoing post-earthquake reconstruction efforts.

The small, 30-person Israeli delegation is primarily focused on developing a national reconstruction plan for Venezuela. A key component of this plan involves the IDF engineers mapping and categorizing approximately 1,300 buildings. These structures are being assessed for demolition or potential salvage, with guidance also provided on debris management.

“

The multi-year plan is a major accomplishment of the Israeli delegation, and Venezuela approved it within days, rather than the weeks or months it would normally take to develop.

President Rodriguez's request for an extension highlights the urgency and scale of the reconstruction needs following the devastating earthquake. The multi-year plan, developed rapidly by the Israeli team, was approved by Venezuela within days. This swift action is attributed to the severity of the disaster, which has claimed 3,342 lives, injured 16,470, and left 17,345 homeless, with an unofficial tally of the missing at around 41,000.

“

The severity of the disaster warranted rapid, out-of-the-box thinking.