A pair of devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela on Thursday, with predictive modeling suggesting a death toll likely running into the thousands and a substantial probability of exceeding 10,000, according to the US Geological Survey. The magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 tremors hit about 160 kilometers west of Caracas within a minute of each other, triggering an international humanitarian response as the scale of civilian casualties becomes clearer.
Israel is preparing to send an aid delegation to Venezuela following the earthquakes, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday. "The Ministry is conducting a situation assessment with the relevant authorities in Israel and is examining the options for assistance," it stated. The Health Ministry is also preparing to send a medical aid delegation to Venezuela, including forming medical, logistics, and emergency response teams that will join the effort, pending coordination with and approval from the Foreign Ministry.
Humanitarian Response Takes Shape
IsraAID, Israel's largest non-governmental humanitarian aid agency, confirmed that it is deploying an emergency response team to the South American country. "IsraAID's initial team will include emergency response specialists and humanitarian experts from the organization's ongoing mission in Colombia and its global Emergency Response Team," the NGO said. The staff will focus on "mental health and psychological first aid, water, sanitation and hygiene, and rapid needs assessment in affected communities," IsraAID added.
Four member organizations of the Society for International Development (SID Israel) have begun activating their response teams in order to assist. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is coordinating with local Jewish communities to provide food, clean water, medicine, and emergency shelters, as well as preparing for Caracas International Airport to reopen so it can deploy its own emergency response team. SmartAID is working with Venezuelan partners to assess urgent humanitarian needs and will deliver equipment and emergency relief supplies. Natan Worldwide Disaster Relief is sending a team of medical and psychosocial support professionals to "conduct a rapid needs assessment and lay the groundwork for a broader humanitarian response in the days ahead."
Jewish Community Impact
Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) announced on Thursday that it is preparing to provide aid totaling hundreds of thousands of shekels to Venezuela's Jewish communities. This includes 500 families who were evacuated from their homes. There are no reported casualties within the Jewish community in Caracas so far, Miguel Trozman, one of the heads of the Confederation of Jewish Associations of Venezuela (CAIV), told Walla. "Many members of the Jewish community chose to go through this difficult night together and are now sleeping in the Jewish community center in the city," he said.
KKL-JNF chairman Eyal Ostrinsky spoke with Roberto Mishkin, a senior leader of the Jewish community in Venezuela, and KKL-JNF Venezuela's CEO, who updated him on the situation. "KKL is committed to Jewish communities in the Diaspora, which are an inseparable part of us both in routine times and in emergencies," Ostrinsky said.
International Coordination
US President Donald Trump said that the two earthquakes that hit Venezuela earlier in the day had "left a devastating number of deaths," without citing any official casualty figures. "The USA stands ready, willing, and able to help! I have instructed all agencies of our government to get ready to move quickly. We will be there for our new and great friends. Early reports are not good," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that China would do what it could to assist Venezuela. No Chinese casualties or injuries have been reported so far, according to the authorities. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez offered his support to Venezuela, with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares adding that Spain was ready to supply any emergency aid required. President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva similarly declared the nation's support for the Venezuelan government's recovery efforts and directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Brazilian Embassy in Caracas to assess how Brazil could help.
"Humanitarian organizations don't build emergency response capacity when disaster strikes – they build it over many years," the director of Humanitarian Assistance at SID Israel noted. "The ability to respond quickly is rooted in long-term investment in preparedness, trusted partnerships, and sustained engagement with local communities. Even in a complex environment like Venezuela, where Israel has no diplomatic relations, Israeli humanitarian organizations are able to rely on well-established professional networks, local partners, regional teams, and staff already operating nearby to begin responding within hours."
Why This Matters:
The Venezuela earthquakes underscore the essential role of established humanitarian networks in responding to sudden disasters, particularly in politically complex environments. With thousands of deaths projected and 500 Jewish families already evacuated from their homes, the immediate needs for medical care, clean water, shelter, and psychological support are immense. The rapid mobilization of Israeli NGOs — despite the absence of diplomatic relations between Israel and Venezuela — demonstrates how sustained investment in local partnerships and regional presence enables life-saving responses within hours of a catastrophe. As airport access remains limited and the full scale of casualties becomes clear, the coordination between international aid organizations and local communities will determine how quickly displaced families receive essential services and how effectively trauma care reaches affected populations in the critical first days after disaster strikes.