Israel is preparing to send an aid delegation to Venezuela following the earthquakes that hit the country, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
"The Ministry is conducting a situation assessment with the relevant authorities in Israel and is examining the options for assistance," the statement said.
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.
The offers of aid come after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit about 160km. (100 miles) west of Caracas on Thursday, followed less than a minute later by a magnitude 7.5 tremor, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
The USGS, using predictive modeling to estimate the death toll, said it would most likely run into the thousands, with a substantial probability of exceeding 10,000.
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, KKL-JNF 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. Just as we were there during Operation Roaring Lion system in Beit Shemesh, Beersheba, Dimona, and Arad with communities that suffered severe damage and extreme upheaval, so we will be there for our brothers in Venezuela in their time of need,” said Ostrinsky.
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.
IsraAID, Israel's largest non-governmental humanitarian aid agency, also 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 added.
The staff will focus on "mental health and psychological first aid, water, sanitation and hygiene, and rapid needs assessment in affected communities," said IsraAID.
US, China, Spain, Brazil to assist Venezuela after earthquake
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 two major earthquakes that just hit the great people of Venezuela are both massive in scale and have left a devastating number of deaths," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
"The U.S.A. 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."
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that China will do what it can to assist Venezuela. No Chinese casualties or injuries 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.
"Spain and myself offer our full support to the Venezuelan people following tonight's devastating earthquakes," Sanchez posted on X/Twitter. "Our thoughts are with the victims and their families."
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 can help.
"I reaffirm our determination to support the government of Acting President Delcy Rodríguez in the recovery of affected areas of this sister nation, whose people have given proof of great resilience in the face of adversities," he posted to his X/Twitter account on Thursday morning.