As devastating earthquakes strike Venezuela, IsraAID responds
Leading Israeli NGO sending emergency team, focusing on mental health and water and sanitation
Thursday, June 25, 2026. For immediate release:
IsraAID, Israel’s largest non-governmental humanitarian aid agency, is deploying an emergency response team to Venezuela following yesterday’s deadly earthquakes. At around 18:00 local time on Wednesday June 24th, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake followed shortly after by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck west of the capital city, Caracas. Initial reports indicate widespread damage, injuries, loss of life, and displacement, with the full scale of the disaster as yet unclear and search and rescue operations ongoing. Years of economic and political crisis have left communities across the country increasingly vulnerable.
IsraAID’s initial team will include emergency response specialists and humanitarian experts from the organization’s ongoing mission in neighboring Colombia and its global Emergency Response Team, focusing on mental health and psychological first aid, water, sanitation and hygiene, and rapid needs assessment in affected communities. IsraAID Colombia has been actively engaged with local Venezuelan partner organizations in recent years, including providing remote mental health and protection training to prepare them for future emergencies.
IsraAID has worked with Venezuelan communities in Colombia since the height of the Venezuelan refugee crisis in 2019 and many members of IsraAID Colombia’s team are themselves Venezuelan. The organization has responded to frequent earthquakes, hurricanes, and displacement in the region in recent years, including in the Bahamas, Colombia, Dominica, Guatemala, Ecuador, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and St Vincent & the Grenadines.
Yotam Polizer, IsraAID’s CEO, said:
“We are devastated to see the impact of these two major earthquakes in Venezuela and our thoughts are with everyone affected. As an organization, we have deep ties to communities across the country and many Venezuelan team members, and we are already engaging with local partners to prepare an urgent response. In a challenging context, we will utilize our years of experience responding to emergencies throughout the Latin America and Caribbean region to bring relief in some of the worst affected areas.
To do that, we need all the support we can get. Please consider a donation to IsraAID’s Emergency Fund to help affected communities in Venezuela get through this disaster and look ahead towards what will likely be a long road to recovery.”
Donations to support IsraAID’s response in Venezuela can be made through the IsraAID Emergency Fund.
-ENDS-
Further information is available on request, including interviews with CEO Yotam Polizer, Emergency Response Team members after deployment to Venezuela, and other individuals involved in this operation.
CONTACT:
Ethan Schwartz
Email: [email protected]
Notes:
IsraAID is a leading international humanitarian non-governmental organization, based in Israel. Since 2001, IsraAID has become synonymous with a rapid response to humanitarian crises and a long-term commitment to working with affected communities. During and after emergencies, IsraAID partners with communities to re-build their lives – and their futures – together. As of June 2026, IsraAID has responded to more than 110 emergencies, in more than 65 countries.
