Venezuela Earthquakes: IsraAID’s Emergency Team Brings Lifesaving Aid

Leading Israeli NGO delivering water filters, aid distributions, mental health support – as they assess urgent needs in affected communities

Wednesday, July 1, 2026. For immediate release:

An Emergency Response Team from IsraAID, Israel’s largest non-governmental humanitarian aid agency, is in Venezuela, responding to urgent humanitarian needs in communities in Caracas and La Guaira, following last week’s devastating earthquakes. IsraAID’s team is currently conducting rapid needs assessments with local partners, distributing urgent aid supplies, installing water filters, and providing mental health and protection support and guidance in affected communities. Yesterday, June 30, IsraAID’s team installed emergency water filters and conducted emotional support and wellbeing sessions for children at a displaced person’s camp housing 700 people in La Guaira, the area worst affected by the earthquakes.

Installing water filters. Credit: Victor Diefenbach/IsraAID

Installing water filters. Credit: Victor Diefenbach/IsraAID

IsraAID’s team in Venezuela includes humanitarian experts from the organization’s mission in neighboring Colombia and its global Emergency Response Team. Commenting on what they had seen so far, Karen Munzon, IsraAID’s Mental Health and Protection Specialist in Venezuela, said:

“Today, Venezuela shows us its strength in the midst of pain. We have seen entire families in shelters who have lost everything; we recognize the urgency, and our mission is to accompany them, providing relief and hope.

During the session today, the children expressed their feelings through art therapy and learned deep breathing techniques to find calm when facing sadness, frustration, or pain. In the face of hardship, these children truly teach us the meaning of resilience.”

Simon Mostafa, IsraAID’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Specialist in Venezuela, added:

“Many people have lost their loved ones, their houses, their sense of safety. At the same time, we see the solidarity, the resilience, and hard work of people to rebuild their lives and support their neighbors in doing so. So much pain alongside the courage to keep going in the face of tragedy!”

Emotional support through art for displaced children. Credit: Victor Diefenbach/IsraAID

IsraAID’s team in Venezuela is working with local partners, including from the Venezuelan Jewish community, to ensure the organization’s support reaches communities in urgent need during these critical first days of emergency.

IsraAID has built deep ties to Venezuelan communities in recent years, including through its mission in Colombia since the height of the Venezuelan displacement crisis in 2019. The organization has also 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.

Donations to support IsraAID’s response in Venezuela can be made through the IsraAID Emergency Fund.

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Further information is available on request, including interviews with IsraAID Emergency Response Team members in Venezuela, CEO Yotam Polizer, and other individuals involved in this operation.

PICTURES:

All images credit Victor Diefenbach/IsraAID. Additional photographs from IsraAID’s team in Venezuela are available upon request.

CONTACT:

Ethan Schwartz – Communications Director
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.