Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Thursday with the Commander of the Israeli aid delegation to Venezuela and Chief of Staff of the Home Front Command, Brig. Gen. Elad Edri, as well as Israel's ambassador-designate to Mexico, Yoed Magen.
"You are showing the people of Venezuela, and also the government of Venezuela, the true face of the State of Israel," Netanyahu told the two representatives, noting that Venezuela severed diplomatic ties with Israel almost 20 years earlier.
"We didn't ask questions about who and what," the prime minister said. "We asked: 'What needs to be done to help?'"
Israel sent a delegation to Venezuela after the June 24 earthquakes that have killed more than 3,800 people, injured nearly 17,000, and left nearly 18,000 people homeless. As of Thursday, approximately 300 people have been buried without being identified, according to Armando De Negri Filho of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
Netanyahu also noted that Brig. Gen. Edri - and Israeli disaster relief infrastructure in general - have "a lot of experience dealing with ruins due to the rocket barrages of our enemies."
The full delegation, according to Edri, consists of over thirty people from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Home Front Command, and various Israeli military bodies. They have been in Venezuela since the end of June, helping the government to plan their eventual reconstruction effort.
"We are operating day and night, together with the local government and the Venezuelan Infrastructure Ministry," Edri said. "We are very proud to represent the country here."
Overcrowding, lack of clean water among biggest health risks from Venezuela quakes says PAHO
The biggest risks to residents' health following devastating twin earthquakes that ripped across Venezuela's northern coast last month include interruptions to regular medical care, overcrowding in shelters and lack of access to clean water, Jarbas Barbosa, the director of the Pan American Health Organization, said on Thursday.
The organization is working closely with Venezuela's health ministry to trace any outbreaks of respiratory or digestive illnesses, especially in shelters set up for those who lost their homes, other PAHO officials added in a call with journalists.
However, the country must guarantee access to vaccines, Barbosa added, especially since vaccination rates in Venezuela were below target prior to the disaster and the country's health system was already suffering from sustained problems due to its economic crisis.
Reuters contributed to this report.