After a week of non-stop activity in Venezuela, the Israeli rescue delegation concluded its mission on Monday and is returning to Israel.
At the airport, the delegation was received with applause and thanks for its aid.
Comprising personnel from Magen, Ready for Rescue, and SmartAID, Israel's delegation was deployed to Venezuela on June 28 following the twin earthquakes that devastated the South American country.
Since arriving, the delegation has worked alongside local forces on the ground to locate and rescue survivors and provide humanitarian aid where possible.
During its operations, Israel’s delegation worked around the clock at several sites of high-rise collapses, carrying out complex search-and-rescue operations and recovering many bodies from the rubble.
It also opened key access routes to enable ongoing search-and-rescue operations for missing persons, and laid groundwork for continued activity by local and international forces.
Israeli team arrives in Venezuela to share emergency response knowledge
Separate to the delegation, a preliminary team from Israel's humanitarian assistance delegation arrived in Venezuela on Wednesday to support the country's earthquake recovery efforts.
The team, led by Israeli Ambassador-designate to Mexico Yoed Magen and IDF Home Front Command Chief of Staff Brig.-Gen. Elad Edri, met with local authorities and first-responder officials shortly after arrival.
According to the statement, the rest of the delegation is set to join the preliminary team in the coming days.
Following preparations, the delegation is set to assist local teams in their post-earthquake rescue efforts.
In addition, the Israeli team will share its knowledge with locals in the fields of earthquake and emergency response, drawing on experience gained from multiple international humanitarian assistance missions.
Earthquake death toll rises to over 3,000
On Sunday, the Venezuelan Information Ministry announced that the death toll had risen to 3,342.
The new tally also puts the number of injured at 16,470, while the number of homeless has risen to 17,345. Nearly 200 buildings are confirmed to have collapsed, according to state officials.
Some of the homeless are living in official shelters and others in tent encampments. An unofficial but widely used tally of the missing stands at just over 41,000.
Earlier in the day, in a speech commemorating Venezuela's 215th independence day, Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez defended the government's actions following the quakes amid growing frustration over what many have called a delayed and inadequate response to the disaster.