The Israeli aid delegation to Colombia, dubbed the “Alliance of Friends,” took off Thursday night to assist in the aftermath of the country’s devastating earthquake, the Home Front Command announced in a statement.
With representatives from the IDF, the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the 80-person delegation took off from the Nevatim Airbase and will “immediately begin a rescue and assistance mission” upon its arrival.
According to Home Front Command’s Maj.-Gen. Shai Klapper, the main goal of the expedition is to provide immediate life-saving assistance through mapping destruction sites.
The delegation, headed by the commander of the Home Front Command’s National Rescue and Rescue Unit, Brig.-General (res.) Yossi Pinto, includes both regular duty soldiers and reservists.
On Wednesday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an aid delegation would be sent to Colombia, after Colombia’s President Abelardo de la Espriella requested Israel do so.
Israel has sent aid delegations to unfriendly countries
De la Espriella was inagurated only four days before the earthquake, replacing the decidely anti-Israel Gustavo Petro. De la Espriella’s new administration was expected to renew relations between the countries. In its first week, it pledged to move the Colombian embassy to Jerusalem, and recognized the Golan Heights as Israeli territory.
Despite Colombia’s de la Espriella’s warm approach, Israel has regularly dispatched rescue teams to countries after natural disasters, regardless of diplomatic relations.
After Venezuela’s twin earthquakes in June, in which over 6,000 people were killed, Israel sent a delegation to Venezuela. At the time, Israel and Venezuela hadn’t had official relations since Nicolas Maduro severed ties in 2009.
The delegation, also headed by Pinto, led to the eventual reintroduction of consular relations between the countries, with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia specifically stating Israel’s emergency efforts as the reason for the move
“Both governments recognize the importance of the relationship between the State of Israel and the Jewish community in Venezuela, which constitutes an important historic bridge of friendship between the two countries,” Venezuela’s and Israel’s governments said in a joint statement.
Esther Davis and Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.
