"Brit Re'im": A rescue and humanitarian aid mission will depart from Israel to Colombia
Following the directive of Benjamin Netanyahu, the "Brit Re'im" mission — a joint rescue and humanitarian aid delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the IDF, and the Ministry of Defense — is expected to take off for Colombia. Upon landing, the mission will immediately begin rescue tasks and humanitarian aid operations, including the distribution of food and water packages to earthquake victims.
Following the directive of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and in continuation of the proposal by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar to his Colombian counterpart, tonight (Thursday) the "Brit Re'im" mission — a joint rescue and humanitarian aid delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the IDF, and the Ministry of Defense — will take off for Colombia.
The mission, led jointly by the Home Front Command and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will take off on an Air Force plane from the Nevatim airbase. Upon landing, it will immediately begin rescue tasks and humanitarian aid operations, including the distribution of food and water packages to earthquake victims.
The rescue force is headed by the commander of the Home Front Command's National Search and Rescue Unit, Brigadier General (res.) Yossi Pinto. The mission consists of about 80 personnel, including rescue forces and experts in various fields, both active-duty and reservists. The Israeli Embassy in Colombia will coordinate the mission's activities with local authorities and relevant counterparts in the country.
Rescue teams in Colombia continue to search for survivors among the rubble of buildings in the west of the country, more than 48 hours after the earthquake that struck with a magnitude of 7.4. The death toll has jumped to at least 254, according to data from local authorities, and according to reports, 101 of them are in Pereira and 95 in Cali. In addition, at least 2,595 people have been injured, and nearly 200 people are still defined as missing.
The earthquake occurred on Monday at 07:34 in the morning, at a depth of 107 kilometers. Its epicenter was about 5 kilometers east of the town of San Jose del Palmar in the Choco department — one of the poorest and most isolated areas in Colombia. The Colombian Geological Service defined it as the strongest earthquake recorded in the country in the current century. The tremors were felt throughout Colombia and also in Panama, Ecuador, and Venezuela, but no serious damage was reported in the neighboring countries.
The most severe damage was recorded in Cali, Pereira, and Manizales in the west of the country. Houses, schools, medical centers, and public buildings collapsed or were damaged, and several airports were shut down for engineering inspections. Authorities provided various data on the extent of the destruction: according to the New York Times, almost 5,000 houses were damaged and 387 of them were destroyed, alongside damage to 18 medical centers and 52 schools. The Wall Street Journal reported that at least 243 buildings were destroyed.
In the Choco department, adjacent to the epicenter of the quake, many communities were left without electricity and without basic services. The mountainous terrain, dense forests, and damaged roads make it difficult to reach remote settlements and assess the full extent of the disaster. Barbara Melo, an employee of the aid organization World Vision in Colombia, told the Wall Street Journal that it is a "very rural area, which is geologically very difficult to reach." According to her:
"We are still waiting to understand how big the emergency is there."
