While they call the IDF evil, disaster victims call us for help.
The IDF’s emergency teams have spent decades turning battlefield experience into lifesaving expertise around the world.
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This is a guest essay by Lieutenant Colonel Ariella Mazor, the IDF’s International Spokesperson.
You can also listen to the podcast version of this essay on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, YouTube, and Spotify.
When earthquakes struck Venezuela this week, the IDF mobilized to support humanitarian and recovery efforts beyond Israel’s borders.
A joint delegation of experts from the IDF Home Front Command, together with other representatives from the State of Israel, departed to Venezuela to assist local authorities with structural assessments, search and rescue operations, and recovery efforts following the disaster.
These are the same specialists who respond when missiles strike Israeli cities. Now, they are applying that experience thousands of kilometers from home.
The team’s mission is straightforward: to help save lives and assist those affected by the disaster, no matter how far away they are from our borders.
Responding to disasters overseas is not new for the IDF. This mission builds on decades of operational experience accumulated by the IDF Home Front Command in disaster zones at home, as well as around the world.
Since the early years of the State of Israel, the Home Front Command and other IDF units have deployed around the world following earthquakes, building collapses, floods, and other natural disasters. Missions range from rapid disaster response to medical aid. Similar high profile missions have been previously deployed to Turkey, Nepal, and Syria.
The first humanitarian mission took place in 1953, when an IDF medical delegation assisted Greece following an earthquake that took over 1,000 lives. The IDF delegation provided medical treatment to survivors. Since then, Israel has embarked on over 37 humanitarian relief missions, spanning five continents.
One of its most significant international deployments came in 2021, after the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida. Shortly after the incident, an Israeli Home Front Command delegation was on its way to the United States. Led by Colonel Golan Vach, the team integrated directly into the American rescue effort, working shoulder to shoulder with local first responders around the clock.
The Israeli team introduced an intelligence-driven approach refined through years of operational experience. Engineers reconstructed the collapsed building using detailed 3D models, allowing rescuers to estimate where bedrooms had been located and where victims were most likely to be found. Population officers simultaneously worked with families to build a detailed picture of who had been inside each apartment and where they were likely sleeping when the building collapsed.
Back at home, Israel’s search and rescue troops are trained for every possible scenario.
So far, the Israeli delegation has begun coordinating closely with Venezuelan authorities and has held working meetings with the Venezuelan Minister of Infrastructure and the Chief Engineer of a local Venezuelan municipality.
During these meetings, the participants coordinated plans for structural assessments, aligned operational methodologies, and prepared for the deployment of expert teams to support the recovery efforts.
The capabilities deployed abroad are the same ones developed through years of responding to emergencies inside Israel. Home Front Command personnel train to operate in complex disaster environments, including:
Urban search and rescue
Structural damage assessment
Field medical care
Casualty evacuation
Establishment of field hospitals
Humanitarian logistics
These capabilities have been repeatedly employed following rocket and missile attacks on Israeli communities, including during Operation Rising Lion (the major 12-day IDF campaign launched in June 2025 against the Iranian regime), when Home Front Command forces rescued civilians from damaged buildings after Iranian missile strikes.
For the past 1,000 days since the October 7th massacre, the State of Israel has faced sustained attacks on multiple fronts — and we have responded to countless emergencies, carrying out life-saving missions under fire. Today, that expertise gained is now being used to support recovery efforts on the other side of the world.
Whether responding to attacks at home or natural disasters abroad, the mission remains the same: saving lives. This week’s deployment to Venezuela reflects a longstanding commitment to sharing Israel’s emergency response expertise with countries facing moments of crisis. When requested and when circumstances allow, the IDF’s experience protecting civilians at home can help communities recover far beyond Israel’s borders.
The distance may change, but the commitment and our values do not — the IDF will step up to help protect lives and support communities in times of crisis.
On a personal note, these are the moments that make me proud to put on the uniform every day. They are a reminder that beyond defending our country, we can also help others when they need it most.
 | A guest post by
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Lieutenant, first, thank you for your service. I hope you know how deeply it is appreciated by Jews around the world. You and the men and women of the IDF are fighting not only for Israel, but in many ways for every Jew, wherever we live.
Having said that, your article raises a question that I think we desperately need to confront. Look at what Israel and the Jewish people have contributed to the world—in medicine, science, technology and humanitarian aid. Israel is a democracy where different religions live and worship freely. As you point out, when disaster strikes around the world, Israel shows up. Even Palestinians receive medical treatment in Israeli hospitals.
And yet we are being decimated in the propaganda war.
Doesn't that tell us something? I'm a fighter. I like results, and Lieutenant, I'm sure you understand results better than most. If we have this much truth on our side and are still losing the message so badly, then we have to admit that our strategy is failing.
I blame the Israeli government. I blame our large Jewish organizations. Frankly, all of us have to accept some responsibility. This is another war—a war for public opinion—and we are losing it terribly. Pointing out these incredible stories one article at a time is not enough. There needs to be a coordinated, professional, well-funded strategy to tell Israel's story repeatedly and effectively.
Your article shows how much material we have to work with. The fact that so much of the world doesn't know these stories shows how badly we are conveying them. There are no excuses anymore. This needs meetings, strategy, money and accountability. We have to start treating the propaganda war like the real war it has become.
I wish there was acknowledgment of their ie the IDF’s involvement in the rescue mission.No one here gives Israel credit. Very disappointing. As a Jew I am very proud of their commitment to such causes. Am Israel Chai.🇮🇱