‘ALLIANCE OF BROTHERS’: 80 Israelis Rush to Colombia as Thousands Remain Missing

Israel sent an 80-person delegation of specialists called the “Alliance of Brothers” to Colombia following a devastating earthquake Monday that claimed nearly 200 lives, injured about 600 more, and left more than 2,000 people missing.

“In accordance with the directives of the political echelon, the joint humanitarian delegation of the IDF, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ‘Alliance of Brothers’ will depart for Colombia following the earthquake that occurred across the country,” the IDF said in a statement Thursday.

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“Upon landing, the delegation will immediately begin its search and rescue mission. The goal of the mission is to provide immediate assistance with search and rescue efforts in order to save lives, utilizing the rapid mapping of impact sites,” the statement continued.

“The delegation consists of 80 participants, including a rescue team and experts in various subjects, in active and reserve duty,” the military said.

The team drew its members from the IDF, the Foreign Ministry, and the Ministry of Defense, including active-duty soldiers and reservists, and took off from the Nevatim Air Base. Maj.-Gen. Shai Klapper of the Home Front Command said the team’s goal is to conduct rescue missions by mapping destructions sites and offering immediate lifesaving assistance on-site.

Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Pinto, the commander of the Home Front Command’s National Search and Rescue Unit, who led the mission to Venezuela, is leading the rescue mission to Colombia.

Prime Minister Netanyahu had announced Wednesday that Israel would send a team of experts at the request of Abelardo de la Espriella, who was sworn in as president of Colombia last week.

De la Espriella promised to repair relations with Israel that had soured under his predecessor, Gustavo Petro, a virulent anti-Israel leftist who posted “Heil Hitler” just days before he left office. In his first days in office, de la Espriella pledged to move the Colombian embassy to Jerusalem and restore full diplomatic ties with Israel. He canceled a plan to open a Palestinian embassy, recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights and withdrew Colombia from South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

Israel sent rescue teams to Venezuela following the massive twin earthquakes that flattened buildings and killed thousands of people, earning the public praise and gratitude of acting President Delcy Rodríguez. This month, the two countries announced the resumption of consular ties for the first time in 17 years, after then-President Hugo Chávez severed diplomatic relations with Israel.