IDF rescue teams join search for survivors after deadly earthquake in Colombia
Israeli search-and-rescue soldiers began work in quake-stricken Colombia on Friday, joining local crews in the hunt for survivors and delivering humanitarian aid days after the powerful earthquake struck the country, footage showed.
The 7.4-magnitude quake struck western Colombia on Monday, killing at least 287 people and injuring nearly 4,000, while close to 400 remained missing as of Friday. Cali and Pereira, two of the hardest-hit cities, accounted for more than two-thirds of the deaths.
Rescue teams were still reporting possible signs of life beneath collapsed buildings on Friday, even after the critical 72-hour window for finding survivors had passed.
Israel’s 80-strong delegation, named Brit Re’im, or covenant of friends, consists of IDF soldiers and officers from the Home Front Command and officials from the Foreign and Defense Ministries. The team left Israel on Thursday night and arrived in Cali with search-and-rescue personnel and dogs.
The delegation joined local crews searching through rubble for survivors of the powerful August 10 earthquake. Rescue efforts continued even after the critical 72-hour window for finding people alive beneath the debris had passed.
“As you know, we have experience in Israel. Sometimes, unfortunately, our enemies launch missiles at densely populated civilian areas, leaving civilians under the rubble. And today we are taking that knowledge developed by Israel and making it available to Colombian citizens. Hopefully, we can contribute our small part here,” the IDF’s Spanish-language spokesman, Maj. (res.) Roni Kaplan, told reporters in Colombia, in footage published by AFP.
“The intention is to work here side by side, meaning we are coordinating here with the local teams to try to contribute. Hope in Judaism is not something that we have to wait for in the future, it is something that we have to work toward. And that is what we are doing, we are working,” Kaplan added.
A statement from the IDF and Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said the delegation would distribute food and water to victims of the deadly earthquake and embark on search-and-rescue missions.
In Cali, rescue workers shifted shattered concrete after detecting sounds from a collapsed residential block early in the morning, suggesting people might still be alive.
The mayor of Pereira, Mauricio Salazar, told radio station FM on Friday that “contact was made with a woman who was asking for help amid the rubble” of a collapsed hotel at around 4 a.m. He suggested other people may have survived but were still trapped.
Among those trapped in the hotel was Juan Felipe Giraldo, 24, who was set to get married that weekend. His father was at the site from Monday night, waiting for news. His body was recovered from the rubble later on Friday, his family confirmed. He left behind a 2-year-old son.
Along with the harsh task of finding the victims amid the rubble, Colombia faced another challenge: rebuilding a nation shattered by a disaster that affected more than 100,000 people.
Tens of thousands of houses were damaged or destroyed, according to the government. Authorities had also reported damage to thousands of schools, medical facilities and community centers in more than 400 cities.
“There is no place to live, we lost everything,” Ebert Jonathan Morales, 38, said Friday in a shelter in Cali.
Morales was one of the 102,263 people whose lives were upended by the quake. The government said nearly 4,000 people were injured and hundreds remained missing. Private groups estimated that the number of missing is in the thousands.
Morales said he, his wife and four children are trying to rebuild from scratch.
“The earthquake destroyed several neighborhoods in the city. Many houses were damaged, and buildings collapsed,” he said. “We are going to stay here until the government gives us some help, some support.”
The disaster was shaping up as the first major test for President Abelardo De La Espriella, a political newcomer who took office just days before the quake.
He had faced criticism for his initial handling of the response, including not accepting certain countries’ offers of foreign rescue teams. The government said it was focusing on receiving material supplies and later accepted teams from some countries, including the US and Israel.
The Israeli mission came just days after De La Espriella vowed a major reset in ties between Jerusalem and Bogota. His predecessor, Gustavo Petro, severed diplomatic relations with Israel in 2024 over the Gaza war, halted coal exports and suspended purchases of Israeli weapons, disrupting what had long been close military and security ties between the countries.
De la Espriella campaigned on reversing those policies and “renewing a strategic alliance with the State of Israel.” Around his inauguration last week, senior members of his new cabinet met Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, with Vice President Jose Manuel Restrepo, who said, “For Colombia, 2026 will be marked by the deepening and strengthening of its relationship with the State of Israel.”
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An 80-strong Israeli search-and-rescue delegation, named Brit Re’im, arrived in Colombia on Friday to assist in the aftermath of a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck on Monday. The quake killed at least 287 people, injured nearly 4,000, and left close to 400 missing, with Cali and Pereira being among the hardest-hit cities. The Israeli team, comprising IDF soldiers and officials from the Foreign and Defense Ministries, brought search-and-rescue personnel and dogs to join local crews in sifting through rubble for survivors, even after the critical 72-hour window had passed. They also distributed humanitarian aid like food and water. IDF spokesman Maj. (res.) Roni Kaplan stated, "Hopefully, we can contribute our small part here." The mission follows a recent commitment by Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella to renew ties with Israel, after his predecessor had severed diplomatic relations.
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