An 80-person Israeli Defense Forces humanitarian delegation called the 'Alliance of Brothers' began operating in Colombia on Saturday, working alongside local professionals and officials at multiple sites affected by a major earthquake, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.
IDF humanitarian delegation begins Colombia earthquake operations
An 80-person Israeli Defense Forces humanitarian delegation called the 'Alliance of Brothers' began operating in Colombia on Saturday, working alongside local professionals and officials at multiple sites affected by a major earthquake, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.
The delegation is led by the Home Front Command in cooperation with the Israeli Defense Ministry and Foreign Affairs Ministry, and was dispatched after Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella formally requested assistance from Israel. Colombia has sought rescue teams from only four countries: the United States, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Israel.
IDF forces are focusing on two major impact sites, assisting in locating and rescuing people trapped under rubble. One site is the city's university hospital in Cali, which sustained considerable damage; Home Front Command engineers are conducting search and rescue operations there while also working to restore the damaged medical wing's functions.
The delegation is additionally helping establish data management systems to support situational assessments and decision-making for the response effort. Mapping efforts and building assessments have begun to set plans and priorities for ongoing operations.
Colombian authorities confirmed on Friday morning that around 400 people remain missing nearly four days after the quake, whose epicenter was in the Chocó department on the country's Pacific coast. Hundreds have been killed and more than 4,000 people have been documented with injuries, according to the source.
- The source does not state the total number of people killed in the earthquake, using only the qualifier 'hundreds.'
- The source does not provide the magnitude or precise date of the earthquake beyond the reference to 'nearly four days' before Friday morning.
- The source does not include any statement from Colombian authorities or President de la Espriella beyond the confirmation of approximately 400 missing and the initial request for assistance.
- The source does not describe the scope or status of rescue operations conducted by the other three countries — the US, Ecuador, and El Salvador — that Colombia also requested.
- The source does not state how long the Israeli delegation is expected to remain in Colombia.
Read the original at The Jerusalem Post