IDF troops begin search and rescue operations in Colombia quake zone: ‘Hopefully, we can contribute our small part’

Israeli search and rescue soldiers are seen operating in Colombia, footage shows, following the earthquake that struck the South American nation.

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. They departed on Thursday night.

“As you know, we have experience in Israel. Sometimes, unfortunately, our enemies who launch missiles at those densely populated civilian areas also leave civilians under the rubble. And all that knowledge developed for Israeli citizens, today we are making available to Colombian citizens. Hopefully, we can contribute our small part here,” the IDF’s Spanish-language spokesman, Maj. (res.) Roni Kaplan says to 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 adds.

A statement from the IDF and Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said the delegation will distribute food and water to victims of this week’s deadly earthquake, and will embark on search-and-rescue missions.

Rescuers from the Israel Defense Forces arrive in Cali, Colombia, to join the search for people trapped under the rubble left by the powerful August 10 earthquake, August 14, 2026. (JUAN RESTREPO / AFPTV / AFP)