The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) delivered a nationwide building damage assessment and reconstruction planning system to Venezuela following the June 24, 2026 earthquake. The deployment enabled tens of thousands of residents to return to their homes and secured government approval of a long-term rebuilding strategy by July 2026.

IDF experts certified structures as safe, allowing tens of thousands of Venezuelans to return to homes in buildings partially damaged by the seismic events. Combined Israeli-Venezuelan engineering teams established that some hundreds of buildings were safe enough for habitation.

The IDF presented the damage assessment system to Venezuelan officials on July 17, 2026. The system addresses several thousand structures across the affected regions.

The Israeli delegation developed and proposed an initial multi-year plan for mapping and rebuilding the disaster areas. Venezuela approved the multi-year reconstruction plan within a few days of its proposal.

"Israeli experts developed a nationwide system to assess damaged buildings and guide the country’s long-term reconstruction," said Yossi Pinto, head of the IDF's delegation to Venezuela. Pinto holds the rank of Brigadier General (reserves).

The damage assessment system maps out which structures are usable, which need demolition, how to carry out demolition, and the timeline for building new structures. It is designed for the intake, tracking, and analysis of damaged structures for both the national government and smaller district areas.

The system categorizes structures and places them on different tracks according to the level of damage and the consequences of that damage. The structures evaluated by the IDF and Venezuelan teams include houses, some dozens of 20-floor skyscrapers, and some 10-floor buildings.

A staff of around 35 professional Israeli experts in engineering, disaster operations, and related technologies determined the system and mapping process. The Israeli delegation to Venezuela consisted of 30-40 members at the request of Venezuela.

IDF Brig. Gen. Elad Edri originally led the Israeli delegation to Venezuela and was later replaced by Yossi Pinto. The IDF delegation flew out of Israel on June 30, 2026.

The delegation landed in Venezuela on July 1, 2026, after multiple complex stopovers. The IDF delegation flew into Valencia, Venezuela, and then traveled domestically to Caracas because they could not fly directly into Caracas.

On July 6, 2026, the IDF began mapping and categorizing approximately 1,300 damaged Venezuelan buildings. The number of damaged Venezuelan buildings being mapped by the IDF has risen from 1,300 to several thousand.

There are many thousands of structures in Venezuela that still need to be evaluated for safety. Residents of buildings deemed too damaged for return will live in tents for an extended period until a solution is found.

The IDF's focus in Venezuela was providing engineering experts to assess the vulnerability of damaged but standing buildings, rather than immediate rescue. IDF engineers provided guidance to Venezuela on handling debris from damaged buildings.

The Venezuelan government decided to reincorporate debris into later building efforts through a recycling process. IDF experts trained Venezuelan experts in smart technology professional resources and new disaster-oriented uses of artificial intelligence.

The IDF committed to assisting Venezuela from a distance after the temporary on-site assistance concludes. Rehabilitating the earthquake-damaged area in Venezuela will take many years.

Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez held a ceremony with the Israeli delegation on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, and thanked them for their efforts. Local Venezuelan security forces provided protection for the IDF delegation.

IDF soldiers kept their uniforms on with the symbol of Israel prominently displayed during the Venezuela mission. Diplomatic relations between Israel and Venezuela have been cut off since 2009.

IDF officials visited the Venezuelan Jewish community, which numbers approximately 5,000 people. Officials attended multiple Friday night Shabbat prayer services and dinners with the community.

Venezuelan-Jewish attendees cried upon seeing the IDF uniforms during the visit. The IDF carried out a similar disaster mapping assistance project in Thailand approximately one year prior to the Venezuela mission.

The June 24, 2026 earthquakes in Venezuela killed at least 5,300 people. IDF delegations to Turkey and other locations previously consisted of over 400 members.

IDF Col. Golan Vach was not involved in the Venezuela mission. Previous reports indicated Israel prepared an aid delegation for Venezuela earthquakes and subsequently sent the team after two earthquakes struck the country.

The deployment of the IDF assessment system provides a structured approach to recovering from a disaster that killed at least 5,300 people. The system enables the government to categorize thousands of structures, determining which are safe for immediate return and which require demolition or long-term rebuilding.

This assistance occurs despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations between Israel and Venezuela since 2009. The multi-year reconstruction plan, approved within days of its proposal, establishes a framework for rehabilitating the damaged areas, a process expected to take many years.