Israeli foreign aid relates to the development assistance and humanitarian aid provided by Israel to foreign countries. Israel provides assistance to developing countries to alleviate and solve economic and social problems through its international cooperation program of technical assistance, based on its own recent and ongoing experience in developing human and material resources. Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation, established as an agency of the Israeli Foreign Ministry in 1958 and known by its Hebrew acronym, MASHAV, is the primary vehicle for providing this aid.
In the 1970s, Israel broadened its aid agenda by granting safe haven to refugees and foreign nationals in distress from around the world. Since the 1980s, Israel has also provided humanitarian aid to places affected by natural disasters and terrorist attacks. In 1995, the Israeli Foreign Ministry and Israel Defense Forces established a permanent humanitarian and emergency aid unit, which has carried out humanitarian operations worldwide. In addition to providing humanitarian supplies, Israel has also sent rescue teams and medical personnel and set up mobile field hospitals in disaster-stricken areas worldwide.
Non-government Israeli humanitarian aid organizations, such as IsraAid (The Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid), Fast Israeli Rescue and Search Team (FIRST), Israeli Flying Aid (IFA), ZAKA, Save a Child's Heart (SACH) and Latet (Hebrew for "to give") provide various types of aid in foreign countries, complementing or in coordination with the official government aid. They provide humanitarian aid such as search and rescue teams to disaster zones, life saving aid to people affected by natural or man-made disasters, medical aid, disease prevention, urgent pediatric heart surgery and follow-up care for children from developing countries, and food aid.
Since the inception of its foreign aid programs, the Israel Foreign Ministry reports that as of 2020, Israel has provided international humanitarian aid to over 140 countries or territories, including states with no diplomatic relations with Israel.
History Israel has provided humanitarian assistance to developing countries in Asia, Africa, South America, Oceania, and Central Europe through the activities of Mashav,The Israeli Government's Official Website, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the Israeli Center for International Cooperation, created in 1958, with the goal to give developing countries the knowledge, tools, and expertise that Israel gained in its own development, and its ability to "make the desert flourish". This center trains course participants from approximately 140 countries on healthcare, as well as emergency and disaster medicine, and has participated in dozens of projects worldwide in fields economic fields such as agriculture, education, development, employment, and healthcare, as well as humanitarian fields such as disaster relief, reconstruction, and refugee absorption.see Dayan Yoni, Le Mashav – Centre de Coopération International Israélien, 118 p., 2006, available in Irice center for international studies in Paris 1 University and soon in Internet
Israel's humanitarian efforts officially began in 1957, with the establishment of Mashav, the Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation.
There are additional Israeli humanitarian and emergency response groups that work with the Israel government, including IsraAid, a joint programme run by 14 Israeli organizations and North American Jewish groups,Haim Yacobi, Israel and Africa: A Genealogy of Moral Geography, Routledge, 2015 p.113. ZAKA, The Fast Israeli Rescue and Search Team (FIRST),Ueriel Hellman,"Israeli aid effort helps Haitians – and Israel's image", Jewish Telegraphic Agency 19 January 2010 Israeli Flying Aid (IFA), Save a Child's Heart (SACH) and Latet.
In the 1970s, Israel broadened its aid agenda by granting safe haven to refugees and foreign nationals in distress from around the world. Since the 1980s, Israel has also provided humanitarian aid to places affected by natural disasters and terrorist attacks. In 1995, the Israeli Foreign Ministry and Israel Defense Forces established a permanent humanitarian and emergency aid unit, which has carried out humanitarian operations worldwide.Israeli Humanitarian Relief Operations – Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs As well as providing humanitarian supplies, Israel has also sent rescue teams and medical personnel and set up field hospitals in disaster-stricken areas worldwide.
Between 1985 and 2015, Israel sent 24 delegations of IDF search and rescue unit, the Home Front Command, to 22 countries. In Haiti, immediately following the 2010 earthquake, Israel was the first country to set up a field hospital capable of performing surgical operations. Israel sent over 200 medical doctors and personnel to start treating injured Haitians at the scene. At the conclusion of its humanitarian mission 11 days later,Marcy Oster, Israeli delegation leaves Haiti Jewish Telegraphic Agency 27 January 2010. the Israeli delegation had treated more than 1,110 patients, conducted 319 successful surgeries, delivered 16 births and rescued or assisted in the rescue of four individuals. Despite radiation concerns, Israel was one of the first countries to send a medical delegation to Japan following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. Israel dispatched a medical team to the tsunami-stricken city of Kurihara in 2011. A medical clinic run by an IDF team of some 50 members featured pediatric, surgical, maternity and gynecological, and otolaryngology wards, together with an optometry department, a laboratory, a pharmacy and an intensive care unit. After treating 200 patients in two weeks, the departing emergency team donated its equipment to the Japanese.Kinue Tokudome, 'Promise fulfilled Israelìs Medical Team in Japan,' The Jerusalem Post 18 April 2015.
After the dual earthquakes in Venezuela in June 2026, Israel provided recovery aid despite the two nations having had no bilateral relations since 2009."Israel to deploy earthquake relief delegation to Venezuela despite 17-year diplomatic freeze", i24NEWS, June 29, 2026. Accessed August, 2026. "At the instruction of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, a joint Israeli delegation will depart tomorrow for Venezuela to assist with disaster relief following a devastating earthquake. The move marks a highly unusual moment of cooperation between the two nations, which have not maintained formal diplomatic relationships since 2009, when Venezuela severed ties with Israel during the Gaza conflict." At a press conference, Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodríguez specifically thanked Israel for the specialized aid it had provided.Eichner, Itamar. "Venezuela praises Israeli aid after 17-year diplomatic freeze", Ynetnews.com, July 3, 2026. Accessed August 14, 2026. "Interim President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday became the first leader of the South American country since Hugo Chávez to publicly praise Israel, after an Israeli aid delegation arrived in Venezuela following the devastating earthquake disaster.... Although many countries sent aid missions, Rodríguez chose to single out Israel’s unique expertise. 'I would like to report that yesterday we received a highly professional and skilled group from Israel, which arrived following contact made through the Jewish community in Venezuela,' Rodríguez said at a press conference Thursday night.""Interim President Delcy Rodriguez publicly praises visiting Israeli disaster relief team, signaling a major policy shift from the previous Maduro era.", Arutz Sheva, July 3, 2026. Accessed August 14, 2026. "Interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez publicly praised Israel after an Israeli aid delegation arrived in the country to assist local authorities following last week’s devastating earthquakes. 'I would like to report that yesterday we received a highly professional and skilled group from Israel, which arrived following contact made through the Jewish community in Venezuela,' Rodiíguez said at a press conference Thursday night." In August 2026, Venezuela announced that it would restore diplomatic ties, with the Israeli assistance provided in response to the pair of earthquakes cited as a key factor behind the resumption of consular relations between the two countries.'"Venezuela and Israel restore consular ties as relations warm", Al Jazeera English, August 11, 2026. Accessed August 14, 2026. "In a statement on X, Felix Plasencia Gonzalez, Venezuela's minister of foreign relations, said the decision to restore consular ties came after Israel deployed a team to Venezuela after twin earthquakes devastated the South American country. 'The Governments of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the State of Israel report that they have agreed to continue bilateral technical cooperation derived from the emergency and recovery efforts following the double earthquake, as well as to establish a coordination mechanism for the provision of consular services to their respective citizens residing in both countries,' he said."
At the request of President Abelardo de la Espriella, Israel sent an 80-person delegation to help with rescue efforts in the aftermath of the magnitude-7.4 earthquake in August 2026, representing one of four nations for which Colombia specifically requested such assistance.Roitman, Ariella. "Israeli aid delegation arrives in Colombia to assist with post-quake rescue operations", The Jerusalem Post, August 14, 2026. Accessed August 14, 2026. "An Israeli aid delegation landed in Cali, Colombia, on Friday to assist with rescue operations, the Foreign Ministry announced, after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake shook the country earlier this week. The 80-person delegation includes officials from the IDF, the Defense Ministry, and the Foreign Affairs Ministry.... Currently, Colombia has requested rescue teams from only four countries: the US, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Israel."
See also Foreign relations of Israel
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