Israel sends search and rescue team to Thailand following deadly earthquake

On Saturday night, Israel sent a 22-member search and rescue team to Thailand to assist in the complex rescue efforts following the deadly earthquake in the Southeast Asian nation. The decision was made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and coordinated with the Israeli Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. 

“The delegation will assist in constructing an intelligence picture for population-based and engineering-based rescue operations, and will continue working until the last trapped individual is rescued,” Israeli officials said, according to the daily news outlet "Israel Hayom."

At least 1,600 people were killed in Thailand and the neighboring country, Myanmar, and thousands have been injured. It is currently unclear how many individuals are missing following the disaster.

IDF Col. (res.) Yossi Pinto, the commander of the Israeli military’s reserve national search-and-rescue unit, is leading the Israeli delegation to Thailand. The Israeli NGO SmartAID has already been delivering crucial assistance in Thailand. 

“Leveraging our global logistic partners’ expertise helps facilitate the pickup and delivery of these critical resources to the capital, where our local team is preparing a warehouse to absorb the [equipment] and then distribute it to locations that will be determined in the next few days,” SmartAID said in an official statement. 

SmartAID Founding Director Shachar Zahavi explained what motivates him and his colleagues to immediately travel across the world to help humans in dire need of assistance. 

“I can’t stand the thought of a child crying in the dark, cut off from help. That’s why we do whatever we can to get there within hours. Those first hours are everything; when fear takes over, people need to know we are there for them. It’s personal for me, and it’s life or death for them,” Zahavi said. 

Thailand and Israel maintain close relations, with the Southeast Asian country serving as a popular destination for Israeli tourists. At the same time, thousands of Thai nationals work in Israel, drawn by the country’s higher wages.

In January, five Thai workers who were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack were returned to Israel, where they received a warm welcome. 

The Jewish state has a long tradition of dispatching search and rescue missions around the world. 

In February 2023, the IDF sent a large search and rescue group to Turkey following a devastating and deadly earthquake that struck Turkey and neighboring Syria. 

IDF Medical Corps Chief, Brig.-Gen. Dr. Elon Glassberg highlighted Israel’s role in assisting Turkey with professionalism, a strong sense of responsibility and national pride.

“This is a difficult hour for the Turkish nation, and we are proud that we can come and assist,” Glassberg stated. “The ability to send a hospital to another country is a unique ability. Few countries are able to do such a thing and we are proud to be the ones to come and help. We have done so in the past, we will do it this time, and we will do it like always, with professionalism, from a sense of responsibility and with a sense of pride … we will bring pride to the State of Israel.”