Venezuelan opposition leader says quake toll and damage are far worse than reported

Powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela and caused extensive destruction in Caracas and other areas. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the first quake measured 7.2 and a second one, about 10 minutes later, measured 7.5. Initial US estimates suggested the death toll could reach tens of thousands, but Venezuelan authorities had not issued official figures for the dead or missing.

Eduardo Bittar, a right-wing leader and coordinator of the opposition movement "The Road to Freedom" in Venezuela, described the disaster in an interview with Asaf Vaknin on mako. He said relatives called him in desperation and sent him video after video of dead people and heavy destruction until his phone crashed from the flood of messages. The quake struck on 24 June, one of Venezuela’s symbolic national holidays, when the country marks the Battle of Carabobo, and many families were at home and watching World Cup games, which made the impact even worse, he said.

Bittar sharply criticized the government’s response. He said ordinary residents are doing the work a prepared state should have been able to handle, with neighbors trying to rescue neighbors with their bare hands because the necessary equipment does not exist. Rescue teams, firefighters and volunteers, he said, are acting bravely but lack the machinery and technology needed to deal with a disaster of this scale, including heavy equipment to clear rubble and tools to quickly locate survivors under collapsed buildings.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said the Foreign Ministry was urgently preparing for the possibility of sending an Israeli aid delegation to Venezuela and was holding a situation assessment with relevant officials. Bittar called such help "absolutely critical," thanked Israel and the United States for their solidarity and rapid response, and said every hour matters because the difference between saving a person and arriving too late can be life or death.