Turkey, Israel and Iran were among the first countries to offer aid to Venezuela on Thursday after two major earthquakes killed at least 188 people there and injured hundreds more.

What happened: A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck roughly 100 miles west of Caracas late Wednesday, followed less than a minute later by a magnitude 7.5 tremor, according to the US Geological Survey.

Venezuela’s National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said on Thursday that the earthquakes killed at least 188 people and injured at least 1,520. 

USGS warned that the final death toll could fall between 10,000 and 100,000 people, describing the event as the most powerful earthquake to hit Venezuela since 1900. 

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it was “conducting a situation assessment with the relevant authorities in Israel and is examining the options for assistance.” There are currently no reports of Israelis being injured or missing in the natural disaster.

The Israeli Health Ministry is also preparing to send a medical aid delegation in coordination with the Foreign Ministry, per Israeli media reports. 

A number of Israeli nongovernmental groups announced their own missions to the country, including IsraAID, which said it was sending an initial team from its "ongoing mission in neighboring Colombia and its global Emergency Response Team.” Israeli emergency response organizations NATAN and ZAKA also said they were preparing to send teams to assist. 

Turkey said it was preparing its own relief response in coordination with Venezuelan agencies.

In a post to X on Thursday, the Turkish Red Crescent said it is carrying out “preparations to deliver the necessary support in coordination with our relevant institutions and the Venezuelan Red Cross.” The organization said it was “preparing our humanitarian aid materials, consisting of food and hygiene kits, for delivery to the region.”

It added that following initial discussions with Turkey’s disaster and emergency management agency, AFAD, “Preparations have begun to send search and rescue teams.” 

Per the post, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry made an official offer of assistance to Venezuela.

Background: Israel and Venezuela have no diplomatic relations. Diplomatic ties were severed in 2009 under President Hugo Chavez and relations remained frozen under Nicolas Maduro, who was ousted by US military operation in January.

Turkey has had longstanding relations with Venezuela. An estimated 27,000 Turkish citizens and people of Turkish descent reside in Venezuela. It was not immediately clear whether any had been killed or injured in the earthquakes.

Turkey itself suffered devastating earthquakes in 2023 that killed more than 5,500 people across Turkey and northern Syria and caused an estimated $34 billion in damage in Turkey.

Know more: Iran, which had maintained close ties with Maduro’s government, said it was ready to assist Venezuela with rescue and relief operations. On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei “expressed Iran’s readiness to offer rescue and humanitarian aid” to Venezuela, according to Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency. 

Per the report, Baghaei said that Iran’s Foreign Ministry had been in contact with Iran’s embassy in Caracas “since the early hours after the quakes.”

A number of other regional countries released statements of condolence to Caracas.