Supporting Displaced Communities in Israel

For two years, IsraAID has worked alongside Israeli communities, building solutions to their challenges in the face of ever-present emergency. From families finally returning home on Israel’s northern and southern borders to those still waiting for their loved ones held in captivity, IsraAID is a steadfast source of support. Together with the communities we serve, our partners, and our supporters, we are creating a stronger, more positive future every day.

Here are a few ways your support has made a real difference over the past two years for those recovering from the unimaginable.

Drawing "Home" in Therapeutic Art Spaces

3,000 displaced people found creative outlets in IsraAID’s 15 therapeutic art zones in evacuation centers after October 7. Together with our partner, Chosen (the local resilience center), we have since created the Art Truck, a mobile art therapy studio to bring these much-loved resources to people’s doorsteps as they return home.

Communities in the Eshkol region are spread widely around Israel’s south-west border near Gaza. The truck visits every community without a permanent space, offering them regular art therapy without travelling far from their homes or shelters.

IsraAID recently handed the Art Truck over to Eshkol regional council  so it can serve the whole area long-term.

Building Safety in Bedouin Villages

More than 100,000 Bedouin citizens live in unrecognized villages in the Negev, without rocket shelters or warning sirens. 17 Bedouin individuals were killed and six taken hostage on October 7. A Bedouin child was the sole casualty of Iran’s strike in April 2024.

IsraAID and our partner, AJEEC, installed the first shelters in dozens of Bedouin communities. We trained 350 community volunteers to lead emotional support games and activities, complementing physical safety with a sense of connection to the spaces and ongoing ways to process the challenging situation.

IsraAID went on to build community resilience centers in five villages, serving 6,000 people. The centers are equipped with shelters, electricity, classrooms, sports fields, and wifi. We trained community mobilizers to use the centers for emergency coordination and response.

Healing Connections

Survivors of the Nova Music Festival, where more than 360 people were killed on October 7, struggled with grief, survivor’s guilt, and the extreme violence they witnessed. Nova survivors are not a geographic community and many felt alone.

IsraAID partnered with a retreat center in Cyprus to give nearly 1,100 survivors a week of healing away from the stress of the ongoing war, with 250 therapists providing mental health support for small groups. Afterward, we connected participants to ongoing support.

Community Centered Education 

IsraAID recently held a summer theater program in Netua as part of a series of initiatives strengthening informal education in the far north of the country. IsraAID is partnering with Ma’ale Yosef and Upper Galilee regional councils to bolster social and educational resources. We are also partnering with a teaching college to support formal education.

The link between education and community resilience has been a key focus throughout this crisis. Our field schools in evacuation centers served more than 1,100 students, and we helped students and schools manage transitions every time communities moved.

From Return To Recovery: Supporting the Rehabilitation of Hostages and their Families

IsraAID is guiding “255 - Support for the Families of the Hostages”, an organization established by returned hostages and their families, to advance the community’s individual and collective rehabilitation. The 148 living returned hostages, their families, and families of the 59 deceased hostages face complex rehabilitation journeys. Unfathomably, 48 families are still waiting for their loved ones, unable to even begin recovery.

“255” asked IsraAID to share psychosocial support tools suitable for the magnitude of needs they face, help integrate
community members into its leadership, and systematize operations. IsraAID will stand with the hostages, their families, and “255” for as long as they need us.

Facing Future Crises Together

On June 14, 2025, an Iranian missile killed four people and injured many more in Tamra, an Arab Israeli town. Volunteers from the local community emergency response team (CERT), trained under IsraAID’s “Safe Harbor” program, were among the first to arrive. In partnership with the Israeli Association of Community Centers, IsraAID established CERTS in 137 towns and municipalities with diverse ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic populations.

IsraAID is now providing ongoing support for five underserved minority communities, including a new youth mental health and psychosocial support program in Tamra, in partnership with UNICEF. “I Support My Friend” trains children and adolescents to offer safe, age-appropriate psychological first aid to peers in areas where formal services are thin.

With your generous support, we will remain a steadfast partner for these communities, standing with them for as long as it takes.