Supporting Displaced Communities in Israel

Renewed and escalating conflict has brought daily life to a standstill across Israel this week. IsraAID is supporting communities that are displaced, facing anxiety, and in search of some normality. 

Hundreds of families in Tel Aviv, Bet Shemesh, and Be’er Sheva have been displaced for indefinite periods after direct missile hits on or near their homes. IsraAID is "helping the helpers" -- the municipalities and psychologists supporting these families -- by delivering emergency-specific training, and supplying resilience kits for them to give out. The kits are filled with stress relief activities and games for children to process through play, and tools for parents to help their families process fear and uncertainty, reduce anxiety, and deal with the disruption to their lives.

We are also ramping up guidance for our partner communities in the north. They are still recovering from years of war and evacuation, and many of them only recently returned home. IsraAID has been strengthening local response capacities together with regional councils and municipalities. Now, we are urgently supplying extra tools and equipment for the latest escalation. This includes community resilience kits, suitable for dozens of families in large shelters, and training for local educators and youth workers to support children through acute stress and crisis. Inbal, a leader from one of our partner communities, said: “We heard explosions and planes overhead all day. At first we didn’t understand, but now we know there is a war, and we know someone is looking out for us. This has given us a bit of space to breathe and focus on the children."

With IsraAID's support, the community was able to adapt their festive plans for the Purim holiday, keeping a sense of normality despite the upheaval. Inbal continued: "This brought us a few moment of joy, closeness, and a sense of belonging together, despite everything that’s happening around us."

IsraAID has responded to major humanitarian needs and new "crises within a crisis" across Israel since October 7, 2023, including during the previous Israel-Iran escalation in June last year. With your support, we will continue to support our partner communities as long as we are needed. Thank you!