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For both Israelis Palestinians NGOs offer essential support during war
The Israel-Hamas war has resulted in displacement and disruption for people in both Israel and the Gaza Strip, and donations and NGOs are playing a crucial role in providing meals, clothing, shelter, and other necessary items during a chaotic time.
The Ezrat Achim Medical Assistance Center, based in the Israeli town of Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, provides medical equipment and assistance across the country.
Rivky Tyberg, the organization’s director of donor relations, said that before the war, Ezrat Achim mainly assisted people in the Beit Shemesh area, which has no hospital. However, following Hamas’ murderous rampage in Israel on Oct. 7 and the subsequent outbreak of the war, more than 200,000 Israelis from the northern and southern border areas were displaced from their homes to other parts of Israel, necessitating a shift in the organization’s operational approach.
“As soon as the war began, we kind of mobilized all the volunteers and the whole network that we had already set up,” she said. “We were able to be cooking and delivering 2,500 meals a day, which were for the families who were displaced by the war. We also opened a pop-up shop, which was free. They had really come with nothing, and especially as it started to turn wintry, even if they brought a bag with some clothing, they certainly didn’t have winter clothing and coats and things.”
Tyberg said that the large-scale displacement has become a pressing issue. Many families who came to Beit Shemesh are from areas that suffer frequent rocket bombardments from the Gaza Strip, but they are not from the border areas that were officially ordered to evacuate, and therefore they are not eligible for hotel stays funded by the government. However, many of those families are from poor socioeconomic backgrounds and cannot afford to pay for extended stays in hotels. Donors sent the organization funds to help pay for such families.
“Ultimately, we also were able to get a donation from someone in America that enabled us to pay for short-term rentals for some of the families,” Tyberg said. “We were calling all the real estate agents if there were any empty apartments and trying to find places for people to stay.”
Meanwhile, veteran American non-profit organization Anera (American Near East Refugee Aid) provides humanitarian and development aid to refugees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Jordan, and Lebanon.
Sandra Rasheed, the organization’s country director for Palestine, told The Media Line that while Anera’s operational approach has remained unchanged during the war, it has significantly intensified its efforts to aid civilians in Gaza.
“We started almost 55 years ago. It started in 1967 after the [Six-Day] war that left so many Palestinians displaced,” Rasheed said. “It was created by Palestinian-Americans, Arab-Americans, people who are interested in social justice, who wanted to find a way to support the mass exodus of Palestinians out of Palestine. Prior to this war, we worked in education, focusing on early childhood development, shelter, food security, health, medical donations, and community infrastructure. All of that was put on hold.”
It is estimated that some 1.9 million Gazans, over 85% of the population, have been displaced in the current war, and the World Health Organization has reported an increase in diseases attributed to overcrowded conditions in the refuge areas.
“Since the response started, we have distributed more than 6 million meals to people who have been displaced. That includes food parcels, vegetable baskets, and hot meals,” Rasheed said.
“We have facilitated 55 psychosocial sessions for children, so they have guided activities for play and stress relief. We have 55 shelters that we clean on a rotation basis. It’s not just our team that is working. We’ve been able to mobilize a network of over about 450 volunteers, partners, farmers, vendors, and other partner organizations to support us in the work that we’re doing.”
The formidable challenges
Both women acknowledge encountering formidable challenges in delivering assistance.
Tyberg said that urgent calls from displaced Israelis seeking assistance are repeatedly forced to end abruptly because of rocket alerts.
“I would say that the hardest part for all the people here in the organization and all the volunteers was really that point where we had just gotten hundreds of phone calls coming in from families who were desperate. They would suddenly tell us there was a warning siren and hang up,” she said.
“We would wait by the phone fearing for their lives. Then they would call back, like, 20 minutes later and say, ‘OK, everything’s OK. So, listen, when could you come and get us out of here? We’re desperate. We need a place to go.’”
In the Gaza Strip, one of the major challenges faced by many volunteers and workers is fear for their own lives.
“We try to provide the coordinates so that people, so Israel, knows that these are shelters for staff of an American organization working for the displaced,” Rasheed said. “But our team have said time and time again that if we’re going to die, we’re going to die serving our people. We’re going to die serving the people that need support.”
Rasheed said that fuel is crucial to the organization’s ability to deliver food to Gazans.
“Our work is reliant on being able to deliver the food to people in shelters,” she said. “Having our team go to these shelters and provide the interventions and fuel is more precious than gold right now, and it’s one of the hardest things to attain. And without fuel, we can’t operate.”
Tyberg said the war is exacting a heavy psychological and emotional toll on the Israeli population.
“There are just so many people who know people who’ve been affected terribly. And it’s just this very heavy feeling that we all have that it’s just inescapable, just hanging over everyone,” she said.
Rasheed called for a permanent cease-fire to end the conflict.
“I think what we’re asking for is people to advocate for a permanent cease-fire. The situation is very critical. We need a permanent cease-fire. We need a solution,” she said.
Lana Ikelan is a recent graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an intern in The Media Line’s Press and Policy Student Program.
The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.
The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.
“Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel,” Biden said in the memo.
“While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States.”Increased attacks since Oct.7
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a “support front” with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel’s military assault in Gaza.
The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.
On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.
Hezbollah is an Iran-backed terrorist group and the most powerful military and political force in Lebanon.
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Preparing for war: Haifa mayor describes city’s infrastructure changes tensions in North escalate
Haifa mayor Yona Yahav spoke this past Monday with Lior Rosenfeld on Radio North 104.5FM about the escalation of the war in the North and his entry into political office amidst the security situation.
Yahav began, “I cannot speak on behalf of the North as I don’t know exactly what’s happening there. No one updates me, as if we are not the largest and most important city in the North. Tomorrow, the Home Front Command is coming to see us for the first time, and we will see what they have to say. We are doing everything to ensure that the city itself and our residents are safe and know what to do in case, God forbid, missiles fall on us. They are more accurate than those in 2006.”
Yahav also discussed the city’s preparations for a war in the North.
“We are now changing the entire method of building public structures,” Yahav said. “We are preparing them for prolonged stays. The minimum will be four consecutive days in shelters and such buildings, which require preparation. For example, installing toilets, which we don’t have today, and we have given instructions to build them in places close to where new houses are being built. This has been fully understood, and developers have begun to understand that the talk about evacuation and reconstruction has undergone drastic changes in light of the security situation. For example, road width needs to be maintained for the sake of evacuating residents on these roads. These are things that were not considered until now and must now be taken into account.”
Yahav’s plans for the success of Haifa’s future
Yahav then discussed his appeal to the transportation minister to stop the Highway 23 Carmel Tunnels’ toll charge.
“We called on the transportation minister to stop the discrimination. Haifa and the North are always discriminated against compared to central Israel, and there’s no reason for this. There are huge tunnels dug in Jerusalem that do not cost residents any money to pass through. There’s no reason why the tunnels dug in Haifa should include a toll. I speak on behalf of Haifa residents, and we are preparing to petition if we do not receive an answer.”
Regarding his entry into his mayoral role about three months ago, Yahav said, “I found a completely ruined city. They destroyed the municipality, and it’s very difficult to move things around. I don’t understand how residents sat idly by and kept quiet. We are trying to go to government offices to fix relations, to get funds, to move projects to bring in fees – and we are doing all this in a short time.
“The ministers are acting openly and with the goodwill to help. I am now waiting for the money on the table. The casino building in Bat Galim will be a luxurious hotel on the Bat Galim seashore. This neighborhood will undergo a complete transformation and will be the most beautiful neighborhood in the country. It will also be the only neighborhood facing a recognized beach. We came to make a change, and we will succeed.”
In conclusion, he touched on the issue of wild boars: “You won’t be able to follow them because soon you won’t see them anymore.”
world news
‘Psychological operation’: Turkey condemns FM Katz social media post depicting toddler Erdogan
Turkey’s Foreign Affairs Ministry released a statement on Sunday condemning a social media post made by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, in which Katz presented Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan as a toddler on the lap of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Katz, in a Sunday post on X, wrote “Erdogan @RTErdogan finances and arms terrorist organizations of Hamas to carry out attacks and murder against Israelis. The General Security Service captured a squad of students from Bir Zeit who were employed by the Hamas headquarters in Turkey to carry out murder attacks in Israel, through training and weapons and tens of thousands of dollars provided to them.
“Erdogan turned Turkey into a state that supports terrorism and subjects Turkey to the Iranian axis of evil in the name of extreme ideology and blatant anti-Semitism.”
Katz’s comments were made in reference to a recently thwarted terror attack planned by the student Hamas cell in Bir Zeit University, north of Ramallah. The attempted attack, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said, was directed by Hamas’s base in Turkey.ארדואן @RTErdogan מממן ומחמש ארגוני טרור של החמאס לביצוע פיגועים ורצח נגד ישראלים. שירות הביטחון הכללי לכד חוליית סטודנטים מביר זית שהופעלו ע”י מפקדת החמאס בטורקיה לביצוע פיגועי רצח בישראל, באמצעות אימונים ונשק ועשרות אלפי דולרים שסופקו להם.ארדואן הפך את טורקיה למדינה תומכת טרור… pic.twitter.com/R0SCjYdngN
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) July 21, 2024
Turkey condemns the social media post
The Turkish ministry responded “The Israeli Foreign Minister is trying to hide Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians behind a series of lies, slander and disrespect.
“Israel’s dirty propaganda targeting Türkiye and President Erdoğan, and psychological operation attempts will not bear fruit.
“The members of the Netanyahu Government, who have killed nearly forty thousand Palestinians in Gaza and are now trying to start a regional war in order to stay in power, will be tried in international courts and held accountable for their crimes.
“Türkiye will continue to speak the truth and defend the right of the Palestinian people to live in justice and peace.”
The ministry cited data provided by the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Additionally, Turkey has repeatedly asserted that it does not categorize Hamas as a terrorist organization – despite its western allies acknowledging it as such and its proven attacks on Israeli civilians.
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