By Nativia Bühler

As sirens blare across the nation day and night to warn of incoming missiles from Iran or Hizbullah, one-third of all Israelis have nowhere to run for shelter. That is the harsh reality right now in Israel’s pivotal war against the Iranian regime and its regional proxy militias.

Thirty months of fighting against the Iranian-led axis has exposed critical vulnerabilities on Israel’s civilian home front. A recent report by the State Comptroller found that some 3.2 million Israelis have lacked access to adequate bomb shelters since the Hamas terror invasion on October 7, 2023. For those who do have protective spaces nearby, more than 10 percent of the existing public shelters are unfit for use, usually due to poor maintenance and neglect.

For families with young children, the elderly, and those with special needs, getting to a shelter in time can be a traumatic experience in itself. Just a few days ago, a 102 year-old man fell down a flight of stairs and died trying to reach a bomb shelter in time.

Amid these challenges, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem has continued its long-standing commitment to Israel’s security by placing bomb shelters in communities most at risk. Thanks to the support of Christian donors from around the world, the ICEJ has provided more than 250 portable bomb shelters and renovated hundreds more existing shelters over the past 15 years. These shelters have been protecting lives every day of this prolonged conflict, strengthening the nation’s remarkable resilience and serving as tangible expressions of Christian solidarity with Israel.

The gaps in protection are most acute in northern and southern Israel, and the Christian Embassy has been working to identify and address these “blind spots.” The need is greatest right now in the Upper Galilee, an area that has come under intense rocket and drone attacks since Hizbullah in Lebanon rejoined the battle two weeks ago.

For Israeli communities close to the border with Lebanon, the time to reach safety is very short. Often, the explosion of a rocket impact comes at the same time as the alarm. Therefore, families in these far northern areas need to spend long periods in public shelters. Many of these shelters need repairs, and requests have poured in for assistance to make them more habitable. We also have been asked to help with mattresses, tables, children’s activities, fans, WIFI, and other items to make the long stays more comfortable.

Over the past year, the ICEJ had already focused on communal hubs in the North. We placed new bomb shelters in a youth village in Kfar Galim, as well as at a food distribution facility for low-income families in Karmiel. Four more shelters were delivered to the Merom HaGalil region, including one at an elementary school bus stop and another near the nature school in the Meron Forest.

The ICEJ started 2026 by sponsoring another new shelter in a trauma treatment center in the Golan Heights. An additional shelter is now protecting art centers for disabled Jewish and Arab youths in the Zevulun region east of Haifa, while another was just placed beside a kindergarten for immigrant children in nearby Kiryat Ata. By securing these vital spaces, the ICEJ is helping to prevent the “secondary trauma” that arises from a life of constant hyper-vigilance.

But the need for additional bomb shelters in the North is more urgent than ever, as Hizbullah is currently throwing all it can at the towns and villages of the Galilee amid an intense existential battle with the IDF. The same comptroller’s report found that only 3 percent of Arab towns have adequate shelters, and the ICEJ is particularly concerned about the highly-exposed Christian villages across the Galilee.

We are asking Christians worldwide to once again stand with Israel by helping us to protect battered communities across northern Israel, and especially Christian towns in the Galilee now under withering fire from the radical Islamist militia Hizbullah.

The need is extremely urgent! So, please give to our “Israel in Crisis” fund today to help us provide more bomb shelters to those enduring terrifying barrages of rockets and drones in northern Israel.

Main photo: ICEJ-sponsored shelter being delivered to Sadot Negev Resilience Center. (Credit Rafi Babian)