By ICEJ Staff Writers 

Over the recent six weeks of war with Iran, the people of Israel were rushing to bomb shelters over and over again to withstand the daily onslaught of Iranian ballistic missiles cruelly targeting the civilian heartland of this nation. With a fragile ceasefire in place as of this writing, things are a bit quieter, although the northern half of Israel is still being targeted by rockets and drones fired by Hizbullah in Lebanon. Despite these dangers, the staff of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem kept traversing Israel to view the damages, assess the areas of greatest need, respond to urgent requests for help, and encourage Israelis we met along the way.  

This latest chapter in the long conflict with Iran, known in Israel as “Operation Roaring Lion”, started just before Purim in late February and ended in a temporary ceasefire with Iran just as Passover week ended in early April. Here is a brief overview of the ICEJ’s urgent war relief efforts undertaken during this sharp escalation with Iran and its proxy Hizbullah in Lebanon.  

Thanks to the quick response of our Christian donors, the ICEJ Aid department was able to help in the following areas of urgent need: 

Assisting Holocaust Survivors 
The ICEJ assisted hundreds of Holocaust survivors across Israel, including the dozens of residents in our special warm home for survivors in Haifa. Our Christian team at the Haifa Home spent long hours with the residents in bomb shelters and made special efforts to keep up their regular activities with art lessons, exercise sessions, meal times and other daily care. 

The Christian Embassy also assisted many more Holocaust survivors through local partners and call centers that look after these elderly victims of Nazi cruelty. This included preparing and delivering meals, and providing food supplies to Holocaust survivors who could not leave home to shop for groceries due to the constant rocket threat. 

Also, we helped Holocaust survivors who do not live near easily accessible bomb shelters to move to safer locations for brief respites during the war. Many of these moves involved special transport needs in ambulances and wheelchair-accessible lift vehicles, while others were fine going by taxis and private vehicles. 

One such transport effort was for a Holocaust survivor in her 80s who needed special attention and care due to her fragile medical condition. She and her caregiver daughter were provided a week’s stay in a safe hotel, but she needed modified accommodations, transport by medical ambulance, and a heavy-duty patient hoist that is an essential part of her daily care. This special medical equipment needed to be moved with her both to and from the hotel. Most transport providers refuse to carry such heavy medical devices. But thanks to an exceptional effort, everything was found to allow her and the equipment to make the trip so she could enjoy her time of rest from the worries of reaching a shelter in time. 

In another very touching example of our outreach to Holocaust survivors, the ICEJ assisted a dear elderly man who our AID team met after his home and furnishings were all destroyed by a powerful missile impact in Beersheva. While visiting the blast site, ICEJ VP for Aid & Aliyah Nicole Yoder met Yoel, a Holocaust survivor originally from Poland who is now 90 years old. He was alone in his home when a missile landed next door. His daughter lives nearby and rushed over to check on him, but found his apartment empty, with the windows blown out and shattered glass everywhere. After a frantic search, she finally found her father unharmed, sitting peacefully in the sun on a chair near an emergency tent. He could not even remember how he had survived unscratched, but it was a miracle! After hearing Yoel’s story from the daughter, Nicole agreed on the spot to her request to purchase her father a new recliner chair, to replace the easy chair he had so enjoyed sitting in every day before it was destroyed. 
 
Helping Displaced Families 
The ICEJ provided special grants for dozens of Israeli families whose homes were severely damaged or destroyed by Iranian missiles. We also purchased furniture to help house 40 evacuee families taken in by our friends at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, just two kilometers from Gaza. 

Yad Mordechai bravely fought off waves of Hamas gunmen on October 7 before they had to be relocated for months elsewhere in Israel. That is why they generously decided to take in fellow Israelis who had to leave their homes damaged or destroyed by Iranian missiles during “Operation Roaring Lion”. These displaced families – about 150 people in all – arrived from cities across the country, including nearby Beersheva, where an Iranian ballistic missile strike levelled a number of apartment buildings. 

The Christian Embassy has visited Yad Mordechai many times over the years, and they instantly approached us for assistance in helping the displaced families they were hosting. We helped to purchase basic household items, furniture, mattresses and appliances to enable them to host these evacuated families who had lost everything. This included an elderly couple, both 85, who saw their home and neighbourhood in Beersheva completely destroyed by an Iranian missile. The couple are now slowly recovering from the trauma they experienced. 
 
Emergency Equipment for First Responders 
Since the Hamas invasion on October 7, the ICEJ has provided an array of emergency equipment to first-responder teams who must answer the call even when rockets are still flying. This has included donating five new ambulances, medi-cycles, and medical equipment and protective gear for EMTs and others emergency teams. But with even larger missiles now falling from the sky and many damaged homes near collapse, Israel’s Home Front Command is now requiring first-responders to have higher quality helmets and vests to enter damaged buildings. So, the ICEJ recently purchased two dozen sets of extra-protective helmets and vests for ZAKA volunteers. These upgraded safety helmets and vests were required by Israeli authorities not only due to the higher risk of building collapses, but also because of the growing threat from Iranian missiles armed with cluster munitions. Without this essential equipment, these first responders would not be permitted to enter damaged buildings to retrieve bodies or rescue victims who might be trapped there. 

We also donated 50 special Motorola communication devices for emergency response teams in the Galilee region. These unique encrypted walkie-talkies were instrumental in saving thousands of lives in the Gaza border communities during the Hamas terror invasion on October 7, and they are being put to good use now in the northern border area, which have faced intense rocket barrages once again from Hizbullah in Lebanon over recent weeks. In addition, the ICEJ is in the process of purchasing six new trailers to help local response teams in the Upper Galilee and northern border region transport vital emergency equipment to the scene of rocket impacts and other security incidents.  
 
Upgrading Public Bomb Shelters 
The ICEJ has upgraded 15 large public bomb shelters in the center of Israel with new handrails, lighting, ventilation, paint, and other improvements to make them more comfortable and safe for those repeatedly needing use of them. 

We also upgraded 9 public bomb shelters along the northern border for longer-term stays, by furnishing mattresses, chairs, tables, children’s activities, large fans, WIFI, and other items. 

In addition, the Christian Embassy delivered several new portable bomb shelters to communities in northern Israel amid the war. 
 
Special Activities for Children 
The ICEJ delivered toys and games to children stuck for long hours in bomb shelters on the northern border. We also funded group activity sessions for children of new immigrant families staying in Aliyah centers run by our partners at The Jewish Agency For Israel. 
 
Therapy Treatments 
The ICEJ sponsored trauma therapy for numerous families in Beit Shemesh, scene of a massive missile blast early in the conflict which killed nine civilians and wounded dozens more. We also funded group therapy sessions for new Jewish immigrants in Aliyah centers who are battling shock and fear from the massive Iranian missile impacts. 
 
Food Assistance For Families in Impacted Areas 
The Christian Embassy distributed gift card vouchers for food and other purchases to 130 needy families in severely impacted areas, including the Negev towns of Dimona and Arad where powerful missile strikes devastated entire neighbourhoods, and in Shlomi and other towns on the northern border under relentless rocket fire from Hizbullah in Lebanon. The gift vouchers can also be used to purchase clothing and basic household items as needed. 

Donate Today 
All of these relief aid activities were undertaken on top of the ICEJ’s many rebuilding projects already underway to help Israelis recover from some 30 months of conflict on seven fronts since the October 7 terror invasion. 

Please continue to support our urgent relief efforts to help Israelis bravely enduring this long war with Iran and its regional proxy militias. 

This is Israel’s hour of need! And the Israeli people are more open than ever before to our Christian love and care at this critical time. So, give your best offering today to our Israel in Crisis fund.