In the blink of an eye, the lives of Israeli children and teenagers living near Gaza were turned upside down. One day, they were attending school, forging their identities, and enjoying time with friends. The next day, they found themselves amid chaos and carnage, as rockets bombarded Israel and armed terrorists infiltrated their neighbourhoods.

These youngsters were quickly evacuated with their families from their homes to safer areas of Israel, but not before many witnessed atrocities committed in their very neighbourhoods. Some heard stories of friends or family members kidnapped. And all of them saw graphic images of the atrocities of October 7 circulating on social media, which caused many teenagers across Israel to experience secondary trauma. On top of all this, these youth have now been away from their homes and routines for well over six months. Those evacuated from northern Israel have no definite return date in sight, while those in the south are slowly trickling back home.

At the ICEJ, we are committed to supporting initiatives that build inner strength and foster healing. One such social aid project is a respite camp for evacuated Israeli youths hosted in the Galim Youth Village near Haifa.

You can see how the ICEJ is helping the evacuated youth by clicking the button below.