Emergency Campaign for Victims in Southern Israel
Since December 19, Israeli communities are coming under fire from Palestinian rockets and missiles.
Kassam rockets, mortar shells and Grad Missiles are falling on Ashkelon, Ashdod, Netivot, Kiryat Gat, Kiryat Malachi, Yavne, Beer Sheva, Gedera, and of course all the communities around Gaza. Communities such as Beer Sheva, Gedera and Yavne are nearly 40 km (25 miles) away from the Gaza Strip, and have always been considered a safe distance from the shelling that has plagued southern Israel for the past 8 years.
On December 27, IDF forces began attacking terrorists in the Gaza Strip in “Operation Cast Lead”. In the first three days of the operation, three civilians and one soldier were killed in rocket attacks launched against Israel. 25 civilians and 30 soldiers were wounded during that time.
On January 3, IDF ground forces entered the Gaza Strip and began an offensive to root out terrorists and destroy remaining rocket supplies. Since then, six IDF soldiers have been killed in the fighting.
On Thursday, January 8, an Israel Defense Forces officer was killed and several soldiers wounded during a gunbattle with Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. The Kfir Brigade officer was killed when a tank force entered the area of the former community of Netzarim and were apparently bombarded with anti-tank missiles. Two other IDF soldiers were killed later in the day Thursday in separate gun battles with terrorists, bringing to nine the number of IDF fatalities since Israel began its ground operation in Gaza on January 3.
OneFamily Fund is providing active assistance in all the hospitals where the wounded are being taken and in every community throughout the south.
This support takes the form of emergency financial assistance for the purchase of food, transportation and other immediate necessities, the provision of supplies for protected rooms and shelters, organizing hosting of families from the south with families throughout the rest of the country, and bringing families out of rocket range for days of relaxation and leisure.
Telephone hotline for emergency housing assistance
Families throughout southern Israel have a home thanks to OneFamily. OneFamily volunteers are busy manning a telephone hotline, answering calls for help from hundreds of families throughout Israel’s south, and matching them up with families in the center and north of the country who are opening their homes to take them in.
Phone assistance to victim of terror families in the South
We are in phone contact with all the families we have been helping in the South, offering them help if they need it on an immediate basis. We are also continuing with home visits to families victimized by terrorist attacks both before the current fighting and during it, offering comfort, financial support, and the help the victims need to calm their nerves.
Visits to wounded victims in hospital
OneFamily personnel are visiting more than 150 wounded victims in hospitals throughout the south and center of the country, providing emergency first financial assistance and helping them through the bureaucracy that they face in the health system.
Visiting Houses of Mourning
OneFamily’s field workers are also visiting each of the bereaved families during the initial period of mourning for those who have been killed, sharing their compassion and sympathy, and bringing the closeness of family during the darkest of times.
Helping Our Soldiers
OneFamily Chairman Marc Belzberg personally visited IDF soldiers preparing to enter the Gaza Strip, delivering food packages and the warmth and support of tens of thousands of supporters from around the world. Thousands of water bottles have been distributed to soldiers in the Gaza Strip.
Bringing Families from the south to Tiberias
OneFamily is bringing 500 victims of terrorism from southern Israel to Tiberias for three-day retreats over the next two weeks.
Equipment and Assistance to shelters
OneFamily is answering the immediate needs of thousands of families in southern Israel, providing games, toys, books, and other activities to keep children busy in the shelters throughout the region.
Outings in Jerusalem
OneFamily is bringing hundreds of families from the south to Jerusalem for a day of fun and relaxing activities, including visits to the Western Wall and the Old City, trips to the zoo, visits to museums, and a warm meal.
Special help for youth and children
Youth Division coordinators are visiting families in the south one by one to offer specialized help for the children. For example, U, a 14-year-old orphan whose father was killed in a terrorist bombing in 2006, lives in Ashdod. A Kassam landed next to her and she began to panic. The Youth Division found a girl from the north who is a friend of hers from OneFamily’s camp, and arranged for U to travel to the north to stay with her.
Anti-Hamas Petition
OneFamily is bringing victims of terrorism together in common cause and representing them to government authorities. We have obtained the signatures of over 1000 victims of terrorism on a peitition against the government’s intention to transfer funds to the Palestinian Authority.
Pray for the wounded
OneFamily is constantly updating our list of the wounded, and we ask that you include them in your prayers, and recite some paragraphs of Tehillim (Psalms) on their behalf – for a full recovery from their injuries, and for the protection and safety of all the soldiers fighting to defend our home.
We need your help to continue providing these services. Please donate to OneFamily Fund now. Nearly a million Israelis are counting on you to help them survive.