Due to the escalation of conflict in the Middle East, the region is facing yet another wave of devastation. Since Saturday, March 1st, Israel has been enduring relentless missile barrages as part of the escalating conflict. Millions of Israelis are sheltering in place. Schools are closed. Public gatherings are banned. Daily life is dominated by sirens, fear and uncertainty. Families who had only recently begun to rebuild their lives after October 7th now find themselves once again underground — in bomb shelters, stairwells, safe rooms — waiting. The psychological toll of this sustained insecurity, layered on top of years of accumulated trauma, is immense. People are afraid, exhausted, and isolated.
When everything closes, mental health needs increase
For the communities we serve — frontline families near the Gaza border, unaccompanied minors from the Russia-Ukraine war, Arabic-speaking minorities, and others already living with unprocessed trauma — this escalation is another layer of crisis added to years of complex emotional distress. Schools that provided structure and safety are closed. Social networks that offer connection are suspended. The need for mental health and psychosocial support is not paused. It has intensified.
Our Approach: Focusing on local needs
OlamAid has been delivering intercultural mental health and psychosocial support across Israel since May 2024, serving over 1,700 people across frontline communities, educational residences, and minority groups.
Our team remains operational. We are constantly assessing the situation and adapting our support. Here is what that looks like right now:
◆ Our Resilience Center in the south remains open, offering not only therapeutic programming — art and music therapy, group sessions, and drop-in support — but also a physical safe shelter equipped for emergencies. In a time when people are cut off from their communities, it is a place to find support and gather strength
◆ Our team is maintaining direct contact with the affected communities, providing remote psychosocial support and online sessions where in-person programming is not safe.
◆ Staff at our partner boarding schools are being supported through regular supervision and crisis psychoeducation, so they can in turn support the students — including unaccompanied minors who are already carrying the weight of displacement and war — in their care.
◆ Safety guides everything. Travel and in-person activities are assessed daily. We move with the situation, cautiously, but without abandoning those who need us.
Families are under attack and need your support.
If you believe that no one should face a crisis alone please consider making a donation today. Every contribution directly sustains the mental health support that vulnerable communities in Israel desperately need right now and in the coming weeks and months.
→ DONATE NOW AND ENSURE SUPPORT REACHES PEOPLE ON THE GROUND
