Diary of An Israel Humanitarian Aid Relief Coordinator

Israeli children forced to live underground in bomb shelters, as Hezbollah bombs
their homes from Lebanon in cross-border terror attacks. Photo: Israel La'ad

By Raanan Levy
Israel News Agency

Jerusalem----August 20......Since several humanitarian Israel aid volunteers and I went up to Kiryat Shmona last week, we have been able to extend some real help, support and relief to hundreds of people.

I went home last Friday for Shabbat, for a break from the tough and traumatic work here. I drove last night back to Kiryat Shmona. This is one of my favorite drives in Israel. But last night was different.

From 20 miles south, I could see the flashes of IDF cannons firing into southern Lebanon, and occasionally, I could see a Katusha fall in and around this quiet and friendly town. I pulled aside, put on my helmet and my body armored vest. I thought it was surreal, if not amusing, to wear this protective gear, inside Israel.

I got to my friends' home at Kibbutz Dafna, just a few miles from Kiryat Shmona, and went to bed. It was not an easy nights sleep with the pounding of artillery, air-raid sirens and Katushas falling not far from my bed.

This morning, we got up, hooked the supply trailer to my SUV, and went into Kiryat Shmona, for another hot, demanding day of relief aid work, driving between Kiryat Shmona's dozens of bomb shelters, that are still, after almost 5 weeks of this, filled with thousands of Israelis, women and children, who are too poor to flee to safer areas in the country.

Already last week, we were able, to pay for some 10 families to go to Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv and move into comfortable hotels as a result of funds raised here on the Internet.

We discovered very quickly that many of them refused, because they had no money to live in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem as "tourists", even though we paid for their lodging. We started handing out small cash amounts to people whom we sent out, and they all left.

But many Israel civilians stay here, still. Today, we came into several Israel bomb shelters. In one of them, we found an air conditioner that failed 20 years ago.

We paid for a new one, and after speaking with a technician from Tiberias, we were finally able to have one brave guy come here to install it.

We gave them basic humanitarian aid relief essentials including baby food, Shabbat candles, hygiene supplies, and many other items the city can not provide. There is no shortage of food, however, basic needs in the "second circle", are very much needed.

We made several rounds to the local supermarket, relying on the local employees who already know us, to come and open the supermarket for us, despite the very real and lethal danger. We ran to the bomb shelters about five or six times. Some 80 Katushas have hit Kiryat Shmona today. One, fell right near us, and hit a single family home.

The Katusha rocket is a deadly weapon. It was first used by the Russians during World War Two as a cheap and fast moving substitute for hard artillery. The Hezbollah terror organization in Lebanon, with its financial and logistical backing from Iran and Syria, has used the Katusha rocket basically as a weapon of terror. For all it takes is just one Katusha rocket to fall in Haifa, Nahariya or Afula to turn foreign investors and tourists away. But this has changed in Kiryat Shmona, where a flood of Katushas fall packed with hundreds of small ball bearings. Each one acting as a bullet, able to fly up to 200 meters as the rockets make impact.

Two of Israel La'ad relief workers narrowly escaped death a few days ago, as a Katusha slammed into a field not far from where they were driving. Their front windshield was smashed as one ball bearing hit the rubber and steel area which holds the safety glass. The impact was five inches from the drivers' head. Besides being somewhat shaken up, they proceeded uninjured with their humanitarian mission and tried to relax that evening with a bottle of wine.

At the same time, another group of Israel La'ad workers went into an Israel bomb shelter, and witnessed a mother bathing her baby in a little plastic tub. This literally brought tears to our eyes. Kiryat Shmona is used to Katushas, but never ever, has it been hit so hard. Over the years, they had to run to the bomb shelters for a period of an hour or two, and then it was over.

This time, it is was consistently living underground, for the past five weeks. The brave ones, would run home for a few minutes, to do a laundry, or cook or take a quick shower.

Etti, is one of the young heroes of this war. She is a 25-year-old lady, whose husband is in Gaza, searching for Gilad Shalit for the past 5 weeks. She has 2 young children. Last week, we met her in the supermarket. We offered to pay for a hotel for her in Beer Sheba, Israel so she could be out of both physical and emotional danger, and closer to where her husband is now. She refused, saying that she can not leave Kiryat Shmona, because "who will sell food in the supermarket if I leave?"

Today, by chance we ran into her, in one of those gray, cemented bomb shelters. Only a week has passed. She was now sitting on her bed, not talking. Her two kids are being watched by someone else. A Katusha exploded near her on Saturday, and she just lost all of her motivation, after five weeks of being a hero to the community. It was not a ball bearing that ripped through her body, it was the effect of psychological warfare by Hezbollah terrorists now taking a deadly and traumatic effect. Some would call this "shell shock."

In another shelter, we found a 9-month-old pregnant woman, who also said she didn't want to leave because she had no money, and she was exhausted from being pregnant. We called our air conditioning guy who luckily was still around, and installed the second A/C unit in her shelter.

We visited the local clinic, and found a few elderly people who came to get some of their medication. They were there for many hours, too scared to walk back home to their street, in some cases, only 500-1000 feet away. We drove them to their homes, and walked them down to their local bomb shelter.

Israel La'ad finances are now running thin, but some of you who have received my recent e-mail updates, have helped us reach to more people who were able to make additional donations. The more we have, the longer we will be able to stay here in the north of Israel, and help out.

For me personally, it is the first time I am not in uniform, having been dismissed from the Israel Defense Forces some 2 years ago, due to turning 40. It is a very weird situation to watch this war on television, or from civilian type work. But I am thankful I found a way to help our brothers in the Galilee, who were placed in this situation against any logic, let alone their will. Please don't ask me why the Israel government has handled this crisis in such a poor and neglected manner, or why Israel has agreed today to UN 1701 cease-fire resolution, or why are poor innocent Israeli civilians forced to suffer as a result of war crimes - the bombing of civilian homes in Israel. These questions are serious, and I hope that the Israeli public will demand answers once this conflict is over.

In my 42 years of living in Israel, I have never dreamed the day would come that our governmental leadership would be so impotent, so confused, and so paralyzed.

Please help Israel La'ad humanitarian direct relief aid to reach many more people who wish to donate to Israel-laad. (www.israel-laad.org). Our work, which bypasses government bureacracy and weeks of red tape, goes immediately and directly to people who are in a deep despair. We are committed to continue for as long as the finances will last. Gai, Roni and I, have chosen Kiryat Shmona because it is the most dangerous and war ravaged place as of this writing, and the city where the least technical and government workers want to go. As I am writing this, air-raid sirens can be heard echoing throughout the town, and Israel artillery and jets are torching the skyline of what is normally, a tranquil resort region.

Israel La’ad was founded in 2004 by a group of businessmen to address the special needs of underprivileged groups in Israeli society. Raanan Levy, a Zionist activist and a former Advisor to the Prime Minister on World Jewish and World Christian Affairs, initiated the project and acts as the organization’s Chairman. Israel La’ad currently operates the "Feed the Hungry", Afternoon Learning Centers (ALC) and "Ride for Pride" projects in several towns across Israel and has been able to reach and provide relief to many people in need. Israel La’ad works hand-in-hand with the social and welfare services offices in the towns it operates. These offices direct Israel La’ad to those who need its help most.