Residents of the Gaza envelope have only a mere 15 seconds to reach the safety of a bomb shelter. (Photo: KKL-JNF Photo Archive)
For 10 days in May, during Operation "Guardian of the Wall", residents of the communities in Israel’s Gaza envelope, along the border with the Gaza Strip, practically lived inside their bomb shelters.
While missiles from the Gaza Strip were also launched into the coastal cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod, as well as into Israel’s Gush Dan region, residents of the Gaza envelope had only a mere 15 seconds to reach the safety of a bomb shelter after hearing the "red alert" siren.
"On the day the shelling started, we received emergency messages that we had to enter the bomb shelters immediately, and for a few days we did not leave them," said Yael Raz Lahiani, a resident of Kibbutz Nahal Oz, located less than one kilometer from the Gaza border, who lives on the kibbutz with her husband, Ofer, and their children Yoav (16), Gilad (12) and Ayala (9). "We have been living this reality for years, but each time we are forced, once again, to stop our lives without knowing how long it will last. We left the shelter only to get food," she said. "The children are scared and confused," she added. "Uncertainty is the hardest thing."
Kindergarten in southern Israel during rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. (Photo: Sivan Besa, KKL-JNF Photo Archive)
Residents of southern Israel and the Gaza periphery have been exposed to rocket and mortar attacks from the Gaza Strip for years. Dozens of civilians have been killed and thousands of others have been injured. Though resilient, the residents of southern Israel live in a state of permanent trauma.
Made up of some 54 mostly agricultural settlements, including kibbutzim and moshavim, the Gaza envelope also includes the city of Sderot. The people who choose to live in the western Negev are drawn to its unique beauty: desert landscapes, fields of arid land crops, desert forests and flora, and inviting leisure sites.
Most recently, as tensions between Hamas and Israel increased in early May, Hamas launched thousands of rockets toward Israeli towns and cities, including Jerusalem. A 10-day military confrontation ensued with Israel’s Iron Dome defense system intercepting 90 percent of the over 3,000 missiles launched into Israel by Hamas, saving thousands of lives. However, sadly, 13 Israelis were nevertheless killed.
In the northwestern Negev, KKL-JNF's firefighters battled wildfires ignited by explosives-laden balloons launched from the Gaza Strip. Since the beginning of May 2021, there were ~130 fire events, burning dozens of hectares of KKL-JNF forests.
KKL-JNF and the Gaza Envelope Communities
Committed to ensuring the best quality of life for the special people who walk their talk—the Zionists of the 21st century who choose to raise their families in the periphery in the communities on the confrontation line—KKL-JNF has, throughout the years, developed projects for their benefit. These include preparing land for housing and agriculture in new and veteran communities, developing public open spaces and community forests for health and quality of life, developing income-generating tourism infrastructure, developing agricultural security roads so that farmers can continue to work in safety, planting life-saving security trees to deter sniper fire coming from Gaza, developing innovative, informal education initiatives for a sustainable future, and more. By implementing these projects KKL-JNF leads the "fight for normalcy" in the periphery—the best response to violence and terrorism.
Promoting projects of significance in this volatile region—marking its fifteenth year since the Gaza disengagement—is a priority for KKL-JNF, which supports the determination of the residents of the south to live a normal, productive life despite the hardships. One of the many important projects supported by KKL-JNF is the construction of, and vital services provided by, Trauma and Resiliency Centers in the south.
Bomb Shelter placed in a School. (Photo: KKL-JNF Photo Archive)
Life-Saving Bomb Shelters
Throughout the year, KKL-JNF, with the support of KKL-JNF friends worldwide, works to help people in Israel's south to study and work in safety. This latest round of violence made it clear that KKL-JNF's work continues to be critical in providing the communities with security and a semblance of normalcy, and also emphasized the crucial need for more portable bomb shelters in open spaces.
At Kibbutz Kfar Aza it was these portable bomb shelters, many donated by KKL-JNF friends around the world, which allowed Varda Goldstein and her family to remain at home during the shelling. Though most families preferred to evacuate the kibbutz during this tense period, the Goldstein family insisted on staying, including Varda's two children and her eight grandchildren.
“We went in and out of the shelter all day. The thunder of the artillery felt like they were striking us repeatedly" she recounted, adding that despite it all, she still feels most secure and protected at home. “It does not suit me to move from place to place and feel like a refugee. We need to protect our homes from within. We reinforce each other and are strengthened by the community that stays here, together."
She said the prefabricated portable bomb shelters scattered throughout the kibbutz, as in other border communities, are a key component in the security of the residents throughout the year, especially during periods of security tension. “We could not live here without these portable shelters, because in the event of a siren we only have 15 seconds to get to a safe place. They save lives," stressed Varda, adding: "Many of the localities in the area need more portable shelters. When we can finally get out of the shelter, it is important that we can do so safely."
"The help we receive from KKL-JNF friends worldwide is a wonderful example of the shared destiny between Israel and the Jewish people and its friends," said Varda. "Everyone helps in whatever way they can, and we are truly grateful for that. The very knowledge that are in their minds in these difficult times is deeply comforting and reassuring,” she said.
Bomb Shelter in residential area. (Photo: KKL-JNF Photo Archive)
Currently, to help communities and residents living on the front lines in southern Israel and the Gaza Envelope who are constantly exposed to rocket and mortar fire, KKL-JNF, in coordination with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, hopes to soon be placing some 100 new portable bomb shelters in strategic locations, so that residents are better protected and have accessible and immediate protection.
This can only happen with donations from friends of KKL-JNF worldwide, who have shown their immense love and support as Israel fought to defend itself from terror attacks and the constant barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.
"KKL-JNF considers it of paramount importance to help, assist, and protect the residents of the Gaza envelope during these sorts of emergencies, just as it is important during calmer days. KKL-JNF, through this acquisition is taking part in the national effort, supporting farmers, agriculture workers and civilians of the Gaza envelope and southern Israel, so that they are able to maintain their livelihoods and stay safe," said KKL-JNF World Chairman Avraham Duvdevani.
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