From Daniel Kahn, NATAN Chair
I have just returned from Ofakim, a tranquil town only 16 miles from Gaza, which endured the loss of 53 citizens on October 7.
Dr. Eitan Shachar, the head of NATAN’s psychosocial team, was among the very first responders to arrive in Ofakim on that fateful Shabbat night. As he recounted the images of lifeless bodies strewn across the streets, he emphasized a stark contrast to other global disasters he has witnessed: The level of stress in Ofakim is not subsiding. Rather, the despair and an overwhelming sense of isolation are amplifying the trauma.
In response, NATAN has made a decisive commitment to bolster the resilience of the Ofakim community as they live with enduring trauma. Their trauma is deepening, not diminishing, with despair and anxiety rising from the sense of abandonment by the IDF and the government.
We have an immense amount of work ahead to help restore some hope. One elderly lady I met said it took her an entire week to summon the bravery to open her front door and step outside. Now, she stays near her home and smiles a small, sad smile. She feels better within her own walls, she says — where she directly witnessed the horror.
In a meeting with the Municipality Director General and the Head of the Welfare Services Department, we collectively resolved to establish a Community Resilience Center and provide sustained support for one year. Immediate assistance is critical but insufficient to NATAN’s overarching mission: To rekindle confidence and hope, and invest the time and required
resources to ensure the project’s success.
Please join us in our endeavor to support the Ofakim population.
On a typical residential street in Ofakim, a blood-stained sidewalk and a bullet-scarred home — evidence of the violence of October 7.
NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief’s regional clinics for evacuees, in central Israel and near the Dead Sea, are sustained by our volunteers’ vital expertise in medical, trauma and psychosocial support.
Help NATAN help Israel. The need is great. Please donate generously today, and share this message widely across your networks.
NATAN has expanded its operation to support Israeli civilian survivors of the Oct. 7th invasion.
Our large clinic in a hotel at the Dead Sea, operated together with Clalit Health Service and Maccabi Health Service, primarily serves evacuees from Sderot.
NATAN is working in close collaboration with Israel’s Homefront Command, the Ministry of Health, the local council and the country’s health services.
For more on NATAN’s work since the October 7 attacks, read more here.
NATAN’s medical volunteers serve thousands of displaced Israelis. Here is one patient’s message.
“I live in the Eshkol region of the Negev. I arrived at the hotel on the second day of the war, and I’m still here. After a week, I had a medical problem, I came to NATAN’s clinic, which offered excellent treatment. They evaluated me and then transported me to Soroka Hospital. Once I returned to the clinic, the staff made sure to ask how I was. Every day, they took care of me with medicine. They made sure to make an appointment for me for an x-ray and also to see a urologist.
I felt that the staff at the clinic somehow gave me back some joy. I want to praise the entire staff for the dedicated care and treatment every day with all my heart, and I wish for us and everyone that when everything is finally over and we can sit comfortably in our country.”
A NATAN nurse evaluates a displaced child in a NATAN clinic visit.
Family physician Dikla Agur volunteered in a NATAN medical clinic. She writes:
“A week after October 7, NATAN asked me to volunteer in their medical clinic near the Dead Sea. We opened the clinic in the morning and people began to flow to the clinic: a mother who gave birth on October 5, parents with young children, elderly people who were without their medication, healthy people with minor medical problems and people with chronic diseases, confused and clueless about their medications. All share a common denominator: they are shocked, anxious, exhausted. They are detached from the five-star hotel where they are housed since October 7, and think about home…”
For Dikla’s full story, read more here.
Marvin Waldman, an American NATAN supporter, writes:
“It is the Israeli people who define Israel. The people, the citizens, have come together to help, to comfort, to heal, and to protect. It’s the people—not the politicians — who continue to be the force that makes Israel the country we hoped it would be. Among these people is a group that makes all of Israel proud: NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief.”
Read Marvin’s full story here.
NATAN’s dental clinic in Eilat serves evacuees housed in area hotels.
Help us help the people of Israel. Please click here to donate.