On the morning of Saturday, October 7, 2023, the Hamas terrorist organization launched a surprise attack on the Israeli towns and villages bordering on the Gaza Strip. In this attack, Hamas terrorists and Gazan civilians killed 1,200 Israeli and foreign citizens and kidnapped at least 243 individuals. This horrific event marked the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War.
At the time of the writing of this manual, the end of the war is not yet in sight. However, it is already clear that this is a crisis of major proportions – an emergency with extensive and profound negative impacts in the short, medium and long term, which will only intensify as long as the crisis continues. Civilians living close to the border with Gaza, who had experienced the carnage firsthand, have been evacuated. Residents of the northern border areas have also been evacuated, and communities across Israel have been targeted by repeated rocket attacks. This is an unprecedented event in Israel’s history, posting a challenge unusual in nature and scope.
The effects of the war on the needs of children and youth can be divided into two types:
- Direct effects: Physical, sexual, or psychological injury and harm; immediate and concrete threat to security and survival; loss of family members; evacuation and living as refugees; disintegration of communities; physical or emotional parental absence; difficulty in meeting the needs of children and youth; stress and emotional distress.
- Indirect effects: Economic slowdown; complete or partial shutdown of educational, leisure, and entertainment activities.
There are variations in the direct and indirect effects of the current crisis on the various communities around Israel, whether due to their level of exposure to the events that occurred or to their situation prior to the war. Therefore, and precisely because of current state of uncertainty, it is highly important to apply outcome thinking that includes orderly planning, monitoring and measurement, and judicious use of accumulated information to improve and optimize policymaking processes.
This manual is the product of a joint initiative by the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Outcomes Team and 360° – The National Program for Children and Youth at Risk. It is intended to help communities reorganize during and after the crisis based on the principles of outcome thinking that form the basis of 360° and which have been adapted to emergency and crisis situations. At the end of the manual are four appendices that will help in its implementation. Appendix A: Critical Needs of Children and Youth: A Questionnaire for Use in Crises and Emergencies; Appendix B: Work Stages Summary; Appendix C: Organization-Level Work Stages; Appendix D: List of Intermediate Outcomes and Examples of Work Practices.
For MJB’s publications on Israel-Hamas War in English, press here.
For MJB’s publications on Israel-Hamas War in Hebrew, press here.