Israel is facing a profound disability crisis intensified by war. Since October 7, the country has seen a surge in amputees, traumatic brain injuries, and psychological trauma.
According to Israel’s Ministry of Defense, more than 22,000 soldiers have been wounded since the war began, with over half coping with PTSD or other mental health injuries (Israeli Ministry of Defense, 2024). Hospitals, nonprofits, and volunteers have mobilized at extraordinary speed.
And yet, even as Israel mobilizes for those injured in war, there is another group whose needs are no less urgent, and whose window for help is far more fragile.
An unexpected crisis
Chimes Israel’s children with disabilities, ages 6 months to 3 years, are receiving therapeutic care in substandard buildings in the vulnerable city of Ashkelon. Located just six miles (10 kilometers) from Gaza, Ashkelon is directly in the line of fire during every escalation.
In the war that began on October 7, 2023, militant groups launched more than 8,000 rockets toward Israel in the months that followed, with over 5,000 fired in the opening hours alone, according to Israeli military and conflict monitoring analyses. In that barrage, Ashkelon was targeted by approximately 1,040 rockets, with hundreds landing in the city itself, accounting for a disproportionate share of the attacks on Israel’s civilian population centers.
Chimes Israel’s early childhood rehabilitation program in Ashkelon operates out of four repurposed residential houses never designed for use as therapeutic centers. They are overcrowded. They have lots of stairs. They are not fully accessible. Only three buildings have bomb shelters, and those shelters are too small to protect everyone. When a siren sounds in Ashkelon, people have only 30 seconds to reach shelter, per Israel’s Home Front Command. In these buildings, the toddlers, many with mobility challenges negotiating the steep stairs, never make it in time.
The developmental window that does not reopen
Early childhood intervention, especially between 6 months and 3 years of age, occurs during the most intense period of brain development. Early experiences do not simply influence development. They shape it.
As the International Resources Director at Chimes Israel, I have witnessed the extraordinary dedication of our early childhood therapists in Ashkelon. Our highly trained physical therapists, speech therapists, and occupational therapists work patiently and lovingly. They feel real joy when they help a child take their first supported steps and learn to communicate their needs for the very first time.
I have also seen how fragile that progress can be. When the homefront command force the center to close, therapy stops abruptly. Our staff members tell me, again and again, that many children regress. One senior pediatric therapist explained it this way: “When we lose continuity, we lose momentum. Some children stop walking as steadily. Others revert to earlier behaviors. They become more passive, more infant-like, because the repetition their brains depend on simply disappears.”
A fortified sanctuary for children who cannot wait
Chimes Israel’s vision is to build a fortified, modern, fully accessible Early Childhood Rehabilitation Center in Ashkelon. A place where therapy continues even during conflict. A place designed for children with disabilities with protected spaces that allow treatment to continue safely when sirens sound.
It is inspiring to see Israel care for its wounded soldiers and trauma survivors. We should continue to do so. But we must also act with equal effort for children born with disabilities and whose futures also depend on intense intervention. This intervention is urgent and time-sensitive. It cannot wait for quieter times.
Protecting Israel’s future also means protecting the children whose potential is being shaped right now. The babies in Ashkelon’s early childhood programs will grow up to be Israel’s soldiers and medics, teachers and engineers, parents and caregivers, and essential workers who hold this country together. Their ability to stand, speak, learn, and participate in society is being determined in these early years.
If we allow their development to be interrupted, we not only limit their lives, but also the strength and resilience of the society they will one day serve. A nation that knows how to care for its most vulnerable children is a nation investing wisely in its own future.
Pamela Azaria is the International Development Director for Chimes Israel, a nonprofit with 26 centers across the country serving adults and children with developmental disabilities. To learn more, visit chimesisrael.org.il/en.
Israel is facing a profound disability crisis intensified by war. Since October 7, the country has seen a surge in amputees, traumatic brain injuries, and psychological trauma.
According to Israel’s Ministry of Defense, more than 22,000 soldiers have been wounded since the war began, with over half coping with PTSD or other mental health injuries (Israeli Ministry of Defense, 2024). Hospitals, nonprofits, and volunteers have mobilized at extraordinary speed.
And yet, even as Israel mobilizes for those injured in war, there is another group whose needs are no less urgent, and whose window for help is far more fragile.
An unexpected crisis
Chimes Israel’s children with disabilities, ages 6 months to 3 years, are receiving therapeutic care in substandard buildings in the vulnerable city of Ashkelon. Located just six miles (10 kilometers) from Gaza, Ashkelon is directly in the line of fire during every escalation.
In the war that began on October 7, 2023, militant groups launched more than 8,000 rockets toward Israel in the months that followed, with over 5,000 fired in the opening hours alone, according to Israeli military and conflict monitoring analyses. In that barrage, Ashkelon was targeted by approximately 1,040 rockets, with hundreds landing in the city itself, accounting for a disproportionate share of the attacks on Israel’s civilian population centers.
Chimes Israel’s early childhood rehabilitation program in Ashkelon operates out of four repurposed residential houses never designed for use as therapeutic centers. They are overcrowded. They have lots of stairs. They are not fully accessible. Only three buildings have bomb shelters, and those shelters are too small to protect everyone. When a siren sounds in Ashkelon, people have only 30 seconds to reach shelter, per Israel’s Home Front Command. In these buildings, the toddlers, many with mobility challenges negotiating the steep stairs, never make it in time.
The developmental window that does not reopen
Early childhood intervention, especially between 6 months and 3 years of age, occurs during the most intense period of brain development. Early experiences do not simply influence development. They shape it.
As the International Resources Director at Chimes Israel, I have witnessed the extraordinary dedication of our early childhood therapists in Ashkelon. Our highly trained physical therapists, speech therapists, and occupational therapists work patiently and lovingly. They feel real joy when they help a child take their first supported steps and learn to communicate their needs for the very first time.
I have also seen how fragile that progress can be. When the homefront command force the center to close, therapy stops abruptly. Our staff members tell me, again and again, that many children regress. One senior pediatric therapist explained it this way: “When we lose continuity, we lose momentum. Some children stop walking as steadily. Others revert to earlier behaviors. They become more passive, more infant-like, because the repetition their brains depend on simply disappears.”
A fortified sanctuary for children who cannot wait
Chimes Israel’s vision is to build a fortified, modern, fully accessible Early Childhood Rehabilitation Center in Ashkelon. A place where therapy continues even during conflict. A place designed for children with disabilities with protected spaces that allow treatment to continue safely when sirens sound.
It is inspiring to see Israel care for its wounded soldiers and trauma survivors. We should continue to do so. But we must also act with equal effort for children born with disabilities and whose futures also depend on intense intervention. This intervention is urgent and time-sensitive. It cannot wait for quieter times.
Protecting Israel’s future also means protecting the children whose potential is being shaped right now. The babies in Ashkelon’s early childhood programs will grow up to be Israel’s soldiers and medics, teachers and engineers, parents and caregivers, and essential workers who hold this country together. Their ability to stand, speak, learn, and participate in society is being determined in these early years.
If we allow their development to be interrupted, we not only limit their lives, but also the strength and resilience of the society they will one day serve. A nation that knows how to care for its most vulnerable children is a nation investing wisely in its own future.
Pamela Azaria is the International Development Director for Chimes Israel, a nonprofit with 26 centers across the country serving adults and children with developmental disabilities. To learn more, visit chimesisrael.org.il/en.
