It was a Saturday morning, about 6:30 local time, when the first siren went off in Ramat Gan, just east of Tel Aviv. Allon Todres, business development consultant for global distributor The ODM Group, and his family didn’t know what to think as they took cover in the stairwell of their apartment building. Neighbors soon told them that terrorists had breached the Gazan border. It was hard to believe at first, says Todres. Then the news and videos started to come out, and their fears were confirmed.

What started as a joyous holiday weekend for Jewish communities around the world had turned into bloodshed, terror and horrific crimes against civilians in Israel.

On the morning of Saturday, Oct. 7, just as the observance of Sukkot ended – and on the 50^th anniversary of the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel, Egypt and Syria – Hamas terrorists launched a surprise attack against Israelis near the Palestine-controlled Gaza Strip in the Middle East. They launched rockets, paraglided in, bulldozed through a protective border fence and rode motorcycles into communities. Going door to door of private homes, they massacred people (most of them civilians, including women, children and the elderly) and kidnapped an as-yet undetermined number – including a wheelchair-bound Holocaust survivor. The country says about 1,300 people were killed in the initial breach.

Officials believe there are at least 150 hostages being held captive in Gaza, representing a number of different nationalities. The White House says that 27 U.S. citizens were killed and 17 are still unaccounted for. The Canadian government says three citizens were killed and four are missing, and is now arranging military flights for evacuations. Overall, the death toll on both sides now approaches 3,000.

In response, Israel quickly launched a rocket offensive into Gaza, warning civilians to flee as the military targeted Hamas locations with rockets and halted supply lines for electricity, water and food. Now, an Israeli ground invasion into Gaza appears imminent – more than a million people have been warned by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to move to the south of the Gaza Strip. As of this writing, more than 1,500 people have been killed in Gaza and thousands more injured, putting hospitals on the brink of collapse.

Currently, there’s a risk the war could become multi-front, and the long-term effect on the wider geopolitical situation remains uncertain. Over the past few days, Hamas has fired rockets from Syria, and Hezbollah has targeted Israel from Lebanon. And the death toll continues to rise.

Meanwhile, those in the promotional products industry in Israel – who either live in the country or have ties to it – are juggling work and the need to tend to the well-being of themselves, their loved ones and their neighbors.

‘Everything Is Tense Here’

Immediately after the siren and attack, Todres knocked on every door in his apartment building, making sure everyone was OK. He’s also been using his motorcycle to deliver donations to those in need. Since Saturday morning, they’ve heard nine or 10 more sirens go off, warning of impending rockets. Buildings just two miles away have been damaged by rockets – 2,200 were fired toward southern and central Israel in the initial attack.

“Everything is tense here,” says Todres, who has two young sons and continues to listen for sirens. “School was closed for the holidays and are still closed. We’re balancing work and volunteering. I’ve been in the promo industry so long, it’s actually keeping me sane right now. Of course, our locations in China, Vietnam and the Philippines, as well as sister company MindSparkz, are fully up and running. But Israel will not be the same as it was on Oct. 6.”

Philippe Varnier, former chairman of the board for Polyconcept, has dual citizenship in France and Israel. He and his wife recently returned to Paris after a decade living in Israel, though they still have family and friends in the Middle East. Sadly, three of his wife’s cousins are now missing. Residents of the decimated Be’eri kibbutz (a communal village) in southern Israel, close to the Gazan border, are either dead and still to be identified, or are being held as hostages in Gaza, which has an intricate 300-mile underground tunnel network.

“What happened last Saturday is the worst event against the Jewish community since the Holocaust,” says Varnier. “It’s traumatizing for all of us, triggering anxiety and an appetite for justice. The time has come to put an end to this terrorist organization. It’s also been a wake-up call. Israelis felt invincible and underestimated their enemies. This will hopefully not happen again.”

Daniel Laufer is the CEO and founder of distributorship Let’s Bench (asi/252551) in Jerusalem. While his immediate family is safe, “our lives have been turned upside down,” he says. The son of Laufer’s friends has been kidnapped, others have been called up to fight, still others have been killed. “It’s a nightmare with never-ending horror stories of inhumanity, but also of heroism,” he says. “My family is emotionally drained and working hard to help in any way we can. I’ve been trying to keep busy doing some work, but it’s difficult to concentrate for too long. We feel very vulnerable.”

It's hard to comprehend the magnitude of the loss, says David Glück, owner of W2P4U, a distributorship in Tel Aviv. “The IDF will respond to this barbaric attack with professionalism, determination and all the tools at our disposal,” he adds. “The fight will be long and difficult, but we will win.”

Benny Fridman owns Zikit Digital, a distributorship in Petah Tikva, east of Tel Aviv. While his business is currently open, most clients he serves are closed for the time being. “It’s deeply distressing to see such senseless violence targeting innocent lives,” he says. “The taking of prisoners based solely on their Jewish and Israeli identities is an affront to humanity and peace. Such actions only serve to perpetuate suffering and division, and they must be unequivocally condemned.”

“My family is emotionally drained and working hard to help in any way we can. I’ve been trying to keep busy doing some work, but it’s difficult to concentrate for too long. We feel very vulnerable.” Daniel Laufer, Let’s Bench (asi/252551)

Maxine Brand is ad specialties manager and the U.S. representative for Tailor Toys (asi/90589), a supplier headquartered in Pardes Hanna, Israel. She’s also the aunt of Shai Goiten, owner of parent company PowerUp Toys and a former Israeli military pilot. Goiten happened to be on a business trip to the U.S. when the fighting broke out, and is still making his way back to Israel. His sister, Brand’s niece, lives in a kibbutz near Gaza. Fortunately, security forces were able to repel the terrorists as they attempted to break down the protective gates on Saturday morning.

“We’re continuing to serve our clients and hope that innocent victims on both sides can be spared further death and destruction,” Brand says.

In addition to ASI’s contributions to humanitarian organizations, President and CEO Tim Andrews is supporting a friend who’s a former member of the Israeli military and is currently buying equipment for soldiers fighting Hamas. This is one of the service members who received gear.

Brad Adolph, national sales manager at Boca Raton, FL-based supplier Clothpromotions Plus (asi/45513), is also the vice chairman of B’nai B’rith International. This Jewish human rights organization is celebrating 180 years focused on public policy, support of Israel, senior advocacy and housing, and disaster relief. In fact, Adolph was scheduled to travel to Israel with a delegation on Sunday, Oct. 8, to meet with leaders and celebrate B’nai B’rith’s anniversary, along with Israel’s 1948 founding. Instead, he went to the United Nations in New York City later in the week for the same purpose: B’nai B’rith held a celebratory anniversary dinner in the city, welcoming ambassadors, state and local leaders, and organization supporters.

“The event will be tempered,” says Adolph, who’s been involved with the organization since high school. “But no faction can negate or stop the opportunity to celebrate these two great accomplishments.”

B’nai B’rith has opened an Israel Emergency Fund to support those in need, and the Jerusalem office is working in tandem with the U.S. State Department to evacuate American citizens. “B’nai B’rith will be here for another 75 years in support of the state of Israel,” says Adolph.

In the meantime, disaster-relief donations from promo companies continue. In addition to ASI’s matching contributions to United Hatzalah and IsraAID, HIRSCH (asi/61005) has given to Friends of the IDF and American Friends of Magen David Adom, and Top 40 supplier Gemline (asi/56070) has donated to NATAL, IsraAID and United Hatzalah.

“We stand with Israel and the many innocent casualties on all sides of this ongoing war – and hope for peace,” said Jonathan Isaacson, executive chair of Gemline, in an email announcing its $75,000 donation. “We support the members of our community who are impacted by the violence that continues to unfold.”