Sanctuary animals and caretakers hide in Israeli bomb shelters amid Iranian strikes

Record ID: 2371952

  • Title: Sanctuary animals and caretakers hide in Israeli bomb shelters amid Iranian strikes
  • Date: 31st March 2026
  • Summary: OLESH, ISRAEL (MARCH 29, 2026) (REUTERS) (MUTE) DRONE VIEW OF BIRDS FLYING OVER ANIMAL SANCTUARY OLESH, ISRAEL (MARCH 29, 2026) (REUTERS) MEITAL BEN ARI, CO-FOUNDER OF FREEDOM FARM SANCTUARY, OPENING FARM GATE, SAYING (Hebrew): "Come on in." TURKEY, GOATS AND SHEEP IN THE FARM/ AUDIO OF BEN ARI SAYING (English): "You can see all the little goats playing with the little toy
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Iran Israel animals farm sanctuary sirens war
  • Location: OLESH, ISRAEL
  • City: OLESH, ISRAEL
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Middle East
  • Reuters ID: LVA001886231032026RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: At an animal sanctuary in central Israel, caretakers face a daily challenge of protecting both themselves and the animals amid ongoing missile threats from Iran and Hezbollah.
        When sirens blare, only some of the animals can be brought inside the small shelter, while others remain in the open farm area.
        "This is something that's really hard to describe when you are not here in Israel in these moments. All the staff members are running to the shelter, to the bomb shelter, and sometimes we try to bring also some animals inside. Because it's small, we can't bring everybody inside," says Meital Ben Ari, co-founder of the Freedom Farm Sanctuary, an animal rescue and educational non-profit organisation, located in Olesh community in central Israel.
        The sanctuary, serves as a refuge for mostly disabled animals and as an educational centre for visitors. 
        Since February 28, following U.S. and Israeli strikes in Iran, Israel has been under missile attacks from Iran and Lebanon, with many Israelis taking shelter as sirens echoed across different regions of the country.
        The conflict, now in its second month, has spread across the region, killing thousands, disrupting energy supplies and threatening to send the global economy into a tailspin.
        At the farm, staff said they must manage frightened animals as they reacted to the noise and chaos.
        Cows, goats, pigs, and turkeys run, as caretakers guide them to safer areas, balancing the urgency with the need to keep the animals calm.
        "Sometimes we are facing a dilemma of leaving the animals and go to the shelter. But we also think about - if something will happen to us, we wouldn't be able to take care of the animals," said Ravid Hizmy, an animal caretaker.
        Video footage from the farm showed a flock of sheep being rushed to a safer area when a siren sounded, and pigs and goats staying in a shelter alongside staff during recent strikes.
        Reuters was able to verify the location and the date when the videos were filmed from the original file metadata. Buildings, fencing and trees matched file imagery of the location and Reuters footage from the scene.
        Despite the fears and sometimes a long and sometimes risky commute to the sanctuary, Hizmy said that her love for the animals keeps her going.
        "It can be a little bit scary, especially when the alarm gets me on my way and I have to stop on the side of the road... but then I know that I'm about to go to the farm, to the place that everything will stop and the war will stop, and it's like a euphoria here," she says.
        The war has also created financial challenges for the sanctuary, a non-profit organisation, as fundraising activities have been suspended, said Ben Ari.
        But having made a commitment to the animals, she said the team "cannot leave the animals behind.”
    (Production: Miro Maman, Eleanor Whalley, Lee Marzel)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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