Gali Eilon, 16, guided soldiers under fire during the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks. Rajwan Safadi, a 10-year-old from Jadal Shams, warned friends of an incoming missile attack despite being injured. Harel Handin, an 11-year-old living with cerebral palsy, advocates for hostages.

These are a few of the 13 recipients of the inaugural Resilience Award for Children and Youth, which was presented in recognition of “their efforts during the war” at a ceremony in Tel Aviv on Wednesday evening by the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Hayesod and the resilience-focused Mashabim Resource Center. Other winners include children and teenagers who volunteer with displaced people, advocate for Israel on social media, memorialize those killed in the war and more.

In addition to the 13 recipients of the award, who received a scholarship of NIS 4,000 ($1,100), another 13 received “commendations” at the award ceremony. These included Bar Dekel-Chen, 8, who survived the Oct. 7 attacks in her family’s safe room while her father — Sagui Dekel-Chen — was kidnapped by terrorists (and returned under the ceasefire deal in February); Shoham Sabaghi, 13, who helped shelter survivors of the Nova music festival massacre; and Ariel Avichazer, 17, who provides free haircuts to soldiers.

The Resilience Award for Children and Youth was launched earlier this year by the Jewish Agency’s Fund for the Victims of Terror — in partnership with Keren Hayesod and the Kiryat Shmona-based Mashabim Resource Center — in honor of Ofir Libstein, the mayor of the Gaza-adjacent Sha’ar Hanegev region, and his son, Nitzan, who had overcome post-traumatic stress disorder as a child, both of whom were killed, separately, during the Oct. 7 attacks on their home kibbutz of Kfar Aza.

“Nitzan was able to come back from his post-trauma and to help other children and teenagers going through the same thing… and [the award] is a very important way to mark his memory and Ofir’s memory to say that in spite of everything we are going through we can come out stronger and hopeful to the future,” Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin, the head of the the Jewish Agency’s Fund for Victims of Terror, told eJewishPhilanthropy when the award launched in January. “I think the most important thing about the resilience award is that hope is always there, and these children and teenagers and youth movements are the hope for all of us.”

In addition to the individual children and teens who received recognition, the Jewish Agency also presented the award to two groups — the “SACHI Jonathan Yechini” group, from Moshav Yechini in southern Israel, which honors the memory of resident Yehonatan Hagbi, 18, who was killed in the Oct. 7 attacks, by distributed food during the war; and “Youth Dormitory, Nofei HaBesor,” which ensured that their displaced classmates could complete high school together. A commendation was also presented to the Lev Ofir Choir, a youth choir from the Ibim Absorption Center on Kibbutz Ibim near the Gaza border, which was renamed after Ofir Libstein after his death and continued performing despite evacuation.

“The Resilience Award for Children and Youth is a tribute to the legacy of Ofir and our son Nitzan, may their memories be for a blessing,” Vered Libstein, Ofir’s wife and Nitzan’s mother, said at the event. “It emphasizes education, leadership, personal example, and, above all, resilience that flows from the individual to the broader community. Our recovery as a society and a nation rests on the shoulders of this young generation, whose actions, even at a young age, inspire admiration and appreciation.”

The winners were selected by a committee that included Libstein; Nahmias-Verbin; Mooli Lahad, founder and president of the resilience-focused Mashabim Resource Center; Edna Weinstock-Gabay, CEO of Keren Hayesod; and Yoram Shliar, chair of the Psychologists’ Union.

“When darkness and fear enveloped us on October 7, sparks of hope emerged within Israeli society. Alongside adults who naturally stepped forward, we witnessed extraordinary courage and determination in children and youth—they inspire hope in all of us,” Lahad said at the event.

The stories of the winners will be documented in a video, and the 26 stories will be compiled into a digital book, which will be made available to the public.

eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judith Sudilovsky contributed to this report.