As Israel braces for a long war ahead, its government will be arming its civilians.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Tuesday his ministry will buy 10,000 rifles for civilian security teams, according to the Times of Israel.
The guns will be prioritized for towns near Israel’s borders, cities with mixed populations of Jews and Arabs, and West Bank settlements.
About 4,000 of what Ben Gvir called assault rifles have been purchased. Helmets and bulletproof vests will also be issued.
“We will turn the world upside down so that towns are protected. I have given instructions for massively arming the civilian security teams to provide solutions for towns and cities, and so as not to leave towns unprotected, preparations will be made for a Guardian of the Walls 2,” Ben Gvir said, referring to internal violence that accompanied the May 2021 military action with Hamas.
The ministry’s action comes after reports that some communities attacked by Hamas terrorists on Saturday did not have rifles for their defense because the Israeli government had been repossessing them due to issues with theft.
On Saturday, Hamas terrorists attacked settlements across southern Israel. On Wednesday, Israeli officials announced that the death toll from the attacks had reached 1,200 people, according to the Times of Israel. The latest figures estimated 3,000 people were wounded and 150 were taken to Gaza as hostages.
Israel, which has repeatedly bombed Gaza since the slaughter on Saturday, has indicated it is prepared to launch a ground war in Gaza, as noted by Haaretz.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said “all constraints” were off when the offensive began.
“We have taken control of the situation and are transitioning to a full-scale offensive,” Gallant said.
The extent of the breach of Israel’s security was so vast that fighting continues in southern Israel between members of the Israeli Defense Forces and Hamas terrorists, IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Wednesday, the Times of Israel reported.
Hagari said 18 terrorists were killed in Israel over the past 24 hours.
IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says terrorists have been unable to infiltrate into Israel from the Gaza Strip in the past two days.
“They haven’t crossed the fence in the last two days. The terrorists are killed on the fence, there are still hundreds of bodies of…
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 11, 2023
“These are the same terrorists who did not flee back to Gaza. They are in hiding places, near the border. That’s why the scans are [taking place] with a large number of troops. There are tens of thousands of [IDF] fighters in the area surrounding Gaza,” he said.
Israel also faces a potential conflict to the north, where the terrorist group Hezbollah is headquartered. Rocket and mortar fire from Syria and Lebanon drew an Israeli response.
Rocket sirens sounding on Israel’s northern border near Arab al-Aramshe after Hezbollah ATGM attack on Israeli positions. Israeli shelling of southern Lebanon continues with clashes reported in the area. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for attack.
— ELINT News (@ELINTNews) October 11, 2023
On Tuesday, Israeli officials showed the media the extent of the devastation in the kibbutz of Kfar Aza, which had about 750 people living there prior to Saturday’s massacre, according to Reuters.
“Mothers, fathers, babies, young families killed in their beds, in the protection room, in the dining room, in their garden,” Israeli Major General Itai Veruv said Tuesday.
“It’s not a war, it’s not a battlefield. It’s a massacre,” Veruv said, saying some of the dead were decapitated.
Avidor Schwartzman, a Kfar Aza attack survivor, said he emerged from a safe room in his house with his wife and infant daughter when the Israeli military rescued them after 20 hours.
“There were bodies everywhere. Dead bodies everywhere. We saw our little piece of paradise, our little piece of heaven, was totally burnt – burnt and with blood everywhere,” Schwartzman said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.