They could be another young couple heading out for the evening.

But the assault rifle slung around the shoulders of this young woman helps lay bare the grim everyday reality faced by Israelis.

The pair were seen walking hand-in-hand through Jerusalem on Monday, amid heightened tensions in the city.

Prior to Hamas’s brutal massacre on October 7, Israel had strict gun laws, permitting licences only to people who could prove they needed extra security.

Applications previously took months to process but can now be approved within days of filling out an online form.

A young couple head out for a night in Jerusalem, with the woman wearing a rifle across her body

Men pray at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem as tensions continue to increase between Israel and Hamas

Gun shops and shooting ranges in Israel have since been inundated with civilians looking to buy firearms to protect their families.

Less than a month after Hamas’s attacks there had been 150,000 applications for gun licences, compared to just 42 in the same period, last year.

Israel’s police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has previously described gun ownership as a precaution against internal unrest between Jews and Israel’s Arab minority.

In a televised speech after the attacks, Israel’s president Benjamin Netanyahu said the government would be ‘encouraging civilians and helping civilians to arm themselves for their self-defense’.