- The woman was photographed in Sderot today, which was attacked on Saturday
- Dozens of civilians and police were gunned down by Hamas terrorists
A woman has been spotted carrying a M16 assault rifle while doing her shopping in Israel, days after Hamas launched its barbaric attack against civilians.
The young woman – who wore a baggy grey T-shirt, dark blue shorts and flip-flops – was seen carrying a plastic bag to her car with the rifle slung over her back.
She was also photographed clutching her phone in her hand which sported long, light-blue nails, as she walked towards her Nissan Micra parked in Sderot.
Deliberately targeting civilians, Hamas fighters killed more than 1,300 people after gunmen from the Gaza Strip on Saturday rampaged through parts of southern Israel in the deadliest Palestinian terrorist attack in Israel’s history.
The assailants were able to reach deep into the country before meeting any military resistance, and even kidnapped hostages, taking them back into the Gaza Strip.
A young woman has been spotted in Israel carrying a M16 assault rifle while doing her shopping (pictured), days after Hamas launched its barbaric attack against civilians
Sderot, where the woman was photographed, sits less than a mile from the enclave and was one of the border cities that came under attack by Hamas terrorists in the early hours. Dozens of civilians and at least 20 members of the Israeli police were killed by terrorists who rampaged through the town.
While the Israeli army has since regained control of the Israel-Gaza border, the country remains on high alert for any more potential incursions by armed assailants, either by Hamas fighters from inside Gaza or Hezbollah units from Lebanon.
Since the country’s declaration of independence in 1948, fixed-term military service has been compulsory for young people in the country.
From the age of 17, most Israeli teenagers – male and female – can be called up to serve a compulsory two years and eight months in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).
Currently, the IDF has 169,500 active military personnel, with 465,000 reservists.
As a result, Israel has the world’s third largest active military per-capita, and the world’s sixth largest reserve military by the same metric.
On top of that, the country – which spends more than 5 per cent of its GDP on the IDF – has around three million people who are fit for military service.
The young woman, who wore a baggy grey t-shirt, dark blue shorts and flip-flops, was seen carrying a bag of shipping to her car with the rifle slung over her shoulder
She was also photographed clutching her phone in her hand which sported long, light-blue nails, as she walked towards her Nissan Micra parked in Sderot
What’s more, Israeli soldiers are allowed to carry their serve weapons on or off duty, suggesting that the woman seen in the images is an active IDF soldier.
Civilians can also acquire a firearms license, and all citizens who have undergone combat training and qualified in Advanced Infantry Training can apply for a private handgun license. Licenses must be renewed every three years.
Most individuals who are licensed to possess handguns are allowed to carry them – while loaded – in public, either openly or concealed.
Since the Hamas attack on Saturday, there have already been calls in Israel to relax gun laws further, amid fears over growing tensions between Israel’s majority Jewish population and its minority Palestinian and Muslim groups.
Israel’s controversial police minister warned that tensions could grow as the conflict between the IDF and Hamas escalates in the coming days.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-Right nationalist who has faced charges of hate speech against Arabs, also said he was stepping up the issuing of firearms to licensed citizens.
‘I instructed the chief of police to prepare for a “Guardian of the Walls 2” scenario, which I think is looming,’ the national security minister told reporters.
Operation Guardian of the Walls was Israel’s name for a 11-day 2021 Gaza war which set off sometimes violent pro-Palestinian protests among Arab citizens.
While the majority of stories to have emerged out of Israel since Saturday have been ones that ended in tragedy, there have also been stories of heroism.
From the age of 17, most Israeli teenagers – male and female – can be called up to serve a compulsory two years and eight months in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). Currently, the IDF has 169,500 active military personnel, with 465,000 reservists. Pictured: Israeli soldiers stand on a road near Be’eri, Israel, yesterday
One woman, a 25-year-old named Inbar Lieberman, coordinated the defence of the community of Nir Am as the terrorists began to invade.
She led a group of residents to kill more than two dozen advancing terrorists while defending the kibbutz (community), just a mile from the Gaza Strip.
Ms Lieberman, who has been part of the security detail in the region since December 2022, heard explosions erupting early Saturday when Hamas launched the unprecedented and deadly attack on Israel.
She quickly realised that the sounds were different to those she heard during the usual rocket attacks on the kibbutz and rushed to open the armoury and distribute guns among the 12-member security team.
The 25-year-old placed her squad of kibbutzniks in strategic positions across the settlement, set up ambushes, and turned the tables on the incoming forces.
She killed five terrorists herself, while the others claimed the lives of 20 more over a four-hour period. Nir Am was turned into an impenetrable fortress, while nearby kibbutzim’s suffered greatly at the hands of the terrorist invaders.
Since the Saturday attack, Israel has called up 300,000 of its reservists.
It has also rushed its forces, tanks and heavy armour to the southern desert areas around Gaza from where Hamas invaded at dawn on October 7.
Israeli soldiers have since then swept the southern towns and kibbutz communities and killed 1,500 of the militants, while making ever more shocking discoveries of large numbers of dead civilians.
‘I would never have been able to imagine… something like this,’ Doron Spielman, an Israeli army spokesman, said at one gated community where more than 100 residents were killed. ‘It looks like… an atomic bomb just landed here.’
One woman, a 25-year-old named Inbar Lieberman (pictured), coordinated the defence of the community of Nir Am as the terrorists began to invade on Saturday
Israeli outrage has been further fuelled by Hamas’s capture of at least 150 hostages – mostly Israelis but also foreign and dual nationals – now being held in Gaza.
‘I know he’s out there somewhere,’ one of the affected Israelis, Ausa Meir, said of her brother Michael, who is among the captives. ‘It’s very, very painful.’
Hamas has threatened to kill hostages if Israel bombs Gaza civilian targets without advance warning – deepening the anger and fear in shell-shocked Israel.
‘Everybody is impacted in Israel,’ said Joana Ouisman, 38, a finance executive. ‘I’ve been watching TV all day for the past three to four days. All I do is cry.’
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