Israeli Woman Wields M16 Assault Rifle While Shopping in Sderot Following Recent Hamas Siege

A woman was seen in Israel carrying an M16 assault rifle while shopping, days after Hamas launched its barbaric attack on civilians.

The young woman – who was wearing a baggy gray t-shirt, dark blue shorts and flip-flops – was seen carrying a carrier bag to her car with the rifle slung across her back.

She was also photographed holding her phone in her hand with long, light blue nails, as she walked towards her parked Nissan Micra in Sderot.

Deliberately targeting civilians, Hamas fighters killed more than 1,300 people after Gaza Strip gunmen rampaged parts of southern Israel on Saturday in the deadliest Palestinian terror attack in history of Israel.

The gunmen managed to penetrate deep into the country before encountering any military resistance, and even kidnapped hostages to bring them back to the Gaza Strip.

Sderot, where the woman was photographed, is less than a kilometer from the enclave and was one of the border towns attacked 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 city.

While the Israeli army has since regained control of the border between Israel and Gaza, the country remains on alert for any new potential incursions by armed attackers, whether 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 the country’s youth.

Starting at age 17, most Israeli teenagers – men and women – can be called to serve a mandatory sentence of two years and eight months in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Currently, the IDF has 169,500 active military personnel, including 465,000 reservists.

As a result, Israel has the third largest active army per capita in the world, and the sixth largest reserve army in the world by the same criterion.

Additionally, the country – which spends more than 5 percent of its GDP on the Israeli military – has around three million people fit for military service.

The young woman, who was wearing a loose gray t-shirt, dark blue shorts and flip-flops, was seen carrying a carrier bag to her car with the rifle slung over her shoulder.

She was also photographed holding her phone with long light blue nails in her hand, as she walked towards her Nissan Micra parked in Sderot.

Additionally, Israeli soldiers are allowed to carry their service weapons on or off duty, suggesting that the woman seen in the footage is an active IDF soldier.

Civilians can also acquire a firearms license, and all citizens who have completed combat training and are qualified in advanced infantry training can apply for a private handgun license. Licenses must be renewed every three years.

Most people licensed to own handguns are permitted to carry them – when loaded – in public, openly or concealed.

Since the Hamas attack on Saturday, there have already been calls in Israel to further relax gun laws, amid fears over growing tensions between Israel’s majority Jewish population and Palestinian minority groups and mulists.

Israel’s controversial police minister has warned that tensions could rise as the conflict between the IDF and Hamas intensifies in the coming days.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right nationalist accused of hate speech against Arabs, also said he was stepping up the provision of firearms to licensed citizens.

“I have asked the police chief to prepare for a ‘Guardian of the Walls 2’ scenario, which I think is looming,” the national security minister told reporters.

Operation Wall Guard was Israel’s name for an 11-day war in Gaza in 2021, which sparked sometimes violent pro-Palestinian protests among Arab citizens.

While the majority of stories coming out of Israel since Saturday have ended in tragedy, there have also been stories of heroism.

Starting at age 17, most Israeli teenagers – men and women – can be called to serve a mandatory sentence of two years and eight months in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Currently, the IDF has 169,500 active military personnel, including 465,000 reservists. Pictured: Israeli soldiers stand on a road near Beeri, Israel, October 11.

One woman, Inbar Lieberman, 25, coordinated the defense of the Nir Am community as terrorists began to overrun it.

She led a group of residents to kill more than two dozen advancing terrorists while defending the kibbutz (community), just a kilometer from the Gaza Strip.

Lieberman, who has been part of security services in the region since December 2022, heard explosions ring out early Saturday when Hamas launched an unprecedented deadly attack on Israel.

She quickly realized that the sounds were different from those she heard during the usual rocket attacks on the kibbutz and rushed to open the armory and distribute weapons to the 12 members of the team. security.

The 25-year-old placed her squad of kibbutzniks in strategic positions across the colony, set up ambushes and turned the tables on incoming forces.

She killed five terrorists herself, while the others took the lives of 20 others over a four-hour period. Nir Am was transformed into an impenetrable fortress, while neighboring kibbutzim suffered greatly at the hands of terrorist invaders.

Since Saturday’s attack, Israel has mobilized 300,000 of its reserves.

It also dispatched its forces, tanks and heavy armor to the southern desert areas around Gaza, from where Hamas invaded at dawn on October 7.

Since then, Israeli soldiers have swept through southern towns and kibbutz communities and killed 1,500 militants, while making increasingly shocking discoveries of large numbers of dead civilians.

“I could never have imagined … something like this,” said Doron Spielman, an Israeli army spokesman, in a gated community where more than 100 residents were killed. “It looks like… an atomic bomb just landed here.”

A woman, Inbar Lieberman (photo), 25, coordinated the defense of the Nir Am community as terrorists began to invade on Saturday.

Israeli outrage was further fueled by Hamas’s capture of at least 150 hostages – mostly Israelis but also foreigners and dual nationals – currently being held in Gaza.

“I know he’s somewhere,” one of the Israelis affected, 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 civilian targets in Gaza without prior warning – heightening anger and fear in shell-shocked Israel.

“Everyone is affected in Israel,” said Joana Ouisman, 38, a financial director. “I’ve been watching TV all day for three or four days. All I do is cry.