Israel armed its northern border civil defenses with 9,000 guns to prevent an attack similar to the one on October 7.

Israel's Defense Ministry announced Monday that it will distribute some 9,000 assault rifles to civil defense forces in the country's north amid an escalation with the Shiite group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

In a statement, the ministry explained that it has invested about 50 million shekels (more than $14 million) along with the Israeli armed forces. 'Arad' guns An Israeli product, this one They will be distributed to 97 “rapid response teams” in several communities in the north of the country.

Also, he pointed out that A A second phase of reconstruction to equip Golan Heights communitiesAnd it will, once completed, fully equip around 120 civilian groups in the North.

What Israel calls “rapid response teams” are civilian units that work in coordination with the military in many communities, including some settlements in the West Bank.

During the October 7 Hamas attacks, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 kidnapped (which led to an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip), many members of these groups, who were poorly armed at the time, died defending border communities.

Since then, Israeli officials have rearmed these groups and expanded the effort to the north, where continued clashes with Hezbollah threaten to lead to open conflict.

Israel has been engaged in an intense firefight with the Lebanese group since October 8, when Hezbollah began launching attacks in coordination with Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.

Only on Sunday morning did the military detect about 40 missiles fired from Lebanon against the Upper Galilee and Golan Heights areas, and later it identified 55 more on Saturday.. None of these attacks resulted in casualties.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that with its “mission” in Gaza nearly accomplished, Israel's focus is shifting to the country's north, where ongoing clashes with Hezbollah have forced some 60,000 people to stay in hotels or leave relatives. Homes across the country.

There has been a lot of shooting in these eleven months. More than 650 people have died on both sides of the border. About 400 people have died, mostly on the Lebanese side and in Hezbollah's ranks, some in Syria.

In Israel, 50 people have been killed in the north: 24 soldiers and 26 civilians, including 12 minors, in an attack in occupied Syria's Golan Heights.

(with information from EFE)