97 civilian teams in north equipped with 9,000 assault rifles

The Defense Ministry and military have finished equipping civilian defense squads in 97 communities near the northern border as part of a project to reinforce the teams.

Some 9,000 IWI Arad assault rifles purchased for NIS 50 million ($13 million) have been distributed to the communities, in addition to the 5,000 weapons purchased at the beginning of the ongoing war, the Defense Ministry says in a statement.

Defense Ministry Director General Eyal Zamir says the purchase is part of the ongoing project to “strengthen civilian defense squads that fought bravely on October 7.”

Underequipped civilian teams in the south defended their communities alone for hours when Hamas terrorists launched their massacre before security forces arrived, leading the Defense Ministry to launch a project to boost such squads.

“After we reequipped communities near the Gaza border, we are now completing the reequipment of 100 civilian defense squads in the north with weapons, including the Arad — an advanced weapon developed in Israel,” Zamir says.