Gun Permit Requests Skyrocket After Hamas Incursion, Israeli Ministry Says

JERUSALEM — Requests for gun permits in Israel have skyrocketed since Hamas’ bloody Oct. 7 incursion, according to a press release from the Ministry of National Security.

More than 236,000 new requests for permits have been filed since the attack — a figure equal to the number filed over 20 years, the statement said.

A sense of insecurity gripped Israel following the attack and the army’s hourslong delay in responding, leading to a rush to buy guns. At least 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 taken hostage after Hamas militants breached Israel’s border fence and fanned out across the country’s south.

Armed civilian security squads entered the breach in the army’s absence to fight off some of the attackers. Shortly after, Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir said he would expand and arm such squads with 10,000 assault rifles that would be distributed particularly in border towns, mixed Jewish-Arab cities and West Bank settlements. Ben-Gvir has a long record of anti-Arab rhetoric, and Palestinians feared these guns would be used against them.

Some 1,700 permits are being issued daily after the Ministry of National Security eased restrictions, the report said. By comparison, an average of 94 were issued daily in November 2022, and an average of 42 a year earlier.