The Israeli army is preparing to bolster about ten thousand reserve forces with rifles kept in homes to reduce response time in emergencies.
This decision follows the critical delays experienced during the surprise attack by Hamas on October 7th, when many civilian gatherings near the Gaza Strip border remained unprotected for long hours, and in some cases, the local emergency teams did not possess any weapons to handle the situation.
A senior officer in the 96th Division said the army precisely remembers why it took forces six hours to reach Nir Oz, explaining that before October 7th, many readiness teams did not have weapons stored at homes or within towns, which ultimately led to a disaster.
The reservists, mostly volunteers aged between forty and sixty, will receive an M4 rifle or an upgraded version of the M16, along with ammunition magazines, a combat vest, and a helmet. These equipments will be stored inside a large safe provided by the army and installed in their homes, with each soldier undergoing medical and psychological examinations and a criminal record check beforehand.
Previously, the Israeli army prohibited most soldiers from keeping their weapons at home due to fears of theft or misuse, but this policy was amended after October 7th to favor specific groups of reserve forces, provided that the soldier had also completed his operational duties before receiving the weapon.
Colonel Roy, commander of the 96th Division, said the goal is to enable fighters to deploy directly from their homes and reach critical junctions or combat zones within one hour, significantly faster than the complex procedures that required heading to emergency warehouses to retrieve weapons.
So far, hundreds of reservists have received their rifles, with dozens more joining this initiative monthly. The army clarified that the distributed weapons are standard rifles used in the army, not encoded systems or heavy weapons, and are stored in homes under strict supervision.
