As you well know by now I am a big believer is After Action Reviews/Reports (AARs), and a critical part of that process is coming up with a list of “Lessons Learned” (LLs). Learning from mistakes helps avoid making those same mistakes again and again.
I was not in Israel at the time of 10/7 attacks. I do not have access to any classified information on what happened before, during, or after the attacks. I have watched hours and hours of reports, interviews, first-hand accounts, military videos, first responder videos, and read many first-hand articles/accounts of that day by survivors and responders. While I am not representing these LLs to be all-inclusive or without flaw, I feel confident that these observations and conclusions are well-grounded and applicable to learn from.
Further, these posts are not intended to denigrate Israel, the IDF, Israeli citizens, victims of 10/7 or in anyway take from the horrific attack on their country and citizens by Islamic terrorists, Hamas. There are many heroic stories of acts of bravery by countless men and women in Israel that day. My goal is to provide information and my opinions on how to prevent such things from happening to you and to your family.
There will be multiple posts in this series to help cover what I feel at important and applicable topics.
#1 – Can’t Depend on Government Protection
Repeatedly the same issue came up…the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) was not able to respond quickly enough to protect citizens in the Gaza border settlements. In addition, the local police were not present in sufficient numbers, or with adequate arms, to provide security for those same citizens. A quote from an Israeli source, “the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were caught flat-footed.”
In most cases settlements/neighborhoods were attacked by relatively limited numbers of terrorists. However, these terrorists were well armed, fairly well trained, organized, and with a clear mission. They outgunned police in almost every situation, often using RPGs to initiate the attacks to overwhelm initial defenses. IDF troops were too distant to rapidly respond to provide defense, taking as long as 8 – 10 hours to arrive on scene. This allowed terrorists virtual free-reign to carry out their attacks.
According to IDF reports, further complicating the issue was “the IDF’s division headquarters under attack, it was almost impossible for the chief of staff in Tel Aviv to find out what was going on or how to respond in those crucial early hours of the assault.”
Israeli citizens were not able to depend on police personnel or military troops to provide adequate defense.
#2 – Gun Control Doesn’t Work
At the time of the attack Israel had, and still does have, extreme gun control laws. Only licensed gun owners may lawfully acquire, possess, or transfer a firearm…or ammunition. And then they are required to establish a genuine reason to possess a firearm or ammunition. The minimum age for gun ownership in Israel is 27 years, 21 years if completed national service or 18 years if served in the military; and gun owners must re-apply and re-qualify for their firearm license every three years. Licensed firearm owners in Israel are permitted to possess only one firearm and a limited quantity of ammunition.
These extreme gun restrictions made it relatively easy for terrorists to attack unarmed citizens who were unable to fight back and effectively defend themselves or their children. Those who might have possessed a pistol found they ran out of ammunition very quickly. There were entire neighborhoods and communities where no one had a gun to fight back against the terrorists.
Israeli citizens were not able to provide any reasonable self-defense against terrorists due to extremist gun controls, effectively disarming the population who lived in close proximity to known violent terrorists.
#3 – Safe Rooms have to be Safe
From Israelis themselves, “In the South of Israel, near the Gaza border, it’s a much different reality. These safe rooms did little to secure children watching their mothers murdered and mothers watching their kids’ souls leave their bodies—small bodies that were then wrapped in body bags.”
In 1992 by the Israel Defense Forces’ Home Front Command, established new civil defense regulations. The regulations required the inclusion of a residential protected room, a communal protected space, or an institutional protected space in every newly constructed building. “The rooms are meant to keep you safe from rockets.” However, a recent building inspection, showed about 75% of the safe rooms surveyed had one or more defects, and 70% of the shelters inspected had major construction flaws as well.
Many of the safe rooms that were breached in Israel during the 10/7 attacks had doors that could not be locked from the inside, they were also not even capable of stopping rounds from rifles or pistols from penetrating the inside of the safe room. There were many reports of residents trying to secure the doors with twine, vacuum cleaner hoses, wood, and bare hands. None of the safe rooms were resistant to fire. When terrorists did find a secured safe room they would simply start fires in the house to kill people in the safe rooms by burning them alive or force them out due to smoke and heat and then murdering them.
If a safe room is to be utilized in a home it must be able to withstand all threats that may be realistically imposed upon it. Further, it must be readily accessible, easily secured, and all aspects of its operation and capabilities known to all residents regardless of age.
#4 – Lack of Adequate Ammo Supplies
As outlined in #2 above, Israeli citizens had to apply for, qualify for, and receive a gun license before purchasing or a gun or ammunition. And even then, gun license holders can only have 50 rounds of ammunition on hand. Israel has gun laws that can only be described as ‘extremist’…and this directly led to hundreds of Israeli citizens being murdered, raped, and kidnapped. Since 10/7 Israel did relax that ammunition restriction…licensed gun owners can now have 100 rounds of pistol ammunition on hand.
Anyone who has ever been in a gun fight knows that you can blow through hundreds of rounds in a single, rather brief, battle. Even during training classes I have used 500 or more rounds in less than a day with measured and limited usage. In one class I ran almost 1000 rounds of AR ammo and another 300 rounds of pistol ammo. On one VIP protection detail I had 73 rounds on me, four 18-round mags and one in the chamber of my Sig. Even then I felt uncomfortable in case of need.
Without an adequate supply of appropriate ammunition your weapon(s) become completely useless. Not only should adequate ammunition supplies be available, an appropriate amount ammo should be pre-loaded in magazines and stored for easy/ready access.
What do I consider an adequate supply of ammunition? Here are my thoughts for minimums; 1) Pistol: 200 rounds of Hornady XTP, Golden Saber, or similar, 2) Shotgun: 300 rounds of 00 buckshot, Slugs, Hornady SST, 3) Carbine: 2000 rounds of a good penetrating round if 5.56, FMJ if 7.62. These are “per” weapon for immediate use. Pre-loaded minimum amounts in magazines, per-weapon; 1) pistols – 50-80 rounds, 2) carbines – 10 magazines. Magazines should be easily carried on your body in appropriate pouches.
Series Articles –
- Lesson Learned: 10/7 Attack on Israel (Part #1)
- Lesson Learned: 10/7 Attack on Israel (Part #2)
- Lesson Learned: 10/7 Attack on Israel (Part #3)
Related Articles –
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