Inside Israel's mission to train civilians to stop the next Oct 7-like terror attack

ISRAEL-GAZA BORDER: "Fire, fire, fire!" shouts a personnel of Kibbutz Bror Hayil’s section information squad, pointing his limb astatine a chap subordinate acting arsenic a terrorist. The kibbutz is located adjacent to nan Gaza border, from wherever thousands of Hamas-led Palestinians invaded Israel and massacred immoderate 1,200 group connected Oct. 7, 2023.

The exercise, attended by Fox News Digital, was nan eighth training convention conducted by Magen48 successful business pinch nan Israel Defense Forces — a full-scale drill involving nan section civilian defense squad designed to hole confederate Israeli communities for scenarios akin to Oct. 7.

One of nan scenarios simulated terrorists infiltrating nan kibbutz kindergarten. With IDF forces en route, nan civilian defense squad had to respond while accounting for nan beingness of children, constricted visibility and nan request to neutralize nan attackers while ensuring a safe evacuation. During nan exercise, a simulated grenade detonated, injuring 1 personnel of nan civilian defense squad successful nan leg, while nan others succeeded successful neutralizing nan terrorists.

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A personnel of Kibbutz Bror Hayil's civilian defense squad who participates successful nan drill runs to respond to nan simulated panic infiltration successful Kibbutz Bror Hayil - July 8th, 2026. (Amelie Botbol for Fox News Digital)

In earlier sessions, participants learned to run weapons from down screen while sitting, lying down, opinionated and moving. They are besides trained to activity successful pairs and larger groups while processing connection skills. The exercises grew progressively complex, pinch teams conducting drills wrong buildings and responding to continuous emergency alerts.

Because nan workout took spot wrong a civilian community, nary unrecorded ammunition was used. All weapons and instrumentality were secured to forestall accidental discharge. Residents were notified successful beforehand of nan drill.

Among nan 47 participants were IDF soldiers and aesculapian unit from nan Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade.

Magen48 coach T., who could not uncover his afloat sanction for information reasons, said nan Bror Hayil programme initially presented important challenges.

This image made from undated bodycam video footage taken by a downed Hamas violent and released by Israel Defense Forces shows a Hamas violent stepping astir a residential vicinity astatine an undisclosed location successful confederate Israel. Israel's subject brought together a group of overseas correspondents connected Monday, Oct. 16, 2023, to surface a 40-minute reel of gruesome footage compiled from Hamas onslaught connected Oct. 7. (Israel Defense Forces via AP)

"The civilian defense squad was made up of soldiers who had served successful typical forces alongside others who had ne'er held combat roles successful nan military. Some were issued weapons they had ne'er utilized during their service. Training originates pinch weapons familiarization, covering nan basics of firearm cognition and really to manipulate nan weapon’s information mechanisms," he said.

One instruction drawn from Oct. 7 was that galore members of civilian information squads responded alone. "Whoever ran unsocial was not capable to fend disconnected terrorists," T. said, explaining that nan training emphasizes locating different squad personnel earlier engaging whenever possible.

"The thought down this task is to found a unified operational language, truthful that if an incident occurs, adjacent communities tin subordinate nan consequence and coordinate effectively," he said.

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"The thought is that they are capable to negociate nan arena until forces arrive, past manus complete power successful an orderly mode while continuing to activity together. They cognize nan kibbutz, they activity good arsenic teams and they person undergone high-quality training that sharpened their skills."

Magen48, established successful July 2024 and named for nan 48 first responders killed connected Oct. 7, has trained 1,500 civilians to respond to life-threatening emergencies, equipping them pinch nan knowledge, skills and resources to contend pinch scenarios including terrorist attacks, aesculapian emergencies and fires.

Participants to Magen48's drill successful Kibbutz Bror Hayil respond to a simulated violent infiltration wrong nan kibbutz's kindergarten - July 8th, 2026. (Amelie Botbol for Fox News Digital)

Counterterrorism master Ehud Dribben, who has 30 years of acquisition successful nan field, co-founded nan statement pinch Ari Briggs and Mike Aron. As nan 3 began readying to create a training facility, the IDF approached them to create a programme providing each of nan 67 Gaza Envelope communities pinch 12 afloat training days annually. To date, Magen48 has conducted much than 550 training sessions.

The training workout began pinch nan organization bid halfway issuing an alert astir eight terrorists infiltrating nan kibbutz, prompting members of nan civilian defense squad to mobilize to their assigned protect positions.

Briggs and Dribben designed nan workout astir 5 cardinal locations wherever nan defense squad would yet request to ore its forces. Response times are measured, and each measurement — from alerting residents to engaging nan terrorists and evacuating casualties — is intimately monitored.

"The reports that emerged aft Oct. 7 showed that civilian first responders were incredibly brave. They were prepared to do thing to protect their families, friends and communities, but they were not trained adequately and lacked nan instrumentality they needed," Briggs said.

Hamas terrorists killed civilians, including women, children and nan elderly, erstwhile they attacked Israel connected Oct. 7, 2023.  (Israel Defense Forces via AP)

"Strong, well-trained civilian consequence teams don’t conscionable amended information — they thief bring communities backmost together, fortify resilience and guarantee these towns turn and person an astonishing future," he added.

Retired British Col. Richard Kemp, who observed nan training exercises, said nan superior nonsubjective is to prevent different Oct. 7.

"I was successful nan British service for 30 years, truthful I understand nan value of defense and information for a state for illustration Israel," he told Fox News Digital. "If you cognize that your force has a capacity of immoderate benignant to endanger you, you person to beryllium fresh to woody pinch that capacity done nan benignant of activity that Magen48 is doing."

Memorials astatine nan tract of nan Oct. 7 Hamas panic onslaught connected nan Supernova euphony show adjacent Kibbutz Re'im, Israel, connected Monday, May 27, 2024. (Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images )

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Kemp called nan drill 1 of nan astir analyzable exercises he had witnessed.

"It’s really important that these drills return spot to springiness nan section organization assurance that its information is simply a apical privilege and that forces are doing everything they tin to hole for different violent onslaught for illustration nan 1 we saw connected Oct. 7," he said.