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

This image made from undated bodycam video footage taken by a downed Hamas terrorist and released by the Israel Defense Forces, shows a Hamas terrorist walking around a residential neighborhood at an undisclosed location in southern Israel.(Israel Defense Forces via AP)

“The civil defense squad was made up of soldiers who had served in special forces alongside others who had never held combat roles in the military.Some were issued weapons they had never used during their service.Training begins with weapons familiarization, covering the basics of firearm operation and how to manipulate the weapon’s safety mechanisms,” he said.

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One lesson drawn from Oct.7 was that many members of civilian security squads responded alone.“Whoever ran alone was not able to fend off terrorists,” T.said, explaining that the training emphasizes locating another squad member before engaging whenever possible.

“The idea behind this project is to establish a unified operational language, so that if an incident occurs, nearby communities can join the response and coordinate effectively,” he said.

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“The idea is that they are able to manage the event until forces arrive, then hand over control in an orderly manner while continuing to work together.They know the kibbutz, they work well as teams and they have undergone high-quality training that sharpened their skills.”

Magen48, established in July 2024 and named for the 48 first responders killed on Oct.7, has trained 1,500 civilians to respond to life-threatening emergencies, equipping them with the knowledge, skills and resources to contend with scenarios such asterrorist attacks, medical emergencies and fires.

Participants to Magen48’s drill in Kibbutz Bror Hayil respond to a simulated terrorist infiltration inside the kibbutz’s kindergarten, July 8, 2026.

Counterterrorism expert Ehud Dribben, who has 30 years of experience in the field, co-founded the organization with Ari Briggs and Mike Aron. As the three began planning to create a training facility, the IDF approached them to develop a program providing each of the 67 Gaza Envelope communities with 12 full training days annually.To date, Magen48 has conducted more than 550 training sessions.

The training exercise began with the community command center issuing an alert abouteight terrorists infiltrating the kibbutz, prompting members of the civil defense squad to mobilize to their assigned defensive positions.

Briggs and Dribben designed the exercise around five key locations where the defense squad would ultimately need to concentrate its forces.Response times are measured, and every step — from alerting residents to engaging the terrorists and evacuating casualties — is closely monitored.

“The reports that emerged after Oct.7 showed thatcivilian first responderswere incredibly brave.They were prepared to do anything to protect their families, friends and communities, but they were not trained adequately and lacked the equipment they needed,” Briggs said.

Hamas terrorists killed civilians, including women, children and the elderly, when they attacked Israel on Oct.7, 2023.(Israel Defense Forces via AP)

“Strong, well-trained civilian response teams don’t just improve security — they help bring communities back together, strengthen resilience and ensure these towns grow and have an amazing future,” he added.

Retired British Col.Richard Kemp, who observed the training exercises, said the primary objective is toprevent another Oct.7.

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“I was in the British army for 30 years, so I understand the importance of defense and security for a country like Israel,�“If you know that your enemy has a capability of any sort to endanger you, you have to be ready to deal with that capability through the kind of work that Magen48 is doing.”

Memorials at the site of the Oct.7 Hamas terror attack on the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, Israel, on May 27, 2024.(Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images )

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Kemp called the drill one of the most complex exercises he had witnessed.

“It’s really important that these drills take place to give the local community confidence that its security is a top priority and that forces are doing everything they can to prepare for another terrorist attack like the one we saw on Oct.7,” he said.

Amelie Botbol is a freelance journalist based in Tel Aviv.Her articles have appeared in the New York Post, Canada’s National Post, and the Washington Times.Amelie can be followed on X @DatReporter