Israeli gun permit requests skyrocket since start of war

Israeli requests for gun permits have skyrocketed since the start of the war on 7 October, Israel’s National Security Ministry says.

More than 236,000 new requests for permits have been filed since the start of the war, a figure equal to the number filed in the past 20 years, the statement says.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has set out on a mission to establish hundreds of civilian security squad groups across Israel and purchased 10,000 rifles to meet this goal.

Some 1,700 permits are being issued daily after the National Security Ministry eased restrictions, the statement says.

Meanwhile, a recent poll found that less than four percent of the Jewish Israeli public believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a reliable source of information on the ongoing war, according to Israeli media. 

The survey by Bar Ilan University and polling company iPanel examined the consumption of news and information in the first four weeks of the war. The poll questioned 505 Israelis who were representative of the Jewish population.