A Frontline No One Anticipated

On October 7, thousands of heavily armed terrorists surged across Israel’s southern border, expecting chaos and collapse. What they encountered instead were Israel Police officers—typically tasked with traffic control and civilian law enforcement—charging into battle with little more than sidearms. Many hadn’t received combat training in years. Still, they held the line, risking their lives to protect the communities of the Gaza envelope.

Retired Deputy Commissioner and Lt. Col. (Res.) Uri Engelhard captured the moment bluntly: “They ran into the fire without hesitation.” Their heroism was real. Their resistance saved lives. But it also laid bare a critical truth: the Israel Police, long seen as a civilian body, has become a frontline actor in the country’s defense writes the IDSF Editorial Staff. The transformation is profound—and irreversible.

Heroes, Not Scapegoats

This courage revealed a troubling paradox. The police bore no responsibility for the intelligence failures that allowed the October 7 attacks, yet they were the first to face the terrorists on the ground—outgunned, outmanned, and underprepared. Tasked with halting an invasion, they fought with limited gear and no coordinated battlefield plan.

Uri Engelhard is well placed to comment. A veteran of Israel’s defense and high-tech sectors, he…