In the midst of the fighting against Hamas and Hezbollah, many posts have recently been published on social networks by citizens who claimed to have noticed suspicious individuals taking pictures of their homes. The police have investigated the matter and clarified that "some of the cases are not recent," and that "it is not hostile sabotage activity." However, references on the subject continue to circulate, and the police maintain their assessment.

A resident of Be'er Sheva who recorded a woman taking pictures of houses in the city this morning said, "I was passing through one of the streets in the city behind the gardens, and I saw someone suspicious taking pictures of two buildings. When she realized that I was taking pictures of her, she put down her cell phone and kept walking. I don't think it's normal that there are so many cases around the country of people who start taking pictures of buildings."

*דוברות המשטרה:*
בשעות האחרונות מפורסמים במרשתת מספר אירועים בהם נראים חשודים בסמוך למבני מגורים כאשר אלו נראים מצלמים את המתחם.
*יודגש כי בכלל האירועים שנבדקו על ידי השוטרים לא עלה חשד לפח"ע.*
*ככלל ובטח בימים אלו כל דיווח מסוג זה מטופל במהירות וביסודיות ע"י אלפי pic.twitter.com/VFTUQjpYBT

— Amir Bohbot אמיר בוחבוט (@amirbohbot) October 19, 2023

In Lehavim near Be'er Sheva, residents are also concerned: "Every evening, there is massive shooting that can be heard on the roads and in the forest that surrounds the town from motorcycles that come from the Bedouin villages nearby. Dozens of residents call the police nightly, who do nothing and answer: 'It's Bedouins, it's normal,''' a resident of the city told reporters from the Israeli newspaper “Maariv”. "Cavalry groups accompanied by cars arrive at the gates of the town in what appears to be drills before another disaster - our town is completely breached, we don't have enough forces and there is no protection or sense of protection."

Yehuda Benano, chairman of Residents for the Negev and a member of the security committee of the municipality of Be'er Sheva, expressed his concerns, saying, "What is happening now is the promo for the big plan to take over cities all over the country. Even if, God forbid, those lawbreakers enter our cities, then there will be a quick response. If that doesn't happen, there could be a mass massacre in the streets here, and we don't want to get to that."

מחבלים נראו מצלמים כניסות של בניינים בכל הארץ, פתח תקווה, רחובות, ראשל״צ.

כל מי שראה ותיעד להתפקד pic.twitter.com/AwZlq0d9m3

— של״ג בן שטרית sheleg (@ShelegBen) October 18, 2023

The Israel Police responded to these concerns, stating: "In recent hours, a number of incidents have been published on the network in which suspects are seen near residential buildings taking photographs of the complex. It should be emphasized that in all the incidents examined by the police, no suspicion of illegal activity arose. As a general rule, and certainly these days, any report of this type is handled quickly and thoroughly by the thousands of police officers and soldiers who are in all the cities with increased forces and are ready for any scenario. The Israel Police is back and calls on citizens to continue to be vigilant and to call the ‘100’ hotline in real time in any unusual event. In order not to cause panic, the public is requested not to chain these messages online and to hand them over to the police without delay."