The IDF has raised the ire -- and deep concerns -- of security teams in Jewish communities around the Gaza periphery with a decision to revoke their military warning beepers.
The decision allegedly came as part of a move to increase "operational efficiency," according to the IDF officer who interfaced with the teams.
But a security officer from Kibbutz Alumim who spoke with Arutz Sheva on Thursday said that he and his colleagues were deeply upset by the decision.
The military warning beepers are necessary to mobilize the teams in case of a missile attack or infiltration from the direction of the Hamas terrorist-ruled Gaza region, he explained.
"So what if we have been getting some quiet from Gaza rocket terror?" he said. "We can’t be abandoned like this!
"What happens if there’s an escalation?"
In response, the officer said the IDF told him that regional commanding officers would "get the word out if necessary."
In April, 17 rockets and five mortar shells were fired at southern Israel by Gaza terrorists, in 13 separate attacks. Last month, there were two more attacks, including one rocket attack on the Eshkol region during the holiday of Shavuot.
All told, there have been 25 rockets and missiles and five mortars fired from Gaza at southern Israeli towns and cities since the beginning of 2013.
Among these was a terror attack fired from Gaza in February with a M75 medium-range missile at the Mediterranean coastal city of Ashkelon, by the extremist military wing of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction.
There were also rocket attacks fired from Gaza in March.