Against the backdrop of the war that broke out between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023, we conducted an internet survey focusing on the protection and sense of security of the residents of the recognized and unrecognized Bedouin communities in the Negev. The study examined the aspects of protection and security across spatial and social indicators among the residents of the Bedouin communities in the Negev in light of the events of
October 7, their aftermath, and the war that broke out between Israel and Hamas. The findings of the survey indicate a significant negative impact to the safety and sense of security within the Bedouin society in the Negev. There are very low levels of protective measures and almost a complete absence of protection in the unknown villages, as a result of long-standing official policy that is characterized by the neglect of the unique needs and hardships of this population. At the same time, the Bedouin society in the Negev is not homogeneous: the data indicate a significant and deeper harm to the most vulnerable groups within the communities – the residents of the unrecognized villages and those with non-academic education. In these aspects, the crisis that intensified following the war that broke out between Israel and Hamas, led to a deepening of the plight of the most weakened and marginal groups in Bedouin society in the Negev, as well as in Israeli society as a whole.