A woman has been spotted carrying a M16 assault rifle while doing her shopping in Israel, days after Hamas launched its barbaric attack against civilians.

The young woman – who wore a baggy grey T-shirt, dark blue shorts and flip-flops – was seen carrying a plastic bag to her car with the rifle slung over her back.

She was also photographed clutching her phone in her hand which sported long, light-blue nails, as she walked towards her Nissan Micra parked in Sderot.

Deliberately targeting civilians, Hamas fighters killed more than 1,300 people after gunmen from the Gaza Strip on Saturday rampaged through parts of southern Israel in the deadliest Palestinian terrorist attack in Israel's history.

The assailants were able to reach deep into the country before meeting any military resistance, and even kidnapped hostages, taking them back into the Gaza Strip.

Sderot, where the woman was photographed, sits less than a mile from the enclave and was one of the border cities that came under attack by Hamas terrorists in the early hours. Dozens of civilians and at least 20 members of the Israeli police were killed by terrorists who rampaged through the town. 

While the Israeli army has since regained control of the Israel-Gaza border, the country remains on high alert for any more potential incursions by armed assailants, either by Hamas fighters from inside Gaza or Hezbollah units from Lebanon.

Since the country's declaration of independence in 1948, fixed-term military service has been compulsory for young people in the country.

From the age of 17, most Israeli teenagers – male and female – can be called up to serve a compulsory two years and eight months in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).

Currently, the IDF has 169,500 active military personnel, with 465,000 reservists.