Battle of Sderot
The Battle of Sderot (Hebrew: קרב שדרות; Arabic: معركة سديروت) began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas launched a large-scale attack against Southern Israel.[3] The Israeli town of Sderot (Hebrew: שְׂדֵרוֹת, Arabic: سديروت), located close to the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, has frequently been the target of rocket attacks and incursions during the course of the Gaza–Israel conflict.[4] Hamas militants massacred at least 50 civilians and 20 police officers.[5]
Battle of Sderot | |||||||
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Part of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Units involved | |||||||
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Casualties and losses | |||||||
10+ killed |
20+ police officers killed [3] 50+ civilians killed |
Ground infiltration
On 7 October 2023, Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip entered the town and engaged in firefights with local police units and civilians.[6] Many civilians were murdered on the street and in homes in the surprise attack.[7][8]
Eventually the attackers overpowered the garrison at the local police station and occupied it,[7] killing approximately 30 people (including police officers and civilians).[9] Following the arrival of IDF reinforcements, IDF troops surrounded the police station and regained control over it, killing at least 10 Hamas militants.[9][10] Gunfire and bulldozers were used to demolish the Sderot police station and any gunmen remaining inside.[9][10]
Late on October 8, the Sderot Municipality released the names of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israel Police, and fire personnel killed in the attack. Among those slain by Hamas gunmen was the commander of the Kiryat Gat Fire Station.[9][11]
Massacre of pensioners
On the morning of October 7, a tour minibus left from the west of the Negev towards the Dead Sea to conduct a trip for a group of retirees, some of them Holocaust survivors. The minibus picked up pensioners from Ofakim, Netivot, and then Sderot. Due to a flat tire, the minibus stopped at the entrance to Sderot to fix it. At this point, a Red Color alarm sounded, and the occupants of the minibus got out of it towards the shelter, but the shelter door, which was a shelter with an automatic opening door, did not open. Two vans loaded with Hamas terrorists that entered Sderot recognized the group, shot them all from point blank range, murdered them and made a dead checking, again from point blank range.
The driver managed to escape together with another woman and they were lying behind the guardrail. The terrorists recognized them and shot them. The woman was killed as a result of the shooting, and the driver, who was lying under her, pretended to be dead and was saved. All 15 passengers of the bus were murdered.[12]
Regaining control over Sderot
By October 8, Israeli forces had regained control over Sderot.[1] However, Israeli forces continued to battle pockets of Hamas gunmen in Southern Israel, including in Magen, and occasional gunfire was heard in Sderot and other locales, where Israeli forces were sweeping the area for any remaining Hamas infiltrators.[13] Authorities ordered residents of Sderot, as well as neighboring Kibbutz Mefalsim, to stay at home after a suspected infiltration.[13][14]
Rocket attacks
The initial barrage of Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel, launched in the early hours of October 7, struck several Israeli cities as distant as Tel Aviv, but Sderot was not hit.[15] The next day, however, Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades launched more attacks, claiming to have fired 100 rockets at Sderot.[16] The rockets triggered the rocket warning system in Sderot and other Israeli communities near the Gaza border.[17] Magen David Adom reported that one Israeli in Sderot was severely wounded by rocket fire early on October 8.[18]
See also
References
- Robertson, Nic (8 October 2023). "IDF wrests control of Sderot from Hamas militants. See the aftermath" (Video & news article). CNN. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
… Israel Defense Forces battled Hamas militants to regain control of the city and its police station.
- Duro, Israel. "Heroes of Israel: Armed members of several kibbutzim managed to fight off terrorists". VOZ. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- "Several injured in clashes between Israeli forces, terrorists at Sderot police station — report". Times of Israel. 7 October 2023. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- Silverman, Anav (20 September 2007). "A City Under Siege: An Inside View of Sderot, Israel". Sderot Media Center. Archived from the original on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
- "As exodus turns Sderot into a ghost town, some stay as a reminder of what's at stake". Times of Israel. 16 October 2023. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- "Footage emerges of 'gunmen in Sderot'". BBC. 7 October 2023. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- Awad, Ammar; Lubell, Maayan (7 October 2023). "Gunmen in homes, captives abducted leave Israelis in shock". Reuters. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- Ramsay, Stuart (9 October 2023). "Israel-Hamas War: Some escaped on foot, but many were killed or taken hostage - city left in shock". Sky News. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- Margulies, Joanie (8 October 2023). "IDF regains control over Sderot police station". Jerusalem Post.
- Fabian, Emanuel (7 October 2023). "Israeli forces beginning to demolish Sderot police station where terrorists holed up". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- "Sderot IDF and police casualties announced". The Jerusalem Post. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- Shaulov, Roni Green (17 October 2023). "Hamas war crimes: An elderly group gunned down at a bus stop" – via www.ynetnews.com.
- Bachner, Michael; Fabian, Emanuel (9 October 2023). "Israel evacuates civilians from Gaza-area towns as forces scour for remaining gunmen". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- Fabian, Emanuel (8 October 2023). "Terror infiltration suspected in Sderot, residents ordered to stay home". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- Maps and videos show how the deadly surprise on Israel unfolded Archived 8 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Washington Post (October 8, 2023)
- Lauren Iszo and Mostafa Salem, Hamas says 100 rockets fired on southern Israeli city of Sderot Archived 9 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine, CNN (October 8, 2023).
- Rocket sirens sound in Sderot, Gaza border communities Archived 9 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Times of Israel (8 October 2023).
- 1 seriously wounded by rockets in Sderot Archived 8 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Jerusalem Post (October 8, 2023).