Battle of Sderot

The battle of Sderot (קרב שדרות; معركة سديروت) began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas launched a large-scale surprise attack on southern Israel, which was widely condemned as an act of terrorism. The Israeli town of Sderot (שְׂדֵרוֹת, 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. Hamas militants massacred at least 50 civilians and 20 police officers.

During the battle, a minibus of senior citizens was attacked by Hamas militants after a flat tire delayed them. All 15 passengers were killed. In another incident, the Swissa family and an Israeli Arab, Amer Abu Sabila, were killed by militants while trying to escape. Abu Sabila's bravery sparked discussions about Arab-Jewish coexistence in Israel. By October 8, Israeli forces had regained control over Sderot.

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. Many civilians were murdered on the street and in homes in the surprise attack.

Eventually the attackers overpowered the garrison at the local police station and occupied it, killing approximately 30 people (including police officers and civilians). Following the arrival of IDF reinforcements, IDF troops surrounded the police station and regained control over it, killing at least 10 Hamas militants. Gunfire and bulldozers were used to demolish the Sderot police station and kill any gunmen remaining inside.

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.

Regaining control over Sderot
By October 8, Israeli forces had regained control over Sderot. 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. Authorities ordered residents of Sderot, as well as neighboring Kibbutz Mefalsim, to stay at home after a suspected infiltration.

Rocket attacks
Sderot was struck by rockets at 6:30 in the morning of October 7, as part of the initial barrage of Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel. The next day, Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades launched more attacks, claiming to have fired 100 rockets at Sderot. The rockets triggered the rocket warning system in Sderot and other Israeli communities near the Gaza border. Magen David Adom reported that one Israeli in Sderot was severely wounded by rocket fire early on October 8.

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 siren 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, then shot them again from point blank range to make sure they were dead.

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.

Swissa family incident
During the attack, an Israeli family encountered a dangerous situation when they came across militants near a commercial complex in the city. Dolev Swissa, the father, was fatally shot while attempting to flee with his family. Amid the chaos, Odia Swissa struggled to drive her daughters to safety. Amer Abu Sabila, a 25-year-old Arab-Israeli construction worker from the Negev Bedouin township of Abu Talul, noticed Odia’s distress and took over the driving in an attempt to move the car out of the firing range. Near the Sderot police station, militants opened fire on the vehicle, killing both Abu Sabila and Odia Swissa, as well as policemen who tried to assist them. The daughters, aged three and six, remained unharmed as they lay on the floor of the vehicle during the attack. The story of Amer Abu Sabila’s heroic act garnered widespread recognition in Israel, stirring discussions about the co-existence and cooperation between Arabs and Jews in Israel.