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The IDF on Wednesday released the findings of its investigation into the events in Sderot during the Hamas massacre. The city was invaded by 41 Hamas terrorists coming into the city from three directions on October 7, murdering 53 civilians and security forces before they were finally defeated after a difficult battle outside the local police headquarters.
The military's probe found a list of failings that made responding to the attack more difficult, including the city's security team having no adequate weapons, a shortage of critical equipment and no established command post.
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Hamas terrorists in Sderot during Oct. 7 massacre
The IDF was unprepared for an invasion, failed in the defense of the city and was unable to respond to the attack in real time, the investigations revealed. Most of the fighting ended by 10.30 a.m. except for the siege on the police station that continued until the morning of Oct. 8. After a day of fighting, 39 terrorists were killed and two captured.
The IDF found that the proper rifles were denied to the Sderot emergency defense team in August of 2022 after a dispute over paperwork between the municipality and the IDF. For two years members of the team did not receive any training and, on October 7, they confronted Hamas terrorists with handguns.
Their attempts to defend their city were already complicated by the fact that there was no perimeter fence or gates and that, of the 300 shelters, 11 had not been opened for public use.
A video clip that had spread on social media during the morning hours provided a misleading indication about the scope and scale of the invasion and prompted forces to independently rush to Sderot believing it was overrun by Hamas forces, leaving other, more critical battles lacking reinforcements.
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The number of IDF troops versus the number of enemy forces in the battle at Sderot
(IDF)
Some 1,000 soldiers arrived but did not have a true picture of the operations situation and no effective command. The municipal control center collapsed, and residents were not warned that terrorists had infiltrated. Most residents were in synagogues and believed they had come under no more than a rocket attack. Had there been a warning on time, the IDF said, roads would have been blocked to prevent the terrorists from reaching residential areas.
The IDF probe identified three battle areas: The police station, a shopping center and the Ahuza neighborhood. Terrorists first infiltrated at 6:58 a.m. entering the police station directly. At 7 a.m. a second terror squad headed toward the industrial zone and at 7:34 a.m., terrorists reached the Ahuza residential neighborhood.
Hamas had meticulously planned to invade Sderot, cut it off by placing forces along the 232 highway and sending in more terrorists on pick-up trucks. Their invasion took place during a massive rocket strike targeting the city. Some 41 rockets landed inside Sderot, 10 of them within 45 minutes.
A squad of nine Hamas terrorists entered the city from the east at 7:01 a.m., making their way to the main shopping center and the local train station. They massacred passers by as they advanced. Two minutes later, a group of 13 pensioners waiting to leave on a day trip to the Dead Sea were gunned down outside a shelter that had been locked. The terrorists were later killed by security forces.
The battle at the police station, where the terrorists had fortified themselves was by far the hardest. They began their assault at 7:03 a.m. killing three police officers and at 7:10 a.m. other officers, some fighting with their hands, confronted the terrorists on the roof of the station.
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At 7:39 a.m., a first rescue operation failed and at 9:52 a.m., police anti-terror forces managed to reach the first floor of the building and remove the wounded but could not advance. Only at 1:49 p.m. was the last police officer rescued from the roof. For hours after, forces kept the building surrounded and attacked it with tank fire and missiles fired from choppers above until the next morning at 8:46 a.m., when the entire structure came down. Some 16 people were killed in the fighting, 10 police officers and six civilians.
In the Ahuza neighborhood terrorists tried but failed to attack a synagogue. They entered the area at 7:35 a.m. and murdered three civilians and a police officer. At 8:30 a.m. they tried to enter a synagogue and killed one resident. At 9:15 a.m., anti-terror police forces engaged and killed all but one terrorist who was later captured.
First published: 15:22, 04.09.25