The Battle of Sderot was fought between Palestinian Hamas terrorists and the Israel Defense Forces from 7 to 8 October 2023 amid Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
On 7 October 2023, 1,000 Hamas militants crossed the Gaza-Israel border, utilizing trucks, paragliders, boats, and tunnels. Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip entered the town of Sderot and overcame local police units, while massacring many civilians on the street and in their homes. The attackers killed 30 police officers and civilians at the local polic estation before IDF reinforcements arrived; the IDF regained control over the police station by shooting 10 militants and bulldozing the building to kill any gunmen remaining inside. By 8 October, Israeli forces regained control over Sderot, although they continued to battle pockets of Hamas gunmen in Magen and near Sderot, where ID Fforces swept the area for any remaining Hamas infiltrators. That same day, Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades launched 100 rockets at Sderot to maintain pressure on southern Israel.