Battle of Sufa

Last updated

Battle of Sufa
Part of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
Date7 October 2023
Location
Sufa, Israel
31°14′14″N34°20′29″E / 31.23722°N 34.34139°E / 31.23722; 34.34139
Result Israel retakes the outpost [1] [2] [3]
Belligerents
Flag of Hamas.svg Hamas Flag of Israel.svg Israel
Units involved
Flag of Hamas.svg Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades Flag of Israel.svg  Israel
Strength
At least 30 6 armed kibbutz residents

On 7 October 2023, as part of the Qassam Brigades-initiated 7 October attacks on Israel, a series of coordinated armed incursions into the Gaza Envelope, around 30 militants from Hamas' Qassam Brigades attacked Kibbutz Sufa and then overran a nearby military outpost. [4]

Contents

Around 7:30am, Hamas militants motorbikes indiscriminately fired guns and rocket launchers at people on the streets before arriving at the gates of Kibbutz Sufa. Once inside the kibbutz, militants went door-to-door shooting anyone in sight, including inside people's homes at point blank range. For an estimated 6 hours, six armed residents of the kibbutz fought off the Hamas militants until the Israel Defense Forces arrived.

Three Israeli civilians were killed in the attack on the kibbutz. Twenty Hamas militants were killed, and 10 were captured by Israeli security forces.

Attack

On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel at approximately 6 a.m., firing rockets and conducting a major ground and air assault against Israeli targets around the Gaza Strip, engaging civilians and military personnel alike. [5] [6] [7]

Attack on kibbutz

By about 7:30am, Hamas militants reach Kibbutz Sufa, similar to when other militants reach Kerem Shalom, suggesting close coordination between different groups of militants. [8]

According to footage captured by Hamas militants wearing GoPro cameras, militants on motorbikes indiscriminately fired guns and rocket launchers at people on the streets before arriving at the gates of Kibbutz Sufa. According to CNN, a militant fired shots into the town from a moving motorcycle, displaying the indiscriminate nature of the attack. Militants then climbed over the yellow front gates in what The Telegraph called a coordinated maneuver, walking past an unoccupied guard post. The kibbutz had extensive defenses like barbed wire and mechanized gates. [9] [8]

After breaching the gate, the Hamas gunmen exchange fire with people inside the kibbutz. Once inside the kibbutz around approximately 7:50am, Hamas militants went door-to-door shooting anyone in sight, at times inside people's homes at point blank range. In one instance, militants find an open loft hatch and shoot inside. Some civilians and security personnel inside homes return fire. Hamas gunmen then shoot the tires of an ambulance found nearby. [9] After hearing an apparent phone ring, a militants shout the Hebrew word for "mother" to lure residents out of hiding. [8]

Six armed residents in the kibbutz fought off an estimated several dozen Hamas militants for six hours until the first IDF units arrived. [10] As Hamas attacks on the kibbutzim unfolded on October 7, a company of all-women tank operators headed from its base in Nitzana to the Israel-Gaza border. From there, one group stayed to guard the border, one crew went to Kibbutz Holit and one went to Sufa. According to the IDF, over a 17-hour battle, the all-female tank crews killed 50 Hamas militants, which Paran Brigade leadership credited with halting the Hamas advance further south inside Israel. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]

Three Israeli civilians were killed in the attack on the kibbutz. Twenty Hamas militants were killed, and 10 were captured by Israeli security forces. [10] Israeli authorities recovered an ISIS flag on the body of a dead militant at the kibbutz. Israeli authorities stated that the militants planned to raise the flag but were killed by Israeli security forces. [16]

Attack on military outpost

Later in the day on 7 October, Hamas released a video of their militants taking over a military outpost located near Sufa, showing the bodies of Israeli soldiers they had killed. [17] After the outpost was overrun, some of the Golani Brigade soldiers stationed there evaded being captured or killed by hiding inside a bunker on the base. Shortly after the initial assault by Hamas, Shayetet 13 naval commandos were sent to retake the outpost and work in conjunction with other units in the area to rescue hostages and regain control. [1]

The Shayetet 13 commandos were inserted by helicopter, and after a skirmish with Hamas militants, successfully regained control of the outpost and took care of the wounded. [2] [3]

Aftermath

The 227 surviving residents of the kibbutz were evacuated to hotels in Eilat. On 18 January 2024, 50 families were moved into temporary homes in Ramat Gan and 30 families were moved to Ofakim, which was also the site of a Hamas attack on 7 October. [18]

The engagement at the military outpost in Sufa became a symbol of the Israel-Hamas war in Israel, after IDF soldiers fought and stopped the advance of Hamas militants at point-blank range. By mid-January 2024, the Sufa military outpost was one of 13 out of 14 outposts rehabilitated by the Technological and Logistics Directorate of the IDF. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

Note: This compilation includes only those attacks that resulted in casualties. Attacks which did not kill or wound are not included.

This page is a partial listing of incidents of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2004.

This page is a partial listing of incidents of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nirim</span> Kibbutz in southern Israel

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This page is a partial listing of incidents of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shayetet 13</span> Special operations unit of the Israeli Navy

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sufa, Israel</span> Kibbutz in southern Israel

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palestinian tunnel warfare in the Gaza Strip</span> Use of tunnels for military operations in the Gaza Strip

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Re'im music festival massacre</span> 2023 massacre in southern Israel

On 7 October 2023, the Islamic Palestinian nationalist militant group Hamas initiated a sudden attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. As part of the attack, 364 individuals, mostly civilians, were killed and many more wounded at the Supernova Sukkot Gathering, an open-air music festival during the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret near kibbutz Re'im. Hamas also took 40 people hostage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Be'eri massacre</span> 2023 massacre in Israel

On 7 October 2023, in the opening attacks of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Hamas militants carried out a massacre at Be'eri, an Israeli kibbutz near the Gaza Strip.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nir Oz attack</span> 2023 massacre in Israel

On 7 October 2023, as part of the surprise attack on Israel, Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip, led by Hamas, invaded the Nir Oz kibbutz in southern Israel. They killed scores of kibbutz residents, burned homes, and abducted civilians. According to the Israeli military, up to 150 militants participated in the massacre.

The Nahal Oz attack was an assault on the kibbutz of Nahal Oz and the adjacent military base near the northern Gaza Strip on the morning of 7 October 2023 as part of a 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. In the attack, more than 60 Israeli soldiers and fifteen civillians were killed. Some soldiers and eight civillians were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip. The IDF claims that several dead bodies were also taken to the Gaza Strip after being killed at the base or kibbutz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nir Yitzhak attack</span> 2023 fatal attack by Hamas in Israel

On 7 October 2023, the Hamas Nuseirat Battalion attacked Nir Yitzhak, a kibbutz close to the border fence with the Gaza Strip, as part of a surprise attack on Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Israeli female tank crew fight</span> Engagement during Israel-Hamas War

On 7 October 2023, seven female Israeli tank crew members from the Caracal battalion fought against Gazans who they alleged were Hamas continuously for 17 hours. According to the IDF, the young women were the first ever female tank crews in the West to engage in active combat. According to Israel, they killed 50 militants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kidnapping of the Bibas family</span> Kidnapped Israeli family in 2023 Israel-Hamas war

On 7 October 2023, as part of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel and the Nir Oz massacre, the Palestinian Islamist militant organization Hamas abducted the Israeli-Argentinian/Peruvian Bibas family from the Nir Oz kibbutz: 9-month-old Kfir, 4-year-old Ariel, 32-year-old mother Shiri, and her 34-year-old husband Yarden. The youngest child, baby Kfir, was the youngest hostage taken in the 7 October 2023 attacks. Shiri's parents, who also lived on the kibbutz, were later found murdered.

In specific cases there were incidents of friendly fire in the Israel–Hamas war. The vast majority of casualties in the conflict were killed by the opposing side, i.e. Israelis killed by Palestinian militants and Palestinians killed by the Israeli military. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), as of May 2024, 49 of the 278 Israeli soldiers killed during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip were killed by friendly fire and in other accidents.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Battle for Sufa Outpost: How one of Israel's elite units rescued fellow soldiers from Hamas terrorists". All Israel News. 12 October 2023. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Israel war: See the recapture of the Sufa Military Outpost in southern Israel". Washington Examiner. 12 October 2023. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Israeli Shayetet 13 Special Forces Seize Sufa Military Post Near Gaza Border | Defense News October 2023 Global Security army industry | Defense Security global news industry army year 2023 | Archive News year". www.armyrecognition.com. 14 October 2023. Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  4. ↑ "Why the Palestinian group Hamas launched an attack on Israel? All to know". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  5. ↑ "Reuters denies any suggestion it had prior knowledge of Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel". Reuters. 9 November 2023. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023. The photographs published by Reuters were taken two hours after Hamas fired rockets across southern Israel and more than 45 minutes after Israel said gunmen had crossed the border.
  6. ↑ "Netanyahu says Israel is 'at war' after Hamas launches surprise air and ground attack from Gaza". CNN. 7 October 2023. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "Hamas surprise attack out of Gaza stuns Israel and leaves hundreds dead in fighting, retaliation". AP News. 7 October 2023. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 Tolan, Casey (26 October 2023). "Slain Hamas militants' body camera videos show the preparation and tactics behind their terror attack on Israel". CNN . Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  9. 1 2 "Chilling moment Hamas gunmen rampage through Israeli homes". The Daily Telegraph . 16 October 2023. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  10. 1 2 Yagna, Yahir (13 October 2023). "שישה תושבים מול עשרות מחבלים: גיבורי הקרב בקיבוץ סופה משחזרים". Walla (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 6 February 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  11. ↑ Silkoff, Shira (12 December 2023). "For Israeli women, the IDF war room's glass ceiling is constantly reinforced". Times of Israel . Archived from the original on 30 January 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  12. ↑ "Female IDF tank crews ran down dozens of Hamas terrorists on October 7". Times of Israel . 26 November 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  13. ↑ "All-woman Israeli Tank Crews Killed 50 Terrorists Over 17 Hours of Combat on October 7". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 26 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  14. ↑ Kershner, Isabel (19 January 2024). "Israeli Women Fight on Front Line in Gaza, a First". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  15. ↑ "IDF to deploy all-female tank crews after two-year trial deemed a success". The Times of Israel . Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  16. ↑ Egorov, Ilya (11 October 2023). "ISIS flags found on bodies of Hamas terrorists in south". Israel Hayom . Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  17. ↑ "Videos show new details on how Hamas launched surprise assault on Israel". CNN.com. 9 October 2023. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  18. ↑ Fritzhand, Troy (18 January 2024). "Evacuated Southern Residents Find Temporary New Home As War Continues to Rage On". The Algemeiner . Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  19. ↑ Bohbot, Amir (16 January 2023). "IDF border posts on Gaza destroyed on October 7 have been rebuilt". Jerusalem Post . Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
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