Battle of Sufa
Battle of Sufa
The Battle of Sufa was part of Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel. It took place at Kibbutz Sufa in southern Israel and lasted from October 7 to 10, 2023.
On the morning of October 7, Hamas militants attacked Kibbutz Sufa and overran a nearby military outpost. They fired at people on the streets and then moved through the kibbutz, shooting door to door for several hours. Three Israeli civilians were killed. About six kibbutz residents with weapons fought the attackers for around six hours until Israeli forces arrived.
Israel’s response included an all-female tank crew from the Caracal Battalion. Over a 17-hour battle around Sufa, they and other units killed around 50 Hamas militants and helped halt the attack from moving further into Israel. Meanwhile, Hamas had taken control of a nearby outpost.
Shayetet 13 naval commandos were flown in to retake the outpost and assist in rescuing hostages. The outpost was retaken, and the surviving residents (227 people) of Kibbutz Sufa were evacuated to hotels in Eilat.
Aftermath: The attack at Sufa became a symbol of the Gaza war in Israel. By mid-January 2024, the Sufa outpost had been rehabilitated by the IDF. In January 2024, 50 families moved to temporary homes in Ramat Gan and 30 to Ofakim.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 23:47 (CET).