'It's a miracle': Israeli border city of Sderot sees 20% population growth since Oct 7 Hamas attack

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists invaded the Israeli city of Sderot, murdering dozens of residents. Some of the fiercest fighting on Israeli soil took place in the city's streets as Israeli soldiers battled Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated from Gaza. Despite the trauma of the attack nearly three years ago, Sderot's population has grown by almost 20% – from 35,477 to about 42,000 – according to Deputy Mayor Eldad Kalimi.

“It’s magic. It’s a miracle,” Kalimi told The Jerusalem Post at the town’s new Café Chico.He views the population growth as a testament to the community's strength and resilience.

“We want visitors who come here to the city to see and meet the heroism and the strength of our community,” Kalimi explained. He believes that Sderot's population will eventually reach 70,000 once five new neighborhoods are completed

Long before the Oct. 7 attack, Sderot was subjected to Hamas rocket fire, which forced its residents to spend much of their time in bomb shelters.

“When we live here in Sderot, it’s not just having an apartment. We’re doing a Zionist act,” Kalimi said. “We are not breaking. Never, never breaking,”

“It’s something that’s unique to Sderot, and it’s caused people to come here. People from all over the country. All kinds of people; religious and non-religious, younger and older, come here to Sderot because they feel this unique spirit,” he added.

The majority of Sderot's residents are descendants of Jewish refugees from the Muslim world and the former Soviet Union. In November 2024, the city unveiled its "Police Station Oct. 7 Memorial." The police facility was destroyed during a fierce battle after Hamas terrorists briefly seized the building before being driven out by Israeli forces.

Many residents share the deputy mayor's optimism about Sderot's resilience. Aryeh Cohen, a longtime resident, spoke with The Jerusalem Post at Café Chico, named after his son, IDF Capt. Shiloh "Chico" Cohen, who was killed fighting Hamas terrorists at Kibbutz Be'eri during Oct. 7 invasion.

“Shiloh understood on that day that there was no time to wait for instructions from commanders,” Cohen said. “He left the house, and he didn’t have his gun with him, so he took his brother’s gun and hitchhiked.”

“Shiloh woke up at around 7:00 a.m., left the house at 9:30, and at around 11:30, he was already fighting in Mefalsim,” Cohen recalled. He was killed at approximately 5:30 p.m. that evening.

The Sderot schoolteacher Karen Kalfa, who moved to Israel from Canada 25 years ago, revealed how her family has been growing up in the town during years of terrorism threats from Hamas-run Gaza.

“I have six kids. My oldest son is 18 and a half, and while he was growing up, he was exposed to many Qassam (rocket) attacks, or [how] many times that there was war in Israel,” Kalfa said. She revealed the pain of losing friends, colleagues and students during the Hamas atrocities.

“I lost many, many of my own students, and my colleagues, and friends, and neighbors,” she recalled. “And so, for me, October 7 was not only a loss because of my town, but also because of the community I work at.”

Despite the trauma, she believes the Oct. 7 attack made the Sderot stronger.

“Living in Sderot was always a special thing because the rockets and all the trauma that the community went through is something that brought us together,” she said. “No one can understand what I go through unless he’s from Sderot.”