Meet the policewoman who fought terrorists for hours on a roof in Sderot

On Saturday, October 7, police officer Mali Shoshana, a 54-year-old single mother from Ashdod, volunteered for a reinforcement shift at the Sderot station. On that day, she spent eight hours on the rooftop of the building, fighting terrorists.

Speaking with The Jerusalem Post’s sister publication Maariv, she shared her experience and the emotional journey she has embarked on since that day. 

"Every day, I think about the events of that Saturday,” she said. “The people I meet express their gratitude. It surprises me that they see me as a hero because we were all there. We fought as a team, risking our lives to prevent a massacre in Sderot."

Shoshana vividly recalled the moments leading up to the battle. 

"At 6:30 a.m., as the shift changed, rockets started raining down on our area,” she said. “Amid the chaos, we received a warning about terrorists approaching our location. We immediately rushed to the station's roof to assess the situation."

Corporal Shoshana described the intense firefight that followed. 

"We found ourselves face to face with five terrorists, armed and determined,” she said. “We fought back. Despite being outnumbered, we managed to neutralize two of them and gain control of their weapons. However, we soon faced an even greater threat when a grenade was thrown at us."

In that critical moment, the police officers maintained their composure and relied on their training. 

"We called for assistance, aware that our ammunition was running low,” Shoshana recalled. “Hoping to buy more time, we pretended to be dead, lying wounded and bleeding on the roof. Eventually, the IDF forces arrived and rescued us, allowing us to be evacuated to the hospital."

Reflecting on the ordeal, she emphasized that no amount of training can fully prepare someone for such a harrowing experience. 

"I have been in the police force for 30 years, but nothing could have prepared me for this,” the officer said. “It was a battle for life, where every decision was a matter of life or death." 

Unique resilience

Despite the physical and emotional toll, the very next day, Shoshana returned to work, determined to fulfill her duty to protect and serve the community.

"As police officers, our mission is to serve and protect,” she said. “We are the first line of defense, the human shield for our residents. We must continue to do our best to fulfill this mission."