Al-Mughraqa (, also known as Abu Middein) is a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

town in the

Gaza Governorate The Gaza Governorate (), also alternatively known as Gaza City Governorate, is one of the 16 Governorates of Palestine, located in the north central Gaza Strip. Gaza is claimed by the State of Palestine, but the land is under the control of ...

of the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

, located six kilometers southwest of

Gaza City Gaza City, also called Gaza, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Port of Gaza, Palestine's only port. With a population of ...

. According to the

Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS; ) is the official statistical institution of Palestine. Its main task is to provide credible statistical figures at the national and international levels. It is a state institution that provid ...

(PCBS), al-Mughraqa had a population of 11,458 in 2017. The town's alternate name, "Abu Middein" derives from the

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

Abu Middein tribe that inhabits the area, part of the larger al-Hanajreh tribal confederation.

History

In 1996, a Bronze Age settlement dating to the early 2nd millennium BC was discovered in the town and named

al-Moghraqa Al-Moghraqa is a Bronze Age former settlement in Gaza Governorate of the Gaza Strip in Palestine. It was discovered in 1996 in the town of Al-Mughraqa and investigated in 1999 and 2000 as part of the Gaza Research Project. The site was inhabited ...

. In 2002, during the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...

, Israel carried out demolitions of Palestinian homes in al-Mughraqa. The

2014 Gaza War The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge (, ), and Battle of the Withered Grain (), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that has been governed by Hamas since ...

caused damage to al-Mughraqa's water network; in 2015 the municipality had a

non-revenue water Non-revenue water (NRW) is water that has been produced and is "lost" before it reaches the customer. Losses can be real losses (through leaks, sometimes also referred to as physical losses) or apparent losses (for example through theft or Water me ...

rate of 58%, amongst the highest in the Gaza Strip. In late 2023, al-Mughraqa's residents fled south to escape the

Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip The Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip is a major part of the Gaza war. Starting on 7 October 2023, immediately after the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Hamas-led attack on Israel, Israel began bombing of the Gaza Strip, bombing the Ga ...

. They began to return in February 2025 following a

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may b ...

. The damage to al-Mughraqa was extensive, encompassing buildings and agricultural land, and the area was left without running water or an electrical supply. An assessment by

UNOSAT UNOSAT is the United Nations Satellite Centre. It is hosted at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), with the mission to promote evidence-based decision making for peace, security and resilience using geo-spatial info ...

in December 2024 identified more than 2,800 buildings in al-Mughraqa that had been damaged or destroyed.

Education

Al-Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...

established a new campus in al-Mughraqa with international funding. The campus was destroyed during the Gaza War in 2024. The Moghraqa Preparatory Girls and Moghraqa Elementary Boys schools were damaged during the

Gaza War The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

Demographics

As of 2010, most of al-Mughraqa's residents were refugees.

References

External links

*
The Palestine Chronology
Towns in the Gaza Strip Municipalities of Palestine Palestinian bedouins {{Palestine-geo-stub