Al-Qarara or Al Qarara () 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 located north of

Khan Yunis Khan Yunis (), also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus, is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and serves as the capital of the Khan Yunis Governorate. It has been largely destroyed during the Gaza war. Before the 14th century, Khan Y ...

, in the

Khan Yunis Governorate The Khan Yunis Governorate () is one of 16 Governorates of Palestine, located in the southern Gaza Strip. Its district capital is Khan Yunis. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the governorate had a population of 426,0 ...

of the southern

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 ...

. 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 ...

, al-Qarara had a population of 29,004 inhabitants in 2017, The town is 15 miles south 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 ...

, and used to be a farming village. It lies on trade routes dating back to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. The town was a site of a displacement camp 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 ...

. The IDF bombed the Al-Qarara Museum in the area In October 2023, which houses Canaanite and Roman-era artifacts from the region. Israeli ground forces demolished numerous residential buildings in the area in 2024.

History

The town was home to the

Al Qarara Cultural Museum The Al Qarara Cultural Museum () was a museum in al-Qarara, near Khan Yunis, in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. Founded in 2016, the museum featured the archaeology and history of the area, collected by its founders and by local community members. I ...

, but that museum was destroyed by Israeli forces in late 2023 due to the

. The

Israeli military The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, an ...

had also ordered that town to be evacuated due to the war. A

pedestrian bridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

over

Salah Aldin Street Salah al-Din Road (), also known as Salaheddin Road and the Salah ad-Deen Highway, is the main highway of the Gaza Strip, a territory of the State of Palestine. The highway extends over 45 kilometers, spanning the entire length of the territory ...

for students was completed in the town in September 2023. The bridge had been funded by Japan's

Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the Un ...

program. The

siege of Al-Qarara The siege of Al-Qarara was a military engagement between invading Israeli forces and local Palestinian forces. It began on 6 December 2023, with al-Qarara being seen as a key town to control supply lines for the Israel army heading into Khan Yun ...

began on 6 December 2023, as Israeli forces also targeted several other towns,namely Absan, Al-Nazla,

Bani Suheila Bani Suheila () is a municipality in the Gaza Strip, in the Khan Yunis Governorate of the State of Palestine. The town is located east of the city of Khan Younis. As of 2017, Bani Suheila had a population of 41,439 people. History The history ...

, and al-Satr. By 12 December the town was completely surrounded.

References

Towns in the Gaza Strip Khan Yunis Governorate Municipalities of Palestine {{Palestine-geo-stub