Wadi Gaza () and Besor Stream (, ) are parts of a river system in 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 ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

and the

Negev The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...

region of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Wadi Gaza is a

wadi Wadi ( ; ) is a river valley or a wet (ephemerality, ephemeral) Stream bed, riverbed that contains water only when heavy rain occurs. Wadis are located on gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the distal portion ...

(river valley) that divides the northern and southern ends of the Gaza Strip, whose major

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

is Besor Stream.

History

Nahal Besor has shown evidence of

epipaleolithic In archaeology, the Epipalaeolithic or Epipaleolithic (sometimes Epi-paleolithic etc.) is a period occurring between the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic during the Stone Age. Mesolithic also falls between these two periods, and the two are someti ...

sites above

paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

sediments. Finds of pottery and flints were studied by Ann Roshwalb who found evidence of both

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian and late

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

occupations. Archaeologists Pierre de Miroschedji and Moain Sadeq suggest that in the late 3rd millennium BCE, Egypt's expansion into the southern Levant consisted of a core of permanent settlement with areas of seasonal habitation and Egyptian influence where ancient Egyptians and Canaanites interacted. The permanent core was focused around the wadi, encompassing the settlements at Tell es-Sakan (likely an administrative centre) and En Besor. In the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

, Besor was a ravine or brook in the extreme south-west of Judah, where 200 of

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

's men stayed behind because they were faint, while the other 400 pursued the Amalekites (, ). Around the year 390, a group of monks from Scetis around Silvanus settled in several hermit cells along the watercourse. The community would only gather on Saturdays and Sundays for communal prayer and meals, doing various manual works and prayer during the week. In 520, the so-called monastery of Seridus was founded a bit further south where the famous hermits Barsanuphius and John the Prophet lived. During the

Ottoman period The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Euro ...

, the area was inhabited by 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 ...

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

of 'Arab al-Jubarat (عرب الجبارات). Between 1951 and 1954, the Yeruham Dam was built on one of the tributaries of the HaBesor Stream. In 2012, Palestine added Wadi Gaza to the tentative list of World Heritage Sites. In October 2023, as part of 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 ...

, Israel ordered 1.1 million people then living north of the Wadi Gaza bridge to move south. File:Wadi Gaza in the PEF Survey of Western Palestine composite (cropped).jpg, 1888 File:Wadi Gaza in the 1933 Motor map of Palestine, Survey of Palestine (cropped).jpg, 1933 File:09-09-WadiGhazza-1942.jpg, 1942

Wadi Gaza Nature Reserve

The Wadi Gaza Nature Reserve was declared a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

by the Environmental Quality Authority of

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...

in June 2000. It is confined to the course of the Wadi and its floodplain and banks within the Palestinian jurisdiction. The Gaza section of the Coastal Aquifer is the only significant source of water in the Gaza Strip. The Wadi Gaza runs through a wetland, the Gaza Valley, and as of 2012 it is used as a wastewater dump. In 2022 rehabilitation began to turn Wadi Gaza back into a

Nature Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

Geography

The stream begins at Mount Boker (near

Sde Boker Sde Boker () is a kibbutz in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Best known as the retirement home of Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ramat HaNegev Regional Council. In it had a population of . ...

), and spills into the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

near Al-Zahra in the

. Further upstream it was marked as Wadi esh-Shallaleh on the 1878 Survey of Western Palestine map. The area has several important archaeological sites. The stream is the largest in the northern Negev, and together with its largest tributaries, the Nahal Gerar, and the Beersheba stream, reaches as far east into the desert as Sde Boker,

Yeruham Yeruham () is a local council (Israel), town in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel, in the Negev desert. It covers , and had a population of in . It is named after the Hebrew Bible, Biblical Jeroham. Until early 2011 th ...

Dimona Dimona (, ) is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, to the south-east of Beersheba and west of the Dead Sea above the Arabah, Arava valley in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel. In , its population was . The Shimon Pere ...

, and Arad/

Tel Arad Tel Arad () or Tell 'Arad () is an archaeological site consisting of a lower section and a Tell (archaeology), tell or mound, located west of the Dead Sea, about west of the Israeli city of Arad, Israel, Arad in an area surrounded by mountain r ...

. The source of Besor River lies at Mount Boker, near

and the educational center

Midreshet Ben-Gurion Midreshet Ben-Gurion (), also known as Midreshet Sde Boker, is a community settlement and an educational center in southern Israel. Located in the Negev next to kibbutz Sde Boker, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ramat HaNegev Regional Coun ...

. From there it flows northwest towards the town of

Ashalim Ashalim () is a small community settlement (Israel), community settlement in southern Israel. Located in the Negev desert about 35 km south of Be'er Sheva and on the eastern side of Besor, Nahal Besor, the largest stream in the Negev, it fal ...

, where it meets Nahal Be'er Hayil. From there it flows north towards the ancient town of Haluza ( Al-Khalasa). Then it continues northwest until it meets Beersheba River a little to the east of the town of Tze'elim. Near the village of

Re'im Re'im () is a secular kibbutz in southern Israel, and one of the Gaza vicinity villages. Located at the confluence of Besor Stream and Gerar Stream in the north-western Negev desert, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Counc ...

, Nahal Besor meets the Nahal Gerar river, which is its biggest tributary. One of the tributaries of the Besor River reaches kibbutz Urim. Tributaries from south to north: HaRo'e Stream, Boker Stream, Mesora Stream, Zalzal Stream, Revivim Stream, Atadim Stream, Beersheba Stream, Assaf Stream, Amar Stream, Sahaf Stream, and Wadi Abu Katrun. Finally, Bezor Stream flows across the Israeli border with the

, and into the Mediterranean sea.

Ecology and environment

Fauna

The Gaza–Israel barrier presents a physical barrier which effects the makeup of wildlife in the portion of the wadi in the Gaza Strip by limiting movement. Between 2002 and 2004 a survey of wildlife around the wadi as it passes through the Gaza Strip found that it was devoid of large mammals, though small mammals such as

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. The ...

s, and

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

s were common. Wildlife hunting for food is more common in this area than in Israel.

Pollution

A study conducted in 2001 and 2002 found that the section of the wadi flowing through the Gaza Strip had higher levels of pollutants in summer than winter, when greater rainfall diluted the concentration. There were high levels of mercury,

cadmium Cadmium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12 element, group 12, zinc and mercury (element), mercury. Like z ...

, iron and zinc.

Archaeology

Several archaeological sites were excavated by Eann Macdonald in 1929 to 1930 along the Wadi Ghazzeh in lower Nahal Besor that show signs of specialist flint production. Some of these sites were re-excavated in 1969 by Jean Perrot.* Several important

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 ...

archaeological sites are in this area. Among them are Tel Gamma, and Tell el-Far'ah (South). A smaller site of Qubur al-Walaydah is located between them.

Taur Ikhbeineh

Taur Ikhbeineh is an Early Bronze Age settlement inland from Gaza's Mediterranean coast. It was occupied in the 4th millennium BC and pottery from the site indicates interactions between Canaanite and Egyptian people. It was located along a probable paleo-estuary of the wadi.

Tell es-Sakan

Tell es-Sakan is an Early Bronze Age settlement on the northern bank of the Wadi Gaza, close to Gaza City. It covers an area of and was inhabited between 3300 and 2300 BC. It began as an Egyptian settlement before it was abandoned around 3000 BC and later inhabited by Canaanites in 2600 BC.

Tell el-Ajjul

Tell el-Ajjul was established in the Bronze Age and was likely a successor settlement to Tell es-Sakan. It is on the northern bank of the wadi.

Tell Jemmeh/Tel Gamma

Tell Jemmeh (Arabic) or Tel Gamma (תל גמה; Hebrew) is located on the west side of Nahal Besor, near

and is close to in size. The site was continuously settled only between the Middle Bronze IIB (c. 1700–1550 BCE) and the Persian period (c. 530–330 BC). During the Iron I (c. 1200–1000 BE) the site was part of the

Philistine Philistines (; Septuagint, LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia. There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philist ...

territory. The first archaeological excavations mistakenly identified Tel Gamma as biblical

Gerar Gerar ( ''Gərār'', "lodging-place") was a Philistine town and district in what is today south central Israel, mentioned in the Book of Genesis and in the Second Book of Chronicles of the Hebrew Bible. Identification According to the Internati ...

, and it has since been identified by researchers as the Canaanite city of Yurzah (ירזה), that was cited on the lists of Pharaoh

Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, (1479–1425 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. He is regarded as one of the greatest warriors, military commanders, and milita ...

(15th century BCE), as well as in Amarna letters.

Tell el-Farah (South)

Tell el-Farah (South), sometimes referred to as Tell Fara, is on the west side of Nahal Besor, near Ein HaBesor. The tell is in size and high and was an important fortified site in the Middle

. The earliest major settlement that has been uncovered to date is from the Middle Bronze Age II, lasting from ca. 1650 to 1550 BCE. It was controlled by

in the Late Bronze Age and inhabited by

Philistines Philistines (; LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia. There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philistines origi ...

into the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. A

hematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...

seal in the shape of the head of a

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...

was found and identified by

Flinders Petrie Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie ( – ), commonly known as simply Sir Flinders Petrie, was an English people, English Egyptology, Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and the preservation of artefacts. ...

to originate from

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, it showed a bull attacking a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

beneath a

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

first identified the site as Beth-Pelet () and published the excavation reports under the names Beth-Pelet I - II. It has been linked by

William Foxwell Albright William Foxwell Albright (May 24, 1891 – September 19, 1971) was an American archaeologist, biblical scholar, philologist, and expert on ceramics. He is considered "one of the twentieth century's most influential American biblical scholars," h ...

to the ancient settlement of Sharuhen, although Tell el-Ajjul near the estuary of Nahal Besor, and Tel Haror to the north, are also being suggested. Nahal Besor has been suggested to be the

Brook of Egypt The Brook of Egypt () is a wadi identified in the Hebrew Bible as forming the southernmost border of the Land of Israel. A number of scholars in the past identified it with Wadi al-Arish, an ephemeral river flowing into the Mediterranean sea nea ...

.Nadav Na'aman
The Brook of Egypt and Assyrian Policy on the Egyptian Border.
Tel Aviv 6 (1979), pp. 68-90

Flooding

Besor Stream is subject to annual flooding following heavy rains. Some Palestinians have claimed that Israel is at fault for the flooding, due to the opening of one or more dams opened upstream, and in 2015, AFP posted a video showing flooding, entitled "Gaza village floods after Israel opens dam gates." Several days later, AFP published a story acknowledging that "no such dam exists in Israel that could control the flow of water into Gaza, according to a team of AFP reporters on the ground as well as interviews with Israeli and international experts."

References

External links

*
Official website of the Tell el-Farah excavations, Nahal Besor. Claremont Graduate University.
{{Authority control Rivers of Israel Landforms of Southern District (Israel) Rivers of the Gaza Strip Hebrew Bible rivers Negev Hebrew Bible valleys