Gaza (;''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' (1998), , p. 761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory in Palestine, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza...". ar, غَزَّة ', ), also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

, with a population of 590,481 (in 2017), making it the largest city in the

State of Palestine Palestine ( ar, فلسطين, Filasṭīn), Legal status of the State of Palestine, officially the State of Palestine ( ar, دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn, label=none), is a state (polity), state located in Western Asia. Officiall ...

. Inhabited since at least the 15th century BCE, Gaza has been dominated by several different peoples and empires throughout its history. The

Philistines The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek (LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, when ...

made it a part of their pentapolis after the Ancient Egyptians had ruled it for nearly 350 years. Under the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

Gaza experienced relative peace and its port flourished. In 635 CE, it became the first city in Palestine to be conquered by the Muslim

Rashidun army The Rashidun army () was the core of the Rashidun Caliphate's armed forces during the early Muslim conquests in the 7th century. The army is reported to have maintained a high level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization, granti ...

and quickly developed into a center of

Islamic law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...

. However, by the time the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

invaded the country starting in 1099, Gaza was in ruins. In later centuries, Gaza experienced several hardships—from

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

raids to floods and locusts, reducing it to a village by the 16th century, when it was incorporated into the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. During the first half of Ottoman rule, the

Ridwan dynasty The Ridwan dynasty (also spelled ''Radwan''; tr, RizvanZe'evi, 2012, p39/ref>) was the most prominent pasha family in Palestine, ruling the southwestern districts of the Damascus Eyalet ("Province of Damascus") in the 16th and 17th centuries und ...

controlled Gaza and under them the city went through an age of great commerce and peace. The municipality of Gaza was established in 1893. Gaza fell to British forces during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, becoming a

part Part, parts or PART may refer to: People *Armi Pärt (born 1991), Estonian handballer * Arvo Pärt (born 1935), Estonian classical composer *Brian Part (born 1962), American child actor *Dealtry Charles Part (1882–1961), sheriff (1926–1927) a ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

. As a result of the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

administered the newly formed Gaza Strip territory and several improvements were undertaken in the city. Gaza was captured by

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

in 1967, but in 1993, the city was transferred to the newly created

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

. In the months following the 2006 election, an

armed conflict War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

broke out between the Palestinian political factions of

Fatah Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

and

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

, resulting in the latter taking power in Gaza. Egypt and Israel consequently imposed a

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are leg ...

on the Gaza Strip. Israel eased the blockade allowing consumer goods in June 2010, and Egypt reopened the

Rafah Border Crossing The Rafah Border Crossing ( ar, معبر رفح, Ma`bar Rafaḥ) or Rafah Crossing Point is the sole crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. It is located on the Gaza–Egypt border, which was recognized by the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace ...

in 2011 to pedestrians.Gaza Benefiting From Israel Easing Economic Blockade
/ref>
/ref> The primary economic activities of Gaza are small-scale industries and agriculture. However, the blockade and recurring conflicts have put the economy under severe pressure. The majority of Gaza's inhabitants are

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, although there is also a tiny Christian minority. Gaza has a very young population, with roughly 75% under the age of 25. The city is currently administered by a 14-member municipal council.

Etymology

The name "Gaza" is first known from military records of

Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Officially, Thutmose III ruled Egypt for almost 54 years and his reign is usually dated from 28 ...

in the 15th century BCE. In

Semitic languages The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of West Asia, the Horn of Africa, and latterly North Africa, Malta, West Africa, Chad, and in large immigra ...

, the meaning of the city name is "fierce, strong". The Hebrew name of the city is ''Azza'' (עזה) – the

ayin ''Ayin'' (also ''ayn'' or ''ain''; transliterated ) is the sixteenth letter of the Semitic scripts, including Phoenician , Hebrew , Aramaic , Syriac ܥ, and Arabic (where it is sixteenth in abjadi order only). The letter represen ...

at the beginning of the word represented a

voiced velar fricative The voiced velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound that is used in various spoken languages. It is not found in Modern English but existed in Old English. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , ...

Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew (, or , ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite branch of Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Israel, roughly west of ...

, but in

Modern Hebrew Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít ḥadašá ', , '' lit.'' "Modern Hebrew" or "New Hebrew"), also known as Israeli Hebrew or Israeli, and generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew ( ), is the standard form of the He ...

, it is silent. Although the "z" is double in Hebrew, it was transliterated into Greek as a single

zeta Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; grc, ζῆτα, el, ζήτα, label= Demotic Greek, classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived f ...

, and the voiced velar or

uvular fricative Uvulars are consonants place of articulation, articulated with the back of the tongue against or near the Palatine uvula, uvula, that is, further back in the mouth than velar consonants. Uvulars may be stop consonant, stops, fricative consonant, ...

at the beginning was transliterated with a gamma – thus rendering it ''Gáza''. According to Shahin, the Ancient Egyptians called it ''gḏt'', "Ghazzat" ("prized city"), and the Muslims often referred to it as "Ghazzat Hashem", in honor of

Hashim Hashim ( ar, هاشم) is a common male Arabic given name. Hashim may also refer to: *Hashim Amir Ali *Hashim (poet) *Hashim Amla *Hashim Thaçi *Hashim Khan * Hashim Qureshi * Mir Hashim Ali Khan *Hashim al-Atassi *Hashim ibn Abd Manaf *Hashim ib ...

, the great-grandfather of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

who, according to Islamic tradition, is buried in the city.Shahin, 2005, p. 414. Other proper Arabic transliterations for the Arabic name are ' or ''Ġazzah'' (

DIN 31635 DIN 31635 is a Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN) standard for the transliteration of the Arabic alphabet adopted in 1982. It is based on the rules of the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft (DMG) as modified by the International Orientalist ...

). Accordingly, "Gaza" might be spelled "Gazza" in English.

History

Gaza's history of habitation dates back 5,000 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the world.Dumper et al., 2007, p. 155. Located on the Mediterranean coastal route between North Africa and the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

, for most of its history it served as a key

entrepôt An ''entrepôt'' (; ) or transshipment port is a port, city, or trading post where merchandise may be imported, stored, or traded, usually to be exported again. Such cities often sprang up and such ports and trading posts often developed into c ...

of southern Palestine and an important stopover on the spice trade route traversing the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

Bronze Age

Tell es-Sakan and Tell el-Ajjul

Settlement in the region of Gaza dates back to the ancient Egyptian fortress built in

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

ite territory at

Tell es-Sakan Tell es-Sakan, lit. "Hill of Ash", is a now almost entirely destroyed Early Bronze Age II The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...

as its trade with Egypt sharply decreased. Another urban center known as

Tell el-Ajjul Tall al-Ajjul or Tell el-'Ajul is an archaeological mound or '' tell'' in the Gaza Strip. The fortified city excavated at the site dates as far back as ca. 2000-1800 BCE and was inhabited during the Bronze Age. It is located at the mouth of Wad ...

began to grow along the Wadi Ghazza riverbed. During the Middle Bronze Age, a revived Tell es-Sakan became the southernmost locality in Palestine, serving as a fort. In 1650 BCE, when the Canaanite

Hyksos Hyksos (; Egyptian '' ḥqꜣ(w)- ḫꜣswt'', Egyptological pronunciation: ''hekau khasut'', "ruler(s) of foreign lands") is a term which, in modern Egyptology, designates the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt (fl. c. 1650–1550 BC). T ...

occupied Egypt, a second city developed on the ruins of the first Tell as-Sakan. However, it was abandoned by the 14th century BCE, at the end of the Bronze Age.

Gaza

During the reign of

Tuthmosis III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Officially, Thutmose III ruled Egypt for almost 54 years and his reign is usually dated from 28 ...

(r. 1479–1425 BCE), the city became a stop on the Syrian-Egyptian

caravan route A trade route is a Logistics, logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing Good (economics and accounti ...

and was mentioned in the 14th-century

Amarna letters The Amarna letters (; sometimes referred to as the Amarna correspondence or Amarna tablets, and cited with the abbreviation EA, for "El Amarna") are an archive, written on clay tablets, primarily consisting of diplomatic correspondence between t ...

as "Azzati". Gaza later served as Egypt's administrative capital in

. Gaza remained under Egyptian control for 350 years until it was conquered by the

Philistine The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek (LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, when ...

s in the 12th century BCE.

Iron Age and the Hebrew Bible

In the 12th century BCE Gaza became part of the Philistine "pentapolis". According to the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

Book of Judges The Book of Judges (, ') is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdom i ...

, Gaza was the place where

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

was imprisoned by the Philistines and met his death ().

Israelite to Persian periods

After being ruled by the

Israelite The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

s, Assyrians, and then the Egyptians, Gaza achieved relative independence and prosperity under the

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...

Hellenistic period

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

besieged Gaza, the last city to resist his conquest on his path to Egypt, for five months before finally capturing it 332 BCE; the inhabitants were either killed or taken captive. Alexander brought in local Bedouins to populate Gaza and organized the city into a ''

polis ''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...

'' (or "

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

"). In

Seleucid The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

times,

Seleucus I Nicator Seleucus I Nicator (; ; grc-gre, Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ , ) was a Macedonian Greek general who was an officer and successor ( ''diadochus'') of Alexander the Great. Seleucus was the founder of the eponymous Seleucid Empire. In the po ...

, or one of his successors renamed Gaza into Seleucia to control the surrounding area against the Ptolemies.

Greek culture The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, beginning in Minoan and later in Mycenaean Greece, continuing most notably into Classical Greece, while influencing the Roman Empire and its successor the Byzantine Empire. Other cult ...

consequently took root and Gaza earned a reputation as a flourishing center of

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

learning and philosophy.Ring and Salkin, 1994, p.287. During the

Third War of the Diadochi The Wars of the Diadochi ( grc, Πόλεμοι τῶν Διαδόχων, '), or Wars of Alexander's Successors, were a series of conflicts that were fought between the generals of Alexander the Great, known as the Diadochi, over who would rule h ...

Ptolemy I Soter Ptolemy I Soter (; gr, Πτολεμαῖος Σωτήρ, ''Ptolemaîos Sōtḗr'' "Ptolemy the Savior"; c. 367 BC – January 282 BC) was a Macedonian Greek general, historian and companion of Alexander the Great from the Kingdom of Macedon ...

defeated

Demetrius I of Macedon Demetrius I (; grc, Δημήτριος; 337–283 BC), also called Poliorcetes (; el, Πολιορκητής, "The Besieger"), was a Macedonian nobleman, military leader, and king of Macedon (294–288 BC). He belonged to the Antigonid dynast ...

in a battle near Gaza in 312 BCE. In 277 BCE, following

Ptolemy II ; egy, Userkanaenre Meryamun Clayton (2006) p. 208 , predecessor = Ptolemy I , successor = Ptolemy III , horus = ''ḥwnw-ḳni'Khunuqeni''The brave youth , nebty = ''wr-pḥtj'Urpekhti''Great of strength , gol ...

's successful campaign against the

Nabataeans The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic language, Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabian Pe ...

the Ptolemaic fortress of Gaza took control of the spice trade with

Gerrha Gerrha ( grc, Γέρρα, translit=Gérrha) was an ancient and renowned city within Eastern Arabia, on the west side of the Persian Gulf. History Prior to Gerrha, the area belonged to the Dilmun civilization, which was conquered by the Assyria ...

and

Southern Arabia South Arabia () is a historical region that consists of the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia, mainly centered in what is now the Republic of Yemen, yet it has also historically included Najran, Jizan, Al-Bahah, and 'A ...

. Gaza experienced another siege in 96 BCE by the Hasmonean king

Alexander Jannaeus Alexander Jannaeus ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξανδρος Ἰανναῖος ; he, ''Yannaʾy''; born Jonathan ) was the second king of the Hasmonean dynasty, who ruled over an expanding kingdom of Judea from 103 to 76 BCE. A son of John Hyrcanus, ...

who "utterly overthrew" the city, killing 500 senators who had fled into the temple of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

for safety.Patai, 1999, p. 149.

Roman period

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...

notes that Gaza was resettled under the rule of Antipater, who cultivated friendly relations with Gazans, Ascalonites and neighboring cities after being appointed governor of

Idumea Edom (; Edomite: ; he, אֱדוֹם , lit.: "red"; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan, located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the south and east. ...

by Jannaeus.Shatzman, 1991, p. 79. Rebuilt after it was incorporated into the

in 63 BCE under the command of

Pompey Magnus Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

, Gaza then became a part of the Roman province of Judaea. It was targeted by Jewish forces during their rebellion against Roman rule in 66 and was partially destroyed.Patai, 1999, p. 142. It nevertheless remained an important city, even more so after the destruction of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

.Dowling, 1913, p
33
/ref> Throughout the Roman period, Gaza was a prosperous city and received grants and attention from several emperors. A 500-member senate governed Gaza, and a diverse variety of

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

, Romans,

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

ns,

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Egyptians Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

, and

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

populated the city. Gaza's

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

issued

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

s adorned with the busts of

gods A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...

and

emperors An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

. During his visit in 130 CE, Emperor Hadrian personally inaugurated

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

, and

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...

ical competitions in Gaza's new

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

, which became known from

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. The city was adorned with many pagan temples; the main cult being that of

Marnas Dagon ( he, דָּגוֹן, ''Dāgōn'') or Dagan ( sux, 2= dda-gan, ; phn, 𐤃𐤂𐤍, Dāgān) was a god worshipped in ancient Syria across the middle of the Euphrates, with primary temples located in Tuttul and Terqa, though many attes ...

. Other temples were dedicated to

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the deity, god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyper ...

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

and the local

Tyche Tyche (; Ancient Greek: Τύχη ''Túkhē'', 'Luck', , ; Roman equivalent: Fortuna) was the presiding tutelary deity who governed the fortune and prosperity of a city, its destiny. In Classical Greek mythology, she is the daughter of Aphrodite ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

began to spread throughout Gaza in 250 CE, including in the port of Maiuma.

Byzantine period

Following the division of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century CE, Gaza remained under control of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

that in turn became the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. The city prospered and was an important center for the southern Palestine.Kaegi, W. ''Byzantium and the early Islamic conquests'', p. 95 A Christian

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

was established at Gaza. Conversion to Christianity in Gaza was accelerated under Saint Porphyrius between 396 and 420. In 402,

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''Augustus (title), augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after ...

ordered all eight of the city's pagan temples destroyed, and four years later Empress

Aelia Eudocia Aelia Eudocia Augusta (; grc-gre, Αιλία Ευδοκία Αυγούστα; 401460 AD), also called Saint Eudocia, was an Eastern Roman empress by marriage to Emperor Theodosius II (r. 408–450), and a prominent Greek historical figure in ...

commissioned the construction of a church atop the ruins of the Temple of Marnas.Pringle, 1993, p
208
/ref> It was during this era that the Christian philosopher Aeneas of Gaza called Gaza, his hometown, "the

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

of Asia." A large

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

existed in Gaza in the 6th century, according to excavations.

Early Islamic period

In 634 CE Gaza was besieged by the Muslim

under general 'Amr ibn al-'As, following the

Battle of Ajnadayn The Battle of Ajnadayn ( ar, معركة أجنادين) was fought in July or August 634 ( Jumada I or II, 13 AH), in a location close to Beit Guvrin in present-day Israel; it was the first major pitched battle between the Byzantine (Roma ...

between the

and the

Rashidun Caliphate The Rashidun Caliphate ( ar, اَلْخِلَافَةُ ٱلرَّاشِدَةُ, al-Khilāfah ar-Rāšidah) was the first caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was ruled by the first four successive caliphs of Muhammad after his ...

in central Palestine. It was captured by Amr's forces about three years later. Believed to be the site where

's great-grandfather

Hashim ibn Abd Manaf Hāshim ibn ʿAbd Manāf ( ar, هاشم بن عبد مناف; ), born ʿAmr al-ʿUlā (), was the great-grandfather of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the progenitor of the ruling Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe in Mecca. At some point in ...

was buried, Gaza was not destroyed and its inhabitants were not attacked by 'Amr's army despite the city's stiff and lengthy resistance, although its Byzantine garrison was massacred.Filiu, 2014, pp. 18–19. The arrival of the Muslim Arabs brought significant changes to Gaza; at first some of its churches were transformed into

mosques A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, i ...

, including the present

Great Mosque of Gaza The Great Mosque of Gaza ( ar, المسجد غزة الكبير, transliteration: ''al-Masjid Ghazza al-Kabīr''), also known as the Great Omari Mosque ( ar, المسجد العمري الكبير, transliteration: ''al-Masjid al-ʿUmarī al-Kab� ...

(the oldest in the city), which was later rebuilt by Sultan Baibars, who endowed it with a huge manuscript library containing over 20,000

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

s in the 13th century. A large segment of the population swiftly adopted Islam,Filiu, 2014, pp. 23.Ring and Salkin, 1994, p. 289. and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

became the official language. In 767

Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi'i Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī ( ar, أَبُو عَبْدِ ٱللهِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ ٱلشَّافِعِيُّ, 767–19 January 820 CE) was an Arab Muslim theologian, writer, and schola ...

was born in Gaza and lived his early childhood there; he founded the

Shafi'i The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...

religious code, one of the four major Sunni Muslim schools of law (''

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...

'').Gil, 1992, p.292. Security, which was well-maintained during early Muslim rule, was the key to Gaza's prosperity. Although alcohol was banned in Islam, the Jewish and Christian communities were allowed to maintain

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, and

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

s, a major cash crop of the city, were exported mainly to

.Sharon, 2009, pp
17
18 Because it bordered the

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

, Gaza was vulnerable to warring

nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

ic groups. In 796 it was destroyed during a

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

between the

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

tribes of the area.Dowling, 1913, p
37
/ref> However, by the 10th century, the city had been rebuilt by the

Abbasids The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

; during

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

rule, the

ite

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

al-Muqaddasi described Gaza as "a large town lying on the highroad to Egypt on the border of the desert." In 978, the Fatimids established an agreement with Alptakin, the Turk ruler of Damascus, whereby the Fatimids would control Gaza and the land south of it, including Egypt, while Alptakin controlled the region north of the city.

Crusader and Ayyubid periods

The

conquered Gaza in 1100 and King Baldwin III built a castle in the city for the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

in 1149. He also had the Great Mosque converted back into a church, the Cathedral of Saint John. In 1154, Arab traveller al-Idrisi wrote that Gaza "is today very populous and in the hands of the Crusaders." In 1187 the

Ayyubids The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni Muslim of Kurdish origin, Saladin ...

, led by Sultan

Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سه‌لاحه‌دین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...

, captured Gaza and in 1191 destroyed the city's fortifications.

Richard the Lionheart Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

apparently refortified the city in 1192, but the walls were dismantled again as a result of the

Treaty of Ramla The Treaty of Jaffa, more seldom referred to as the Treaty of Ramla or the treaty of 1192, was a truce agreed to during the Crusades. It was signed on 1 or 2 September 1192 A.D. (20th of Sha'ban 588 AH) between the Muslim ruler Saladin and Richard ...

agreed upon months later in 1193. Ayyubid rule ended in 1260, after the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

under

Hulagu Khan Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulegu ( mn, Хүлэгү/ , lit=Surplus, translit=Hu’legu’/Qülegü; chg, ; Arabic: fa, هولاکو خان, ''Holâku Khân;'' ; 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of West ...

completely destroyed Gaza, which became his southernmost conquest.

Mamluk period

Following Gaza's destruction by the Mongols, Muslim slave-soldiers based in Egypt known as the Mamluks began to administer the area. In 1277, the Mamluks made Gaza the capital of a province that bore its name, ''Mamlakat Ghazzah'' (Governorship of Gaza). This district extended along the coastal plain of Palestine from

Rafah Rafah ( ar, رفح, Rafaḥ) is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. It is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate, located south of Gaza City. Rafah's population of 152,950 (2014) is overwhelmingly made up of former Palestini ...

in the south to just north of Caesarea, and to the east as far as the

Samaria Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first- ...

n highlands and the

Hebron Hills The Hebron Hills, also known as Mount Hebron ( ar, جبل الخليل, translit=Jabal al-Khalīl, he, הר חברון, translit=Har Hevron), are a mountain ridge, geographic region, and geologic formation, comprising the southern part of the J ...

. Other major towns in the province included

Qaqun Qaqun ( ar, قاقون) was a Palestinian Arab village located northwest of the city of Tulkarm at the only entrance to Mount Nablus from the coastal Sharon plain. Evidence of organized settlement in Qaqun dates back to the period of Assyr ...

, Ludd, and

Ramla Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations. The city was f ...

.Sharon, 1997, pp.XII-XIII. Gaza, which entered a period of tranquility under the Mamluks, was used by them as an outpost in their offensives against the Crusaders which ended in 1290. In 1294 an earthquake devastated Gaza, and five years later the Mongols again destroyed all that had been restored by the Mamluks. Syrian geographer

al-Dimashqi The Arabic '' nisbah'' (attributive title) Al-Dimashqi ( ar, الدمشقي) denotes an origin from Damascus, Syria. Al-Dimashqi may refer to: * Al-Dimashqi (geographer): a medieval Arab geographer. * Abu al-Fadl Ja'far ibn 'Ali al-Dimashqi: 12th- ...

described Gaza in 1300 as a "city so rich in trees it looks like a cloth of brocade spread out upon the land." Under the governorship of Emir

Sanjar al-Jawli Sanjar ibn Abdullah Alam al-Din Abu Sa'id al-Jawli (also spelled Sangar al-Gawli, Sanjar al-Jawali or Sinjar al-Jawili, 1255–14 January 1345) was a powerful Mamluk ''emir'' and the Governor of Gaza and much of Palestine between 1311–20 during ...

, Gaza was transformed into a flourishing city and much of the Mamluk-era architecture dates back to his reign between 1311–1320 and again in 1342. In 1348 the

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...

spread to the city, killing the majority of its inhabitants and in 1352, Gaza suffered from a destructive flood, which was rare in that arid part of Palestine.Ring and Salkin, 1994, p.290. However, when Arab traveller and writer

Ibn Battuta Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...

visited the city in 1355, he noted that it was "large and populous, and has many mosques." The Mamluks contributed to Gazan architecture by building mosques, Islamic colleges, hospitals, caravansaries, and

public baths Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

. The Mamluks allowed Jews to return to the city, after being expelled by the Crusaders, and the Jewish community prospered during Mamluk rule. Towards the end of the Mamluk period, the Jewish community in Gaza was the third largest in Palestine, after the communities in Safad and Jerusalem. In 1481, an Italian Jewish traveller, Meshulam of Volterra, wrote:

Gazza is called by the Moslems Gaza. It is a fine and renowned place, and its fruits are very renowned and good. Bread and good wine is to be found there, but only Jews make wine. Gaza has a circumference of four miles and no walls. It is about six miles from the sea and situated in a valley and on a hill. It has a population as numerous as the sands of the sea, and there are about fifty (sixty) Jewish householders, artisans. They have a small but pretty Synagogue, and
vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...
s and fields and houses. They had already begun to make the new wine. ... The Jews live at the top of the hill. May God exalt them. There are also four Samaritan householders who live on the hillside.

Ottoman period

In 1516 Gaza—at the time, a small town with an inactive port, ruined buildings and reduced trade—was incorporated into the

. The Ottoman army quickly and efficiently crushed a small-scale uprising, and the local population generally welcomed them as fellow Sunni Muslims. The city was then made the capital of the

Gaza Sanjak Gaza Sanjak ( ar, سنجق غزة) was a sanjak of the Damascus Eyalet, Ottoman Empire centered in Gaza. In the 16th century it was divided into ''nawahi'' (singular: ''nahiya''; third-level subdivisions): Gaza in the south and Ramla in the north ...

, part of the larger Province of Damascus. The Ridwan family, named after governor Ridwan Pasha, was the first dynasty to govern Gaza and would continue to rule the city for over a century.Ze'evi, 1996, p.40. Under

Ahmad ibn Ridwan Ahmad ibn Ridwan ( ar, أحمد بن رضوان ) (died 1607), better known as Ahmad Pasha, was the governor of the Damascus Eyalet in the early 17th century. Before that, he was governor of the Gaza Sanjak, a subprovince of Damascus, for nearly 30 ...

, the city became a cultural and religious center as a result of the partnership between the governor and prominent Islamic jurist

Khayr al-Din al-Ramli Khayr al-Din ibn Ahmad ibn Nur al-Din Ali ibn Zayn al-Din ibn Abd al-Wahab al-Ayubi al-Farooqui (1585–1671), better known as Khayr al-Din al-Ramli ( ar, خير الدين الرملي), was a 17th-century Islamic jurist, teacher and writer in t ...

, who was based in the nearby town of al-

. During the rule of Husayn Pasha, strife between the settled population and the nearby

tribes was dramatically reduced, allowing Gaza to peacefully prosper. The Ridwan period is described as a

golden age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

for Gaza, a time when it served as the virtual "capital of Palestine." The Great Mosque was restored, and six other mosques constructed, while

Turkish bath A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...

s and market stalls proliferated. After the death of Musa Pasha, Husayn's successor, Ottoman officials were appointed to govern in place of the Ridwans. The Ridwan period was Gaza's last golden age during Ottoman rule. After the family was removed from office, the city gradually declined.Ze'evi, 1996, p.41. Starting in the early 19th century, Gaza was culturally dominated by neighboring Egypt;

Muhammad Ali of Egypt Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha, also known as Muhammad Ali of Egypt and the Sudan ( sq, Mehmet Ali Pasha, ar, محمد علي باشا, ; ota, محمد علی پاشا المسعود بن آغا; ; 4 March 1769 – 2 August 1849), was ...

conquered Gaza in 1832. American scholar Edward Robinson visited the city in 1838, describing it as a "thickly populated" town larger than Jerusalem, with its Old City lying upon a hilltop, while its suburbs laid on the nearby plain.Robinson, 1841, vol 2, pp
374
375 The city benefited from trade and commerce because of its strategic position on the caravan route between Egypt and northern Syria as well as from producing soap and cotton for trade with the government, local Arab tribes, and the Bedouin of

Wadi Arabah The Arabah, Araba or Aravah ( he, הָעֲרָבָה, ''hāʿĂrāḇā''; ar, وادي عربة, ''Wādī ʿAraba''; lit. "desolate and dry area") is a loosely defined geographic area south of the Dead Sea basin, which forms part of the bord ...

and

Ma'an Ma'an ( ar, مَعان, Maʿān) is a city in southern Jordan, southwest of the capital Amman. It serves as the capital of the Ma'an Governorate. Its population was approximately 41,055 in 2015. Civilizations with the name of Ma'an have existe ...

.Robinson, 1841, vol 2, pp
377–378
/ref> The bazaars of Gaza were well-supplied and were noted by Robinson as "far better" than those of Jerusalem. Robinson noted that virtually all of Gaza's vestiges of ancient history and antiquity had disappeared due to constant conflict and occupation. By the mid-19th century, Gaza's port was eclipsed by the ports of Jaffa and

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, but it retained its fishing fleet. The bubonic plague struck Gaza again in 1839 and the city, lacking political and economic stability, went into a state of stagnation. In 1840 Egyptian and Ottoman troops battled outside of Gaza. The Ottomans won control of the territory, effectively ending Egyptian rule over Palestine. However, the battles brought about more death and destruction in Gaza whilst the city was still recovering from the effects of the plague.

First World War and British Mandate

While leading the Allied Forces during World War I, the British won control of the city during the

Third Battle of Gaza The Third Battle of Gaza was fought on the night of 1–2 November 1917 between British and Ottoman forces during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I and came after the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) victory at the ...

in 1917. After the war, Gaza was included in Mandatory Palestine. In the 1930s and 1940s, Gaza underwent major expansion. New neighborhoods were built along the coast and the southern and eastern plains. International organizations and missionary groups funded most of this construction.Dumper and Abu-Lughod, 2007, p.155.

Egyptian and Israeli rule

In the 1947

United Nations Partition Plan The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a proposal by the United Nations, which recommended a partition of Mandatory Palestine at the end of the British Mandate. On 29 November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted the Plan as Re ...

, Gaza was assigned to be part of an Arab state in Palestine but was occupied by Egypt following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Gaza's growing population was augmented by an influx of refugees fleeing or expelled from nearby cities, towns and villages that were captured by Israel. In 1957, Egyptian president

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...

made a number of reforms in Gaza, which included expanding educational opportunities and the civil services, providing housing, and establishing local security forces.Feldman, 2008, pp.8–9. Gaza was occupied by Israel during the 1967

following the defeat of the Egyptian Army. Frequent conflicts have erupted between Palestinians and the Israeli authorities in the city since the 1970s. The tensions led to the First Intifada in 1987. Gaza was a center of confrontation during this uprising, and economic conditions in the city worsened.

Palestinian control

In September 1993, the leaders of Israel and the

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establ ...

(PLO) signed the Oslo Accords. The agreement called for Palestinian administration of the Gaza Strip and the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

town of

Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...

, which was implemented in May 1994. Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza, leaving a new

(PNA) to administer and police the city. The PNA, led by

Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...

, chose Gaza as its first provincial headquarters. The newly established Palestinian National Council held its inaugural session in Gaza in March 1996. Day 18 of War on Gaza

The

Second Intifada The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel. ...

was a major gamechanger in Gaza, too. In 2005, Israel withdrew its troops from the Gaza Strip and removed the thousands of Israelis who had settled in the territory. (''See'' Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2004.) Since the Israeli withdrawal,

has been engaged in a sometimes violent power struggle with its rival Palestinian organisation

. On January 25, 2006,

won a surprise victory in the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

for the Palestinian Legislative Council, the legislature of the

. In 2007, Hamas overthrew Fatah forces in the Gaza Strip and Hamas members were dismissed from the PNA government in the West Bank in response. Currently, Hamas, recognized as a terror organization by most western countries, has ''de facto'' control of the city and Strip. In March 2008, a coalition of human rights groups charged that the Israeli blockade of the city had caused the humanitarian situation in Gaza to have reached its worst point since Israel occupied the territory in the 1967 Six-Day War, and that Israeli air strikes targeting militants in the densely populated areas have often killed bystanders as well. In 2008, Israel commenced an assault against Gaza. Israel stated the strikes were in response to repetitive rocket and mortar attacks from the Gaza Strip into Israel since 2005, while the Palestinians stated that they were responding to Israel's military incursions and blockade of the Gaza Strip. In January 2009, at least 1,300 Palestinians were killed in the conflict. In November 2012, after a week of conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant groups, a ceasefire brokered by Egypt was announced on November 21. In the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, 2,205 Palestinians (including at least 1,483 civilians) and 71 Israelis (including 66 soldiers) and one foreign national in Israel were killed, according to UN OCHA. According to an analysis by the ''New York Times'', men ages 20–29, who are most likely to be militants, are most overrepresented in the death toll. A tower block was bombed in the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis.

Geography

Central Gaza is situated on a low-lying and round hill with an elevation of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. Much of the modern city is built along the plain below the hill, especially to the north and east, forming Gaza's suburbs. The beach and the port of Gaza are located west of the city's nucleus and the space in between is entirely built up on low-lying hills. The municipal jurisdiction of the city today constitutes about . Gaza is southwest of

, south of

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, and north of

. Surrounding localities include

Beit Lahia Beit Lahia or Beit Lahiya ( ar, بيت لاهيا) is a city in the Gaza Strip north of Jabalia, near Beit Hanoun and the 1949 Armistice Line with Israel. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the city had a population of ...

Beit Hanoun Beit Hanoun or Beit Hanun ( ar, بيت حانون) is a city on the northeast edge of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 32,187 in mid-2006. It is administered by the Governance ...

, and

Jabalia Jabalia also Jabalya ( ar, جباليا) is a Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestini ...

to the north, and the village of

Abu Middein Al-Mughraqa ( ar, المغراقة, also known as Abu Middein) is a Palestinian town in the Gaza Governorate of the Gaza Strip, located six kilometers southwest of Gaza City. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), al-Mugh ...

, the

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peo ...

Bureij Bureij ( ar, البريج) is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the central Gaza Strip east of the Salah al-Din Road in the Deir al-Balah Governorate. The camp's total land area is 529 dunums and in 2005, it had a population of 34,951 with ...

, and the city of

Deir al-Balah Deir al-Balah or Deir al Balah ( ar, دير البلح, , Monastery of the Date Palm) is a Palestinian city in the central Gaza Strip and the administrative capital of the Deir el-Balah Governorate. It is located over south of Gaza City. The c ...

to the south. The population of Gaza depends on groundwater as the only source for drinking, agricultural use, and domestic supply. The nearest

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

is Wadi Ghazza to the south, sourced from Abu Middein along the coastline. It bears a small amount of water during the winter and virtually no water during the summer. Most of its water supply is diverted into Israel. The Gaza Aquifer along the coast is the main

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...

in the Gaza Strip and it consists mostly of

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

sandstones. Like most of the Gaza Strip, Gaza is covered by quaternary soil; clay minerals in the soil absorb many organic and inorganic chemicals which has partially alleviated the extent of groundwater contamination.Chilton, 1999, p.77. Excerpt from report by Mohammad R. Al-Agha from the Islamic University of Gaza. A prominent hill southeast of Gaza, known as Tell al-Muntar, has an elevation of

. For centuries it has been claimed as the place to which

brought the city gates of the Philistines. The hill is crowned by a Muslim shrine (''maqam'') dedicated to Ali al-Muntar ("Ali of the Watchtower"). There are old Muslim graves around the surrounding trees,Briggs, 1918, p.258. and the lintel of the doorway of the ''maqam'' has two medieval Arabic scriptures.

Old City

The Old City forms the main part of Gaza's nucleus. It is roughly divided into two quarters; the northern Daraj Quarter (also known as the Muslim Quarter) and the southern Zaytun Quarter (which contained the Jewish and Christian quarters.) Most structures date from the Mamluk and Ottoman eras, and some were built on top of earlier structures. The ancient part of the Old City is about . There were seven historic gates to the Old City: Bab Asqalan (Gate of Ashkelon), Bab al-Darum (Gate of Deir al-Balah), Bab al-Bahr (Gate of the Sea), Bab Marnas (Gate of Marnas), Bab al-Baladiyah (Gate of the Town), Bab al-Khalil (Gate of Hebron), and Bab al-Muntar (Gate of Tell al-Muntar). Some of the older buildings in Gaza's Old City use the ''

ablaq Ablaq ( ar, أبلق; particolored; literally 'piebald') is an architectural technique involving alternating or fluctuating rows of light and dark stone. Records trace the beginnings of this type of masonry technique to the southern parts of S ...

'' style of decoration which features alternating layers of red and white masonry, prevalent in the Mamluk era. Daraj contains the Gold (Qissariya) Market as well as the

(oldest mosque in Gaza)Sheehan, 2000, p. 429. and the

Sayed al-Hashim Mosque The Sayed al-Hashim Mosque ( ar, مسجد السيد هاشم ''Masjid as-Sayed Hāshim''; tr, Seyyid Haşim Camii) is one of the largest and oldest mosques in Gaza, located in the ad-Darrāj Quarter of the Old City, off of al-Wehda Street. The ...

.Sharon, 2009, p
31
/ref> In Zaytun lies the Saint Porphryrius Church, the Katib al-Wilaya Mosque, and Hamam as-Sammara ("the Samaritan's Bathhouse.")

Districts

Gaza is composed of thirteen districts (''hayy'') outside of the Old City. The first extension of Gaza beyond its city center was the district of

Shuja'iyya Shuja'iyya ( ar, الشجاعية), also ''Shejaiya'', ''Shijaiyeh'', ''Shujayya'', ''Shuja'ia'', ''Shuja'iya'', is a neighborhood district of the Palestinian city of Gaza and one of the largest neighborhoods in Gaza with 92,000Ayyubid period.Sharon, 2009, p
30
/ref> In the northeast is the Mamluk-era district of

Tuffah Tuffah ( ar, حي التفاح, translation: "the Apple") is a district of Gaza City, located northeast of the Old City and is divided into eastern and western halves. Prior to its expansion and the demolition of the Old City's walls, Tuffah was ...

,Butt, 1995, p. 9. which is roughly divided into eastern and western halves and was originally located within the Old City's walls. During the 1930s and 1940s, a new residential district,

Rimal Rimal or Remal ( ar, حي الرمال, , sands) is an upscale neighborhood in Gaza City located from the city center. Situated along the coastline, it has been considered the most prosperous neighborhood of Gaza.Jacobs, 1998, p.455. The main st ...

(currently divided into the districts of Northern Rimal and Southern Rimal), was constructed on the sand dunes west of the city center, and the district of Zeitoun was built along Gaza's southern and southwestern borders, while the Judeide ("the New") and Turukman neighborhoods of Shuja'iyya expanded into separate districts in the northeast and southeast, respectively. Judeide (also known Shuja'iyyat al-Akrad) was named after the

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

military units who settled there during the Mamluk era, while Turukman was named after the Turkmen military units who settled there. The areas between Rimal and the Old City became the districts of

Sabra Sabra may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Sabra (comics), a fictional Israeli female superhero in the Marvel Comics universe * Sabra (magazine), a Japanese magazine for men * '' Sabra Command'' the original title of the film ''Warhead'' * "Sab ...

and Daraj. In the northwest is the district of Nasser, built in the early 1950s and named in honor of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser. The district of Sheikh Radwan, developed in the 1970s, is to the north of the Old City and is named after Sheikh Radwan—the tomb of whom is located within the district. Gaza has absorbed the village of al-Qubbah near the border with Israel, as well as the

Palestinian refugee camp Camps are set up by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to accommodate Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA, who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestinian e ...

al-Shati Al-Shati ( ar, مخيّم الشاطئ), also known as Beach camp, is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the northern Gaza Strip along the Mediterranean Sea coastline in the Gaza Governorate, and more specifically Gaza City. The camp's total ...

along the coast, although the latter is not under the city's municipal jurisdiction. In the late 1990s, the PNA built the more affluent neighborhood of Tel al-Hawa along the southern edge of Rimal. Along the southern coast of the city is the neighborhood of

Sheikh Ijlin Sheikh Ijlin ( ar, الشيخ عجلين) is a neighborhood in southern Gaza City near the coastal road. On 18 November 2002, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) attacked the neighborhood, destroying the offices of the Preventive Security Force of ...

Climate

Gaza has a hot semi-arid climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''BSh''), with Mediterranean characteristics, featuring mild rainy winters and dry hot summers. Spring arrives around March or April and the hottest month is August, with the average high being . The coolest month is January with temperatures usually peaking at . Rain is scarce and falls almost exclusively between November and March, with annual rainfall totalling approximately .

Demographics

Population

According to Ottoman tax records in 1557, Gaza had 2,477 male taxpayers.Cohen and Lewis, 1978. The statistics from 1596 show that Gaza's Muslim population consisted of 456 households, 115 bachelors, 59 religious persons, and 19 disabled persons. In addition to the Muslim figure, there were 141 ''jundiyan'' or "soldiers" in the Ottoman army. Of the Christians, there were 294 households and seven bachelors, while there were 73 Jewish households and eight Samaritan households. In total, an estimated 6,000 people lived in Gaza, making it the third largest city in Ottoman Palestine after Jerusalem and

Safad Safed (known in Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevat ...

.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p.52. In 1838, there were roughly 4,000 Muslim and 100 Christian tax payers, implying a population of about 15,000 or 16,000—making it larger than Jerusalem at the time. The total number of Christian families was 57. Before the outbreak of World War I, the population of Gaza had reached 42,000; however, the fierce battles between Allied Forces and the Ottomans and their German allies in 1917 in Gaza resulted in a massive population decrease. The following

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, which was conducted in 1922 by the British Mandate authorities shows a sharp decrease in population which stood at 17,480 residents, consisting of 16,722 Muslims, 54 Jews and 701 Christians. According to a 1997 census by the

Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS; ar, الجهاز المركزي للإحصاء الفلسطيني) is the official statistical institution of the State of Palestine. Its main task is to provide credible statistical figures ...

(PCBS), Gaza and the adjacent

al-Shati camp Al-Shati ( ar, مخيّم الشاطئ), also known as Beach camp, is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the northern Gaza Strip along the Mediterranean Sea coastline in the Gaza Governorate, and more specifically Gaza City. The camp's total ...

had a population of 353,115, of which 50.9% were males and 49.1% females. Gaza had an overwhelmingly young population with more than half being between the ages of infancy to 19 (60.8%). About 28.8% were between the ages of 20 to 44, 7.7% between 45 and 64, and 3.9% were over the age of 64. A massive influx of

Palestinian refugee Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their country over the course of the 1947–49 Palestine war ( 1948 Palestinian exodus) and the Six-Day War ( 1967 Palestinian exo ...

s swelled Gaza's population after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. By 1967, the population had grown to about six times its 1948 size. In 1997, 51.8% of Gaza's inhabitants were refugees or their descendants. The city's population has continued to increase since that time to 590,481 in 2017, making it the largest city in the

Palestinian territories The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The I ...

. Gaza City has one of the highest overall growth rates in the world. Its population density is 9,982.69/km² (26,424.76/sq mi) comparable to New York City (10,725.4/km² – 27,778.7/sq mi), half of Paris density (21,000/km² – 55,000/sq mi). In 2007 poverty, unemployment and poor living conditions were widespread and many residents received

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

food aid.

Religion

The population of Gaza is overwhelmingly composed of Muslims, who mostly follow

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...

. During the Fatimid period,

Shia Islam Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, m ...

was dominant in Gaza, but after Saladin conquered the city in 1187, he promoted a strictly Sunni religious and educational policy, which at the time was instrumental in uniting his Arab and Turkish soldiers. Gaza is home to a small

Palestinian Christian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

minority of about 3,500 people. The majority live in the Zaytun Quarter of the Old City and belong to the

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, and

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

denominations. In 1906 there were about 750 Christians, of which 700 were Orthodox and 50 were Roman Catholic. Gaza's Jewish community was roughly 3,000 years old, and in 1481 there were sixty Jewish households. Most of them fled from Gaza after the 1929 Palestine riots, when they consisted of fifty families. In Sami Hadawi's land and population survey, Gaza had a population of 34,250, including 80 Jews in 1945. Most of them left the city after the 1948 War, due to mutual distrust between them and the Arab majority. Today, there are no Jews living in Gaza.

Economy

The major agricultural products are strawberries, citrus, dates, olives, flowers, and various vegetables. Pollution and high demand for water have reduced the productive capacity of farms in the Gaza Strip. Small-scale industries include the production of plastics, construction materials, textiles, furniture, pottery, tiles, copperware, and carpets. Since the Oslo Accords, thousands of residents have been employed in government ministries and security services,

UNRWA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians displaced by the 1948 ...

and international organizations. Minor industries include textiles and food processing. A variety of wares are sold in Gaza's street bazaars, including carpets, pottery, wicker furniture, and cotton clothing. The upscale Gaza Mall opened in July 2010."As the Israeli blockade eases, Gaza goes shopping"
, Donald Macintyre, 26 July 2010, ''The Independent''
Ali Waked, 07.20.10,

Ynet Ynet (stylized as ynet) is one of the major Israeli news and general-content websites, and is the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronot'' newspaper. However, most of Ynet's content is original work, published exclusively on the website and wri ...

. Many Gazans worked in the Israeli service industry when the border was open, but after Israel's 2005 disengagement from the Gaza Strip, this source of jobs disappeared. A report by

human rights and development Development is a human right that belongs to everyone, individually and collectively. Everyone is “entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamenta ...

groups published in 2008 stated that Gaza had suffered a long term pattern of economic stagnation and dire development indicators, the severity which was increased exponentially by the Israeli and Egyptian blockades. The report cited a number of economic indicators to illustrate the point: In 2008, 95% of Gaza's industrial operations were suspended due to lack of access inputs for production and export problems. In 2009, unemployment in Gaza was close to 40%. The private sector which generates 53% of all jobs in Gaza was devastated and businesses went bankrupt. In June 2005, 3,900 factories in Gaza employed 35,000 people, by December 2007, only 1,700 were still employed. The construction industry was paralyzed with tens of thousands of laborers out of work. The agriculture sector was hard hit, affecting nearly 40,000 workers dependent on cash crops. Gaza's

food prices Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food. Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing ...

rose during the blockade, with wheat flour going up 34%, rice up 21%, and baby powder up 30%. In 2007, households spent an average of 62% of their total income on food, compared to 37% in 2004. In less than a decade, the number of families depending on UNRWA food aid increased tenfold. In 2008, 80% of the population relied on humanitarian aid in 2008 compared to 63% in 2006. According to a report by

OXFAM Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...

in 2009, Gaza suffered from a serious shortage of housing, educational facilities, health facilities and infrastructure, along with an inadequate sewage system that contributed to hygiene and public health problems. Following a significant easing of the closure policy in 2010, the economy of Gaza began to see a substantial recovery from anemic levels during the height of the blockade. The economy of Gaza grew by 8% in the first 11 months of 2010. Economic activity is largely supported by foreign aid donations. There are a number of hotels in Gaza, including the Palestine, Grand Palace, Adam, al-Amal, al-Quds, Cliff, al-Deira and Marna House. All, except the Palestine Hotel, are located along in the coastal

district. The

(UN) has a beach club on the same street. Gaza is not a frequent destination for tourists, and most foreigners who stay in hotels are journalists, aid workers, UN and

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

personnel. Upmarket hotels include the al-Quds and the al-Deira Hotel. In 2012, unemployment dropped to 25 percent. In November 2012, a report by the Palestinian Chamber of Commerce called for the Gaza Strip to be recognized as an economic disaster area after it concluded that the Israeli

Operation Pillar of Defense In November 2012, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Pillar of Defense ( he, עַמּוּד עָנָן, ''ʿAmúd ʿAnán'', literally: "Pillar of Cloud") which was an eight-day campaign in the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip, which bega ...

caused approximately $300 million in economic damage.

Culture

Cultural centers and museums

The

Rashad Shawa Cultural Center The Rashad Shawa Cultural Center is a cultural center that was built in 1985, in Rimal, Gaza, State of Palestine. The place was named after its founder Rashad al-Shawa, the city's Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; h ...

, located in Rimal, was completed in 1988 and named after its founder, former mayor Rashad al-Shawa.Rashad Shawa Cultural Center
Gaza Municipality. A two-story building with a triangular plan, the cultural centers performs three main functions: a meeting place for large gatherings during annual festivals, a place to stage exhibitions, and a library.Rashad Shawa Cultural Center
Archnet Digital Library. The French Cultural Center is a symbol of French partnership and cooperation in Gaza. It holds art exhibits, concerts, film screenings, and other activities. Whenever possible, French artists are invited to display their artwork, and more frequently, Palestinian artists from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are invited to participate in art competitions. Established in 1998, the Arts and Crafts Village is a children's cultural center with the objectives of promoting comprehensive, regular and periodic documentation of creative art in all of its forms. It interacted on a large scale with a class of artists from different nationalities and organized around 100 exhibitions for creative art, ceramics, graphics, carvings and others. Nearly 10,000 children from throughout the Gaza Strip have benefited from the Arts and Crafts Village. The Gaza Theater, financed by contributions from Norway, opened in 2004. The theater does not receive much funding from the PNA, depending mostly on donations from foreign aid agencies. The A. M. Qattan Foundation, a

Palestinian art Palestinian art is a term used to refer to paintings, posters, installation art and other visual media produced by Palestinian artists. While the term has also been used to refer to ancient art produced in the geographical region of Palestine, ...

s charity, runs several workshops in Gaza to develop young artistic talent and impart drama skills to teachers. The Gaza Theater Festival was inaugurated in 2005. The

Gaza Museum of Archaeology The Gaza Museum of Archaeology, also known as Al Math'af ( ar, المتحف, ''Al Mat'haf'', "The Museum"), is a museum in Gaza City, Palestine, that opened to the public in fall 2008. The museum is part of a privately-owned hotel, also named Al ...

, founded by Jawdat N. Khoudary, opened in the summer of 2008. The museum collection features thousands of items, including a statue of a full-breasted

in a diaphanous gown, images of other ancient deities and oil lamps featuring menorahs.

Cuisine

Gaza's cuisine is characterized by its generous use of spices and chillies. Other major flavors and ingredients include dill, chard, garlic, cumin, lentils, chickpeas, pomegranates, sour plums and

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs ...

. Many of the traditional dishes rely on

clay pot cooking Clay pot cooking is a process of cooking food in a pot made of unglazed or glazed pottery. History Cooking in unglazed clay pots which are first immersed in water dates at least to the Etruscans in first century BC but likely dates to several c ...

, which preserves the flavor and texture of the vegetables and results in fork-tender meat. Traditionally, most Gazan dishes are seasonal and rely on ingredients indigenous to the area and its surrounding villages. Poverty has also played an important role in determining many of the city's simple meatless dishes and stews, such as ''saliq wa adas'' ("chard and lentils") and ''bisara'' (skinless fava beans mashed with dried

mulukhiya Mulukhiyah, also known as molokhia, molohiya, or ewedu, ( ar, ملوخية, mulūkhiyyah) is a dish made from the leaves of ''Corchorus olitorius'', commonly known in English as denje'c'jute, nalta jute, tossa jute, jute mallow or Jew's Mall ...

leaves and chilies). El-Haddad, Laila
The Foods of Gaza
''This Week in Palestine''. June 2006. Seafood is a key aspect of Gaza life and a local staple, Some well-known seafood dishes include ''zibdiyit gambari'', literally, "shrimps in a clay pot", and ''shatta'' which are crabs stuffed with red hot chili pepper dip, then baked in the oven. Fish is either fried or grilled after being stuffed with cilantro, garlic, chillies and cumin, and marinated with various spices. It is also a key ingredient in ''sayyadiya'', rice cooked with caramelized onions, a generous amount of whole garlic cloves, large chunks of well-marinated fried fish, and spices such as turmeric, cinnamon, and cumin. Many of the 1948-era refugees were ''

fellahin A fellah ( ar, فَلَّاح ; feminine ; plural ''fellaheen'' or ''fellahin'', , ) is a peasant, usually a farmer or Agriculture, agricultural laborer in the Middle East and North Africa. The word derives from the Arabic language, Arabic wor ...

'' ("peasants") who ate seasonal foods. ''

Sumaghiyyeh Sumaghiyyeh ( ar, السماقية) is a Palestinian dish native to Gaza City, prepared traditionally on holidays. It receives its name from the spice sumac.

'', popular in Gaza not just on Ramadan but all year round, is a mixture of sumac, tahina and water combined with chard, chunks of beef and chickpeas. The dish is topped with crushed dill seeds, chillies and fried garlic and served in bowls. ''Maftool'' is a wheat-based dish flavored with dried sour plums that is served like couscous or shaped into little balls and steamed over stew or soup. Most Gaza restaurants are located in the

district. Al-Andalus, which specializes in fish and seafood, is popular with tourists, as are al-Sammak and the upscale Roots Club. Atfaluna is a stylish restaurant near Gaza port run and staffed by deaf people with the goal of building a society that is more accepting of people with disabilities. Throughout the Old City there are street stalls that sell cooked beans, hummus, roasted sweet potatoes, falafel, and kebabs. Coffee houses (''qahwa'') serve Arabic coffee and tea. Gaza's well-known sweet shops, Saqqala and Arafat, sell common Arab sweet products and are located off Wehda Street. Alcohol is a rarity, found only in the United Nations Beach Club.

Costumes and embroidery

Gauze Gauze is a thin, translucent fabric with a loose open weave. In technical terms "gauze" is a weave structure in which the weft yarns are arranged in pairs and are crossed before and after each warp yarn keeping the weft firmly in place. ...

is reputed to have originated in Gaza. Cloth for the Gaza ''thob'' was often woven at nearby Majdal ( Ascalon). Black or blue cottons or striped pink and green fabric that had been made in Majdal continued to be woven throughout the

by refugees from the coastal plain villages until the 1960s. ''Thobs'' here had narrow, tight, straight sleeves. Embroidery was much less dense than that applied in Hebron. The most popular motifs included: scissors (''muqass''), combs (''mushut'') and triangles (''hijab'') often arranged in clusters of fives, sevens and threes, as the use of odd numbers is considered in Arab

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

to be effective against the

evil eye The Evil Eye ( grc, ὀφθαλμὸς βάσκανος; grc-koi, ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός; el, (κακό) μάτι; he, עַיִן הָרָע, ; Romanian: ''Deochi''; it, malocchio; es, mal de ojo; pt, mau-olhado, olho gordo; ar ...

. Circa 1990,

and other Islamic movements sought to increase the use of the ''

hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...

'' ("headscarf") among Gazan women, especially urban and educated women, and the ''hijab'' styles since introduced have varied according to class and group identity.Rema Hammami. "Women, the Hijab and the Intifada" in ''

Middle East Report The ''Middle East Report'' is a magazine published by the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP). The headquarters is in Tacoma, Washington. History and profile MERIP began in 1971 by releasing an irregularly scheduled six-page new ...

'', No. 164/165, May–Aug., 1990.

Sports

Palestine Stadium, the Palestinian national stadium, is located in Gaza and has a capacity for 10,000 people. Gaza has several local football teams that participate in the

Gaza Strip League Gaza Strip Premier League ( ar, الدوري الممتاز الفلسطيني لقطاع غزة) is one of the two top divisions organized by the Palestinian Football Association. The other is the West Bank Premier League. It has been disputed ...

. They include Khidmat al-Shatia (al-Shati Camp), Ittihad al-Shuja'iyya (Shuja'iyya neighborhood), Gaza Sports Club, and al-Zeitoun (Zeitoun neighborhood).

Governance

Today, Gaza serves as the administrative capital of the

Gaza Governorate The Gaza Governorate ( ar, محافظة غزة '), 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 i ...

. It contains the Palestinian Legislative Council building. The first municipal council of Gaza was formed in 1893 under the chairmanship of Ali Khalil Shawa. Modern mayorship, however, began in 1906 with his son Said al-Shawa, who was appointed mayor by the Ottoman authorities.Former Presidents of the Municipality of Gaza
Municipality of Gaza. Al-Shawa oversaw the construction of Gaza's first hospital, several new mosques and schools, the restoration of the Great Mosque, and the introduction of the modern plow to the city. In 1922, British colonial secretary

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

requested that Gaza develop its own

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

under Mandatory Palestine. However, it was rejected by the Palestinians. On July 24, 1994, the PNA proclaimed Gaza the first

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

in the

.Palestine Facts Timeline

Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs The Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA) was founded in Jerusalem in March 1987 by Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi and a group of Palestinian academics and intellectuals. PASSIA is a member of the Palestinian NGOs N ...

(PASSIA). The 2005 Palestinian municipal elections were not held in Gaza, nor in

Khan Yunis Khan Yunis ( ar, خان يونس, also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus; translation: ''Caravansary fJonah'') is a city in the southern Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Khan Yunis had a population of 142,6 ...

or Rafah. Instead,

party officials selected the smaller cities, towns, and villages to hold elections, assuming they would fare better in less urban areas. The rival

party, however, won the majority of seats in seven of the ten municipalities selected for the first round with voter turnout being around 80%. 2007 saw violent clashes between the two parties that left over 100 dead, ultimately resulting in Hamas taking over the city. Normally, Palestinian municipalities with populations over 20,000 and that serve as administrative centers have municipal councils consisting of fifteen members, including the mayor. The current municipal council of Gaza, however, consists of fourteen members, including the mayor, Nizar Hijazi.

Education

Girls lining up for class - Flickr - Al Jazeera English

According to the PCBS, in 1997, approximately over 90% of Gaza's population over the age of 10 was literate. Of the city's population, 140,848 were enrolled in schools (39.8% in elementary school, 33.8% in secondary school, and 26.4% in high school). About 11,134 people received bachelor diplomas or higher diplomas. In 2006, there were 210 schools in Gaza; 151 were run by the Education Ministry of the Palestinian National Authority, 46 were run by the

United Nations Relief and Works Agency The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians displaced by the 1948 P ...

, and 13 were private schools. A total of 154,251 students were enrolled and 5,877 teachers were employed. The currently downtrodden economy has affected education in the Gaza Strip severely. In September 2007, a UNRWA survey in the Gaza Strip revealed that there was a nearly 80% failure rate in schools grades four to nine, with up to 90% failure rates in mathematics. In January 2008, the

United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

reported that schools in Gaza had been canceling classes that were high on energy consumption, such as

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...

, science labs and extra curricular activities.

Universities

Gaza has many universities. The four main universities in the city are

al-Azhar University – Gaza Al-Azhar University – Gaza ( ar, جامعة الأزهر بغزة), often abbreviated AUG, is a Palestinian, public, non-profit and independent higher education institution. During the first intifada, the Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat is ...

al-Quds Open University Al-Quds Open University ( ar, جامعة القدس المفتوحة) is an independent, distance education public university in Palestine. It was created by a decree issued by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1991. QOU is the f ...

al-Aqsa University Al-Aqsa University ( ar, جامعة الأقصى) is a Palestinian university established in 1955 in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. Established in 1955 as the first higher education institution in the Gaza Strip, Al-Aqsa University is the oldest gove ...

and the Islamic University of Gaza. The Islamic University, consisting of ten facilities, was founded by a group of businessmen in 1978, making it the first University in Gaza. It had an enrollment of 20,639 students. Al-Azhar is generally secular and was founded in 1992. Al-Aqsa University was established in 1991. Al-Quds Open University established its Gaza Educational Region campus in 1992 in a rented building in the center of the city originally with 730 students. Because of the rapid increase of the number of students, it constructed the first university owned building in the Nasser District. In 2006–07, it had an enrollment of 3,778 students.

Public library

The Public Library of Gaza is located off Wehda Street and has a collection of nearly 10,000 books in Arabic, English and French. A total area of about , the building consists of two floors and a basement. The library was opened in 1999 after cooperation dating from 1996 by Gaza under mayor Aoun Shawa, the municipality of Dunkerque, and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

. The library's primary objectives are to provide sources of information that meets the needs of beneficiaries, provide necessary facilities for access to available information sources, and organizing various cultural programs such as, cultural events, seminars, lectures, film presentations, videos, art and book exhibitions.

Landmarks

Landmarks in Gaza include the Great Mosque in the Old City. Originally a pagan temple, it was consecrated a Greek Orthodox church by the Byzantines, then a mosque in the 8th century by the Arabs. The Crusaders transformed it into a church, but it was reestablished as a mosque soon after Gaza's reconquest by the Muslims. It is the oldest and largest in the Gaza Strip. Other mosques in the Old City include the Mamluk-era Sayed Hashem Mosque that believed to house the tomb of Hashem ibn Abd al-Manaf in its dome. There is also the nearby Kateb al-Welaya Mosque that dates back to 1334. In

Shuja'iyya Shuja'iyya ( ar, الشجاعية), also ''Shejaiya'', ''Shijaiyeh'', ''Shujayya'', ''Shuja'ia'', ''Shuja'iya'', is a neighborhood district of the Palestinian city of Gaza and one of the largest neighborhoods in Gaza with 92,000Ibn Uthman Mosque The Ibn Uthman Mosque ( ar, مسجد ابن عثمان ''Jami Ibn 'Uthman'') is a mosque in Gaza City, in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. It is regarded as second only to the Great Mosque of Gaza in terms of beauty and status as a Friday mosque. Note ...

, which was built by Nablus native Ahmad ibn Uthman in 1402, and the Mahkamah Mosque built by Mamluk majordomo Birdibak al-Ashrafi in 1455. In

is the

Ibn Marwan Mosque The Ibn Marwan Mosque ( ar, جامع ابن مروان, transl: ''Jami' Ibn Marwan'') is a Mamluk-era mosque in Gaza in the midst of a cemetery in the Tuffah neighborhood, relatively isolated from the rest of the city. Inside is the tomb of a holy ...

, which was built in 1324 and houses the tomb of Ali ibn Marwan, a holy man. The Unknown Soldier's Square, located in

, is a monument dedicated to an unknown Palestinian fighter who died in the 1948 War. In 1967, the monument was torn down by Israeli forces and remained a patch of sand, until a public garden was built there with funding from Norway. Qasr al-Basha, originally a Mamluk-era villa that was used by Napoleon during his brief sojourn in Gaza, is located in the Old City and is today a girls' school. The Commonwealth Gaza War Cemetery, often referred to as the British War Cemetery, contains the graves of fallen Allied soldiers in World War I; it sits northeast of the city center, in the Tuffah district, near Salah al-Din Road.

Infrastructure

Water supply and sanitation

According to the 1997 census by the

, 98.1% of Gaza's residents were connected to the public

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

while the remainder used a private system. About 87.6% were connected to a public sewage system and 11.8% used a cesspit. The blockade on Gaza severely restricted the city's water supply. The six main wells for drinking water did not function, and roughly 50% of the population had no water on a regular basis. The municipality claimed it was forced to pump water through "salty wells" because of the unavailability of electricity. About 20 million liters of raw sewage and 40 million liters of partially treated water per day flowed into the Mediterranean Sea, and untreated sewage bred insects and mice. As a "water-poor" country, Gaza is highly dependent on water from Wadi Ghazza. The Gaza Aquifer is used as Gaza's main resource for obtaining quality water. However, the majority of water from Wadi Ghazza is transported to Jerusalem.

Power grid

In 2002 Gaza began operating its own power plant which was built by

Enron Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional companies. ...

. However, the power plant was bombed and destroyed by the

Israeli Defense Forces Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

in 2006. Prior to the power plant's destruction Israel provided additional electricity to Gaza through the

Israel Electric Corporation Israel Electric Corporation ( he, חברת החשמל לישראל, abbreviation: IEC) is the largest supplier of electrical power in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The IEC builds, maintains, and operates power generation stations, sub- ...

. The plant was partially rebuilt by December 2007, and Israeli electricity continues to be sold to Gaza.

Solid waste management

Solid waste management is one of key compelling issues facing Gazans today. These challenges are attributed to several factors; the lack of investment in environmental systems, less attention was given to environmental projects, and the absence of law enforcement and the tendency towards crisis management. One of the main aspects of this problem is the huge quantities of rubble and debris generated as a result of Israeli bombardments. For instance, The scale of damage resulting from the

Operation Protective Edge The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge ( he, מִבְצָע צוּק אֵיתָן, translit=Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, ), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that h ...

is unprecedented. All governorates in the Gaza Strip witnessed extensive aerial bombardment, naval shelling and artillery fire, resulting in a considerable amount of rubble. According to recent statistics, more than 2 million tonnes of debris was generated. Approximately 10,000 houses were leveled to the ground including two 13-story residential buildings. A tremendous amount of debris remains scattered in Gaza. Serious efforts and a high budget are required to handle this challenge. More importantly, and based on a UNEP study after the 2008 war, the debris is highly likely to be contaminated with PAHs and probably with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, and furan compounds.

Health care

Al-Quds hospital, Gaza City, following Israeli shelling

Al-Shifa Hospital Al-Shifa Hospital ( ar, مستشفى الشفاء ''Mustashfa al-Shifa''), properly known as Dar Al-Shifa Hospital ( ar, مستشفى دار الشفاء ''Mustashfat dar al-Shifa'') is the largest medical complex and central hospital in the Gaza S ...

("the Cure") was founded in the Rimal District by the British Mandate government in the 1940s. Housed in an army barracks, it originally provided quarantine and treatment for

febrile Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...

diseases. When Egypt administered Gaza, this original department was relocated and al-Shifa became the city's central hospital. When Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip after occupying it in the 1956 Suez Crisis, Egyptian president

had al-Shifa hospital expanded and improved. He also ordered the establishment of a second hospital in the Nasser District with the same name. In 1957, the quarantine and febrile disease hospital was rebuilt and named Nasser Hospital. Today, al-Shifa remains Gaza's largest medical complex. Throughout the late 1950s, a new health administration, Bandar Gaza ("Gaza Region"), was established and headed by

Haidar Abdel-Shafi Haidar Abdel-Shafi (Heidar Abdul-Shafi) ( ar, حيدر عبد الشافي June 10, 1919 – September 25, 2007), was a Palestinian physician, community leader and political leader who was the head of the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid C ...

. Bandar Gaza rented several rooms throughout the city to set up government clinics that provided essential

curative care Curative care or curative medicine is the health care given for medical conditions where a cure is considered achievable, or even possibly so, and directed to this end. Curative care differs from preventive care, which aims at preventing the appea ...

.Husseini and Barnea, 2002, p.136. The Ahli Arab Hospital, founded in 1907 by the Church Missionary Society (CMS), was destroyed in World War I. It was rebuilt after the war by the CMS, and in 1955 became the Southern Baptist Hospital. In 1982, the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem took leadership and the original name was restored. Al-Quds Hospital, located in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood and managed by the

Palestine Red Crescent Society The Palestine Red Crescent Society ( ar, جمعية الهلال الأحمر الفلسطيني, PRCS) was founded in 1968, by Fathi Arafat, Yasser Arafat's brother. It is a humanitarian organization that is part of the International Red Cro ...

, is the second largest hospital in Gaza. In 2007, hospitals experienced power cuts lasting for 8–12 hours daily and diesel required for power generators was in short supply. According to the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

(WHO), the proportion of patients given permits to exit Gaza for medical care decreased from 89.3% in January 2007 to 64.3% in December 2007. In 2010, a team of doctors from Al-Durrah Hospital in Gaza spent a year of training at the cystic fibrosis clinic at

Hadassah Medical Center Hadassah Medical Center ( he, הָמֶרְכָּז הָרְפוּאִי הֲדַסָּה) is an Israeli medical organization established in 1934 that operates two university hospitals in Jerusalem – one in Ein Karem and one in Mount Scopus –, ...

. Upon their return to Gaza, a cystic fibrosis center was established at Al-Durrah, although the most serious cases are referred to Hadassah.

Transportation

The Rasheed Coastal Road runs along Gaza's coastline and connects it with the rest of Gaza Strip's coastline north and south. The main highway of the Gaza Strip, Salah al-Din Road (the modern

Via Maris Via Maris is one modern name for an ancient trade route, dating from the early Bronze Age, linking Egypt with the northern empires of Syria, Anatolia and Mesopotamia — along the Mediterranean coast of modern-day Egypt, Israel, Turkey and Syr ...

) runs through the middle of Gaza City, connecting it with Deir al-Balah,

, and Rafah in the south and

and

in the north.Sheehan, 2000, p.428. The northern crossing of Salah ad-Din Street into Israel is the Erez Crossing and the crossing into Egypt is the

Rafah Crossing The Rafah Border Crossing ( ar, معبر رفح, Ma`bar Rafaḥ) or Rafah Crossing Point is the sole crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. It is located on the Gaza–Egypt border, which was recognized by the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace ...

Omar Mukhtar Street Omar Mukhtar Street ( ar, شارع عمر المختار) is the main street of Gaza City, in the State of Palestine, running from Palestine Square to the Port of Gaza in the Rimal district, separating the Old City's al-Daraj and Zaytoun quarters. G ...

is the main road in the city of Gaza running north–south, branching off Salah ad-Din Street, stretching from the Rimal coastline and the Old City where it ends at the

Gold Market Of all the precious metals, gold is the most popular as an investment. Investors generally buy gold as a way of diversifying risk, especially through the use of futures contracts and derivatives. The gold market is subject to speculation ...

. Prior to the Blockade of the Gaza Strip, there existed regular lines of collective taxis to Ramallah and

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...

in the

.About Gaza City
Gaza Municipality. Except for private cars, Gaza City is served by taxis and buses. The

Yasser Arafat International Airport Yasser Arafat International Airport ( ar, مطار ياسر عرفات الدولي ''Maṭār Yāsir 'Arafāt ad-Dawli'') , formerly Gaza International Airport and Dahaniya International Airport, is located in the Gaza Strip, between Rafah an ...

near

opened in 1998 south of Gaza. Its runways and facilities were damaged by the

in 2001 and 2002, rendering the airport unusable. In August 2010, the tarmac ramp was destroyed by Palestinians seeking stones and recycled building materials. The

Ben Gurion International Airport Ben Gurion International Airport, ; ar, مطار بن غوريون الدولي , commonly known by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Lod, it is th ...

in Israel is located roughly northeast of the city.

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Gaza is twinned with:

References

Bibliography

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External links

Municipality of Gaza

Gaza at Google Maps

The achievements of the municipal council for a period of 5 years (2008–2013) in Arabic
{{Good article Bronze Age sites in the State of Palestine Cities in the Gaza Strip Capitals in the State of Palestine Gaza Governorate Hebrew Bible cities Philistine cities Populated places of the Byzantine Empire Populated coastal places in Palestinian territories 1929 Palestine riots Cities founded by Alexander the Great Palestinian Christian communities Municipalities of the State of Palestine