Palestine Square (), also known as Al-Saha or As-Saha (, "the (community) space" or "the square"), is a city square in east-central

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

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

, in between Jamal Abdel Nasser Street and

Omar Mukhtar Street Omar Mukhtar Street () 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. Gaza's hotel strip is a part o ...

. It is the location of a bus station, a taxi station, a fruit market, the

Al-Ahli Arab Hospital Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital (), usually called the Baptist Hospital for short (), is a hospital in the Gaza Strip. Its headquarters are located in the Zeitoun neighborhood in the south of Gaza City, Palestine, and it is managed by the Episc ...

, and dozens of small shops and vendors. Gaza's municipal headquarters is also located in the square. Palestine Square once was walled when it laid along the southern edge of the Old City, overlooking barley and vegetable farms, olive and almond groves.

Gaza war

On December 7, 2023, during the fighting in the

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

, the

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 (b ...

conquered Palestine Square. On November 30, 2023, a week prior to the occupation,

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

used Palestine Square as the venue for the release of some of the hostages it was holding. On January 25, 2025, Hamas used the square to stage the release of four Israeli female soldiers held as hostage since October 7, 2023. It was the second round of hostage release as spelled out in the 2025 ceasefire deal between Hamas and

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

References

Bibliography

* * Squares in Gaza City {{Palestine-struct-stub