Maghazi is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the Deir al-Balah Governorate in the central Gaza Strip. It was established in 1949. The camp is built on 559 dunums (0.6 km2). In July 2023, the UNRWA reported its population to be 33,000. During the first months of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, its population tripled and faced repeated airstrikes by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
Rafah is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine. It is the capital of the Rafah Governorate of the State of Palestine, located 30 kilometers (19 mi) south-west of Gaza City. In 2017, Rafah had a population of 171,889. As a result of massive bombardment and ground assaults in Gaza City and Khan Yunis by Israel during the Israel–Hamas war, about 1.4 million Palestinians are believed to be sheltering in Rafah as of February 2024.
Deir al-Balah or Deir al Balah is a Palestinian city in the central Gaza Strip and the administrative capital of the Deir al-Balah Governorate of the State of Palestine. It is located over 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) south of Gaza City. The city had a population of 75,132 in 2017. The city is known for its date palms, after which it is named.
Deir al-Balah Camp is a Palestinian refugee camp in the Deir al-Balah Governorate of the southern Gaza Strip, located one kilometer northwest of the center of Deir al-Balah city, of which it practically forms part. The camp consists of concrete buildings and has eight schools, sewers, and other municipal services. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the camp had a population of 6,985 in 2017. It is the smallest refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. Deir al-Balah Camp is built on an area of 0.16 square kilometers. As of July 2023, the population registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was 26,674 persons.
The Deir al-Balah Governorate, also referred to as Central Gaza Governorate is one of 16 Governorates of Palestine in the central Gaza Strip which is administered by Palestine aside from its border with Israel, airspace, and maritime territory. Its total land area consists of 56 sq. kilometers. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in mid-year 2022 it had a population of 310,820 inhabitants distributed between eight localities.
Al-Qarara or Al Qarara is a Palestinian town located north of Khan Yunis, in the Khan Yunis Governorate of the southern Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Qarara had a population of 29,004 inhabitants in 2017, The town is 15 miles south of Gaza City, and used to be a farming village. It lies on trade routes dating back to the Bronze Age.
Wadi as-Salqa is a Palestinian agricultural town in the Deir al-Balah Governorate, located south of Deir al-Balah. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the municipality had a population of 6,715 in 2017. The area is known to have a high flood risk.
Nuseirat is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the middle of the Gaza Strip, five kilometers north-east of Deir al-Balah. The refugee camp is in the Deir al-Balah Governorate, Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the refugee camp had a population of 31,747 and the surrounding Nuseirat municipality had a population of 54,851 in 2017. The camp was established after the 1948 Palestinian expulsion during the 1948 Palestine war.
Jabalia Camp is a Palestinian refugee camp established in 1948 by the United Nations to house those displaced by the 1948 Palestinian expulsion. Located 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) north of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip, it is the largest refugee camp in Palestinian territory, with more than 100,000 inhabitants. Due to Israeli attacks during the Israel–Hamas war, the refugee camp was described as "destroyed".
Az-Zawayda, also spelled Zawaida, is a Palestinian town in the Gaza Strip, in the Deir al-Balah Governorate of the State of Palestine. It is located about three kilometers northeast of the city of Deir al-Balah and just west of Maghazi refugee camp. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) 2017 census, there were 23,841 residents.
Madinat al-Awda is a Palestinian village in the Gaza Governorate located in the northwestern suburbs of Gaza City along the Mediterranean coast and between al-Shati Camp and al-Atatra. Its population in the 1997 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) census was 420, rising to 590 in 2006. It is administered by a local development committee under the Palestinian National Authority.
Umm al-Kilab is a Palestinian village in the southern Gaza Strip, part of the Khan Yunis Governorate. It is located south of Khan Yunis and east of Rafah, on the border with the Rafah Governorate. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Umm al-Kilab had a population of 999 in 2006.
Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital is a hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Palestine.
Events in the year 2024 in Palestine.
Hani Abdul Hakim Suleiman Al-Masdar was a Palestinian athlete and coach. He was born and lived in the village of Al-Musaddar in the central Gaza Strip. He studied at Al-Manfaluti Secondary School and obtained a high school degree from Khaled Bin Al-Walid Secondary School in Nuseirat. He was a player and coach of the Palestine national football team, and he had previously supervised the training of several Palestinian teams, most notably Al-Aqsa, Khadamat Al-Nuseirat, and Deir Al-Balah Union. He led to promotion to the Palestinian League for first-class teams, before supervising the Olympic team.
The 9 July 2024 Gaza attacks refer to a series of coordinated attacks by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza City and Deir al-Balah, resulting in the deaths of at least 50 Palestinians and injury of at least 80 more as reported by the Gaza Health Ministry.
On 10 October 2024, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bombed Rufaida school-turned-shelter in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. The airstrikes killed at least 28 Palestinians and injured more than 54. The IDF did not issue a warning before striking the school. The school was sheltering 1,000 people that were displaced by the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.
On 12 December 2024, the Israeli Air Force conducted an airstrike on a residential block in the Nuseirat refugee camp in Deir al-Balah Governorate which resulted in at least 33 civilian deaths and approximately 50 injuries. The airstrike targeted a postal facility being used as a civilian shelter, and caused significant damage to adjacent residential buildings.
