Tel al-Sultan refugee camp

This article is about a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. For other locations with the same name, see Tell al-Sultan.

Tel al-Sultan
Refugee Camp
Arabic transcription(s)
•  Arabic	معسكر تل السلطان
•  Latin	Tall as Sultan Camp; Tel es-Sultan (official) Tel Al-Sultan Camp (unofficial)
Middle Street through the camp in February 2025
Tel al-Sultan Location of Tel al-Sultan within Palestine
Coordinates: 31°18′32.32″N34°14′35.17″E / 31.3089778°N 34.2431028°E / 31.3089778; 34.2431028
State	State of Palestine
Governorate	Rafah
Government
• Type	Refugee Camp
• Control	Israel
Population  (2006 [1] )
• Total	24,418

Tel al-Sultan or Tall as-Sultan (Arabic : تل السلطان) is one of eight Palestinian refugee camps in the Gaza Strip. It is located in the Rafah Governorate just north of Rafah city and Rafah Camp. ^[2] It was established mainly to absorb refugees repatriated from Canada Camp. ^[3]

UNRWA does not make a distinction between Rafah Camp and Tall as-Sultan. ^[3] The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics 2006 mid-year estimate for Tall as-Sultan is 24,418. ^[1]

The camp was established in 1989, for Palestinians living in Kanda camp in Egyptian Rafa. ^[4]

On 6 May, Israeli forces launched a military offensive in and around the city of Rafah. Before and during the initial phase of the operation, Israeli forces conducted at least 50 airstrikes targeting the area. ^[5]

On 26 May 2024, an Israeli airstrike in the camp killed at least 50 people, most of whom were women and children. ^{[6] [7]} According to Israeli authorities, the strike targeted a Hamas installation. The attack triggered a fire in the Tel al-Sultan refugee camp, where dozens of refugees were sheltered. ^{[8] [9]}

Ambush

On 15 June 2024, eight Israeli soldiers were killed in an ambush. Members of the armed wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, ambushed an Israeli convoy near the camp. Their Namer armored personnel carrier and an armored D9 bulldozer were destroyed. On 16 October 2024, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in the camp by Israeli forces. ^[10] On 27 May 2025, at least three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces while trying to get aid from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. ^[11]

At around 05:15 local time, during an overnight offensive in Tal al-Sultan, a Namer armored personnel carrier, which had been involved in the operation, was returning with the rest of the force to captured buildings to allow troops to rest. ^{[12] [13]} Hamas first targeted a Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer with an Al-Yassin 105 anti-armor missile, setting it on fire and causing injuries and fatalities among its crew. ^{[14] [15]} Following this, Hamas fired another Al-Yassin 105 missile at the Namer, ^[16] which was the fifth or sixth vehicle in the convoy. Initially, it was believed that the Namer may have hit a land mine or that an explosive device had been placed on it. ^{[17] [18] [19]} The Namer was ultimately destroyed by the missile, and its crew was killed. It burned for about two hours after the ambush, ^[20] before being towed to a safe location. ^[21]

References

1. Projected Mid -Year Population for Rafah Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006 Archived 2011-05-20 at the Wayback Machine Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS)
2. OCHA map Archived 2009-02-19 at the Wayback Machine
3. UNRWA Rafah refugee camp profile
4. Oroub El-Abed, Unprotected: Palestinians in Egypt since 1948, IDRC, 2009, pages 200-201
5. "Israel-Gaza updates: 300,000 have fled Rafah, UN agency says". ABC News. 12 May 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
6. "Israeli air strike kills dozens in Rafah's Tel Al-Sultan neighbourhood designated for displaced people – ABC News". Australian Broadcasting Corporation . 26 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
7. "Israel strikes Rafah as pressure mounts over war in Gaza". CNN . 26 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
8. Al-Shalchi, Hadeel; Baba, Anas (27 May 2024). "An Israeli airstrike killed 45 Palestinians in an encampment for displaced people". npr.
9. "Israeli strike on Rafah, where displaced Gazans are sheltering, kills 35 days after ICJ ruling". ABC News. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
10. Godin, Jake (17 October 2024). "Geolocating Site Where Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar Was Killed". Bellingcat . Retrieved 19 October 2024.
11. "'Deliberate massacre' in Gaza as starving Palestinians seek Israeli-US aid". Al Jazeera. 27 May 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
12. "Israel-Gaza war: 8 Israeli soldiers killed in Rafah, IDF says". www.bbc.com. 16 June 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
13. Boxerman, Aaron (15 June 2024). "Israel Says Eight Soldiers Are Killed in Southern Gaza". The New York Times.
14. Al Jazeera Staff. "8 Israeli soldiers killed in southern Gaza ambush; deadliest day in months". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
15. Raine, Lauren Izso, Ibrahim Dahman, Eyad Kourdi, Andrew (15 June 2024). "Eight Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza in one of the deadliest incidents for the IDF since October 7". CNN. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
16. admin (15 June 2024). "'Complex Ambush' - Israeli Army Acknowledges Killing of Eight Soldiers in Gaza Battles". Palestine Chronicle. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
17. "8 Israeli soldiers killed in southern Gaza in deadliest attack on Israeli forces in months". AP News. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
18. "Capt. Wassem Mahmoud, seven other IDF soldiers killed in Rafah blast". The Jerusalem Post . 15 June 2024. ISSN   0792-822X . Retrieved 12 December 2024.
19. "Eight Israeli soldiers and 19 Palestinians killed as fighting continues in Rafah". ABC News. 16 June 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
20. Julian, Hana Levi (16 June 2024). "Israel Grieves as IDF Identifies Eight Soldiers Killed in Rafah, Two in Northern Gaza" . Retrieved 12 December 2024.
21. Fabian, Emanuel (15 June 2024). "Eight troops killed in Rafah explosion, in deadliest incident for IDF in 6 months". The Times of Israel . ISSN   0040-7909 . Retrieved 12 December 2024.