Gaza غَزَّة Gaza City
Municipality type A (City)
Arabic transcription(s)
• Latin (official)	Ghazzah
• Latin (DIN 31635)	Ġazzah
Skyline of Gaza City, January 2009 Rimal in October 2023[a]
Coat of arms of Gaza
Gaza Location of Gaza within Palestine
Coordinates: 31°31′N 34°27′E / 31.517°N 34.450°E / 31.517; 34.450
Country	Palestine
Governorate	Gaza
Founded	15th century BC
Government
• Type	City (from 1994[2])
• Head of Municipality	Yahya Al-Sarraj (installed by Hamas)
Area [3]
• Total	45,000 dunams (45 km2 or 17 sq mi)
Population  (2017 Census)[4]
• Total	590,481
• Density	13,000/km2 (34,000/sq mi)
Website	Gaza-City.org

Gaza,^[b] also called Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip. Prior to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, it was the most populous city in the State of Palestine, with 590,481 inhabitants in 2017.

Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,^[6] Gaza has been dominated by different peoples and empires throughout its history. The Philistines made it a part of their pentapolis after the ancient Egyptians had ruled it for nearly 350 years. Under the Roman Empire, Gaza experienced relative peace and its Mediterranean port flourished. In 635 AD, it became the first city in the Palestine region to be conquered by the Rashidun army and quickly developed into a centre of Islamic law. However, by the time the Crusader states were established in 1099, Gaza was in ruins. In later centuries, Gaza experienced several hardships—from Mongol raids to severe flooding and locust swarms, reducing it to a village by the 16th century, when it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire. During the first half of Ottoman rule, the Ridwan dynasty controlled Gaza and 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, becoming a part of Mandatory Palestine. As a result of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Egypt administered the newly formed Gaza Strip territory and several improvements were undertaken in the city. Gaza was occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967, and in 1993, the city was transferred to the newly created Palestinian National Authority. In the months following the 2006 election, an armed conflict broke out between the Palestinian political factions of Fatah and Hamas, resulting in the latter taking power in Gaza. The Gaza Strip was then subject to an Israeli-led, Egyptian-supported blockade.^[7] Israel eased the blockade allowing consumer goods in June 2010, and Egypt reopened the Rafah Border Crossing in 2011 to pedestrians.^[7][8]

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.^[9] The majority of Gaza's Palestinian inhabitants are Muslim, although there is also a Christian minority. Gaza has a very young population, with roughly 75% under the age of 25. The city is currently de facto administered by a 14-member municipal council controlled by Hamas.

As of July 2024, as part of the Israel–Hamas war, the Israeli army has bombed large portions of the city and surrounding areas of the Northern Gaza Strip, destroying many buildings and infrastructure. Almost all residents have fled or been evacuated to Southern Gaza, or killed as a result. Therefore, previous recorded or estimated population numbers have become outdated.^[10]

Etymology

The name Gaza first appears in military records of Thutmose III of Egypt in the 15th century BC.^[11] In Neo-Assyrian sources, reflecting the late Philistine period, it was known as Hāzat.^[12]

In Semitic languages, the meaning of the city name is "fierce, strong".^[13] The Hebrew name of the city is ʿAzza (עַזָּה); the ayin at the beginning of the word represented a voiced pharyngeal fricative in Biblical Hebrew but is silent in Modern Hebrew.^[14][13]

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, the great-grandfather of Muhammad who, according to Islamic tradition, is buried in the city.^[15]

Other proper Arabic transliterations for the Arabic name are Ghazzah or Ġazzah (DIN 31635). 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.^[16] Located on the Mediterranean coastal route between North Africa and the Levant, for most of its history it served as a key entrepôt of southern Palestine and an important stopover on the spice trade route traversing the Red Sea.^[16][17]

Bronze Age

Settlement in the region of Gaza dates back to the ancient Egyptian fortress built in Canaanite territory at Tell es-Sakan, to the south of present-day Gaza. The site went into decline throughout the Early Bronze Age II as its trade with Egypt sharply decreased.^[18] Another urban center known as Tell el-Ajjul 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 BC, when the Canaanite Hyksos occupied Egypt, a second city developed on the ruins of the first Tell as-Sakan. However, it was abandoned by the 14th century BC, at the end of the Bronze Age.^[18]

During the reign of Tuthmosis III (r. 1479–1425 BC), the city became a stop on the Syrian-Egyptian caravan route and was mentioned in the 14th-century Amarna letters as "Azzati".^[19] Gaza later served as Egypt's administrative capital in Canaan.^[20] Gaza remained under Egyptian control for 350 years until it was conquered by the Philistines in the 12th century BC.^[19]

Iron Age and the Hebrew Bible

In the 12th century BC Gaza became part of the Philistine "pentapolis".^[19]

According to the Hebrew Bible's Book of Judges, Gaza was the place where Samson was imprisoned by the Philistines and met his death (Judges 16:21).

Israelite to Persian periods

After being ruled by the Israelites, Assyrians, and then the Egyptians, Gaza achieved relative independence and prosperity under the Persian Empire.

Hellenistic period

Alexander the Great besieged Gaza, the last city to resist his conquest on his path to Egypt, for five months before finally capturing it 332 BC;^[19] the inhabitants were either killed or taken captive. Alexander brought in local Bedouins to populate Gaza and organized the city into a polis (or "city-state").

In Seleucid times, Seleucus I Nicator, or one of his successors renamed Gaza into Seleucia to control the surrounding area against the Ptolemies.^{[citation needed]} Greek culture consequently took root and Gaza earned a reputation as a flourishing center of Hellenistic learning and philosophy.^[21] During the Third War of the Diadochi, Ptolemy I Soter defeated Demetrius I of Macedon in a battle near Gaza in 312 BC. In 277 BC, following Ptolemy II's successful campaign against the Nabataeans the Ptolemaic fortress of Gaza took control of the spice trade with Gerrha and Southern Arabia.

Gaza experienced another siege in 96 BC by the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus who "utterly overthrew" the city, killing 500 senators who had fled into the temple of Apollo for safety.^[22]

Roman period

Josephus 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 by Jannaeus.^[23]

Rebuilt after it was incorporated into the Roman Empire in 63 BC under the command of Pompey Magnus, Gaza then became a part of the Roman province of Judaea.^[19] It was targeted by Jewish forces during their rebellion against Roman rule in 66 and was partially destroyed.^[24] It nevertheless remained an important city, even more so after the destruction of Jerusalem.^[25]

Throughout the Roman period, Gaza was a prosperous city and received grants and attention from several emperors.^[19] A 500-member senate governed Gaza, and a diverse variety of Greeks, Romans, Phoenicians, Jews, Egyptians, Persians, and Bedouin populated the city. Gaza's mint issued coins adorned with the busts of gods and emperors.^[26] During his visit in 130 AD,^[27] Emperor Hadrian personally inaugurated wrestling, boxing, and oratorical competitions in Gaza's new stadium,^{[dubious – discuss]} which became known from Alexandria to Damascus. The city was adorned with many pagan temples; the main cult being that of Marnas. Other temples were dedicated to Zeus, Helios, Aphrodite, Apollo, Athena and the local Tyche.^[19] Christianity began to spread throughout Gaza in 250 AD, including in the port of Maiuma.^{[28][29][30][31]} First evidence of a Bishop of Gaza is from early 4th century, when St. Sylvan served in that capacity.^[32]

Byzantine period

Following the division of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century AD, Gaza remained under control of the Eastern Roman Empire that in turn became the Byzantine Empire. The city prospered and was an important center for the southern Palestine.^[33] A Christian bishopric was established at Gaza. Conversion to Christianity in Gaza was accelerated under Saint Porphyrius between 396 and 420. In 402, Theodosius II ordered all eight of the city's pagan temples destroyed,^[19] and four years later Empress Aelia Eudocia commissioned the construction of a church atop the ruins of the Temple of Marnas.^[34] It was during this era that the Christian philosopher Aeneas of Gaza called Gaza, his hometown, "the Athens of Asia."^[35] A large synagogue existed in Gaza in the 6th century, according to excavations.^[36]

Early Islamic period

In c. 638 Gaza was captured by Arab Muslim forces under Amr ibn al-As, in the years following the Battle of Ajnadayn between the Byzantine Empire and the Rashidun Caliphate in central Palestine.^[37] It was captured by Amr's forces about three years later. Believed to be the site where Muhammad's great-grandfather Hashim ibn Abd Manaf was buried, Gaza was not destroyed and its inhabitants were not attacked by Amr's army despite the city's stiff and lengthy resistance, though its Byzantine garrison was massacred.^[38]

The arrival of the Muslim Arabs brought significant changes to Gaza; at first some of its churches were transformed into mosques, including the present Great Mosque of Gaza (the oldest in the city), which was later rebuilt by Sultan Baibars, who endowed it with a huge manuscript library containing over 20,000 manuscripts in the 13th century.^[38] A large segment of the population swiftly adopted Islam,^[39][40] and Arabic became the official language.^[40] In 767 Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi'i was born in Gaza and lived his early childhood there; he founded the Shafi'i religious code, one of the four major Sunni Muslim schools of law (fiqh).^[41] 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 production, and grapes, a major cash crop of the city, were exported mainly to Egypt.^[42]

Because it bordered the desert, Gaza was vulnerable to warring nomadic groups.^[42] In 796 it was destroyed during a civil war between the Arab tribes of the area.^[43] However, by the 10th century, the city had been rebuilt by the Abbasids; during Abbasid rule, the Jerusalemite geographer al-Muqaddasi described Gaza as "a large town lying on the highroad to Egypt on the border of the desert."^[44] 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.^[45]

Crusader and Ayyubid periods

The Crusaders conquered Gaza in 1100 and King Baldwin III built a castle in the city for the Knights Templar in 1149.^[34] He also had the Great Mosque converted back into a church, the Cathedral of Saint John.^[27] In 1154, Arab traveller al-Idrisi wrote that Gaza "is today very populous and in the hands of the Crusaders."^[46] In 1187 the Ayyubids, led by Sultan Saladin, captured Gaza and in 1191 destroyed the city's fortifications. Richard the Lionheart apparently refortified the city in 1192, but the walls were dismantled again as a result of the Treaty of Ramla agreed upon months later in 1193.^[34] Ayyubid rule ended in 1260, after the Mongols under Hulagu Khan completely destroyed Gaza, which became his southernmost conquest.^[40]

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 in the south to just north of Caesarea, and to the east as far as the Samarian highlands and the Hebron Hills. Other major towns in the province included Qaqun, Ludd, and Ramla.^{[40][47][full citation needed]} 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.^[48] In 1294 an earthquake devastated Gaza, and five years later the Mongols again destroyed all that had been restored by the Mamluks.^[40] Syrian geographer al-Dimashqi described Gaza in 1300 as a "city so rich in trees it looks like a cloth of brocade spread out upon the land."^[26] Under the governorship of Emir Sanjar al-Jawli, 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.^[49][50] In 1348 the bubonic plague 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.^[51] However, when Arab traveller and writer Ibn Battuta visited the city in 1355, he noted that it was "large and populous, and has many mosques."^[52] The Mamluks contributed to Gazan architecture by building mosques, Islamic colleges, hospitals, caravansaries, and public baths.^[18]

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.^{[citation needed]} In 1481, an Italian Jewish traveller, Meshulam of Volterra, wrote of 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 vineyards 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.^[53]

Ottoman period

In 1516 Gaza—at the time, a small town with an inactive port, ruined buildings and reduced trade—was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire.^[51] The Ottoman army quickly and efficiently crushed a small-scale uprising,^[54] and the local population generally welcomed them as fellow Sunni Muslims.^[51] The city was then made the capital of the Gaza Sanjak, part of the larger Province of Damascus.^[55] 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.^[56] Under Ahmad ibn Ridwan, 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, who was based in the nearby town of al-Ramla.^[57]

According to Theodore E. Dowling writing in 1913, a Samaritan community existed in Gaza in 1584. They possessed a large synagogue and two bathhouses. "One of them still bears the name "the Bath of the Samaritans." It is believed the Samaritans were expelled from the city before the turn of the 16th century.^[58]

During the rule of Husayn Pasha, strife between the settled population and the nearby Bedouin tribes was dramatically reduced, allowing Gaza to peacefully prosper. The Ridwan period is described as a golden age for Gaza, a time when it served as the virtual "capital of Palestine."^[59][60] The Great Mosque was restored, and six other mosques constructed, while Turkish baths and market stalls proliferated.^[51] 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.^[61]

Starting in the early 19th century, Gaza was culturally dominated by neighboring Egypt; Muhammad Ali of Egypt conquered Gaza in 1832.^[27] 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.^[62] 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 and Ma'an.^[63] The bazaars of Gaza were well-supplied and were noted by Robinson as "far better" than those of Jerusalem.^[64] Robinson noted that virtually all of Gaza's vestiges of ancient history and antiquity had disappeared due to constant conflict and occupation.^[65] By the mid-19th century, Gaza's port was eclipsed by the ports of Jaffa and Haifa, but it retained its fishing fleet.^[66]

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.^[51]

During the late Ottoman period, British ships docking in Gaza were loaded with barley, which was primarily intended for marketing in Scotland for whisky production. Due to the absence of a British consular agent, precise data on the financial value and quantities of the goods are unavailable.^[67]

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 in 1917.^[51] After the war, Gaza was included in Mandatory Palestine.^[68] 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.^[66]

Egyptian and Israeli rule

In the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan, 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 made a number of reforms in Gaza, which included expanding educational opportunities and the civil services, providing housing, and establishing local security forces.^[69]

Gaza was occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War 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,^[51] and economic conditions in the city worsened.^[70]

Palestinian control

In September 1993, the leaders of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signed the Oslo Accords. The agreement called for Palestinian administration of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho, which was implemented in May 1994. Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza, leaving a new Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to administer and police the city.^[21] The PNA, led by Yasser Arafat, chose Gaza as its first provincial headquarters. The newly established Palestinian National Council held its inaugural session in Gaza in March 1996.^[66]

In 2005, Israel withdrew its troops from the Gaza Strip and removed the thousands of Israelis who had settled in the territory.^[71] (See Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2004.) Since the Israeli withdrawal, Hamas has been engaged in a sometimes violent power struggle with its rival Palestinian organisation Fatah. On January 25, 2006, Hamas won a surprise victory in the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council, the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority. 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.^[72]

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,^[73] and that Israeli air strikes targeting militants in the densely populated areas have often killed bystanders as well.^[71] In 2008, Israel commenced an assault against Gaza.^[74] 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.^[75][76]

In November 2012, after a week of conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant groups, a ceasefire brokered by Egypt was announced on November 21.^[77] 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.^[78] 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.^[79] During the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, the 13-story Hanadi Tower, which contained a political office of Hamas, was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike.^[80]

In 2023, the city was again targeted during the Israel–Hamas war. On 2 November, the siege of Gaza City started.^[81] As of January 2024, Israel’s offensive has either damaged or destroyed 70–80% of all buildings in northern Gaza.^[82][83]

Geography

Central Gaza is situated on a low-lying and round hill with an elevation of 14 metres (46 ft) above sea level.^[84] 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 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) west of the city's nucleus and the space in between is entirely built up on low-lying hills.^[62]

The municipal jurisdiction of the city today constitutes about 45 square kilometres (17 sq mi).^[3] Gaza is 78 kilometres (48 mi) southwest of Jerusalem, 71 kilometres (44 mi) south of Tel Aviv,^[85] and 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Rafah.^[86] Surrounding localities include Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia to the north, and the village of Abu Middein, the refugee camp of Bureij, and the city of Deir al-Balah to the south.^[87]

The population of Gaza depends on groundwater as the only source for drinking, agricultural use, and domestic supply. The nearest 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.^[88] Most of its water supply is diverted into Israel.^[89] The Gaza Aquifer along the coast is the main aquifer in the Gaza Strip and it consists mostly of Pleistocene 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.^[88]

A prominent hill southeast of Gaza, known as Tell al-Muntar, has an elevation of 270 feet (82 m) above sea level. For centuries it has been claimed as the place to which Samson 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,^[90] and the lintel of the doorway of the maqam has two medieval Arabic scriptures.^[19]

Al-Furqan neighborhood is dubbed al-Furqan after a mosque in the city.^[91][92]

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 1.6 square kilometres (0.62 sq mi).^[66]

There were seven historic gates to the Old City: Bab Asqalan (Gate of Ascalon), 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).^[93]

Some of the older buildings in Gaza's Old City use the ablaq 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 Great Mosque of Gaza (oldest mosque in Gaza)^[94] and the Sayed al-Hashim Mosque.^[95] In Zaytun lies the Saint Porphryrius Church, the Katib al-Wilaya Mosque, and Hamam as-Sammara ("the Samaritan's Bathhouse.")^[96]

Districts

Gaza is composed of thirteen districts (hayy) outside of the Old City.^[97] The first extension of Gaza beyond its city center was the district of Shuja'iyya, built on a hill just east and southeast of the Old City during the Ayyubid period.^[98] In the northeast is the Mamluk-era district of Tuffah,^[99] which is roughly divided into eastern and western halves and was originally located within the Old City's walls.^[94]

During the 1930s and 1940s, a new residential district, Rimal (currently divided into the districts of Northern Rimal and Southern Rimal),^[97] 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.^[66][100] Judeide (also known Shuja'iyyat al-Akrad) was named after the Kurdish military units who settled there during the Mamluk era, while Turukman was named after the Turkmen military units who settled there.^[98]

The areas between Rimal and the Old City became the districts of Sabra and Daraj.^[99] In the northwest is the district of Nasser, built in the early 1950s and named in honor of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser.^[101] The district of Sheikh Radwan, developed in the 1970s, is 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to the north of the Old City and is named after Sheikh Radwan—the tomb of whom is located within the district.^[99][102] Gaza has absorbed the village of al-Qubbah near the border with Israel, as well as the Palestinian refugee camp of al-Shati along the coast,^[87] 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.^[103] Along the southern coast of the city is the neighborhood of Sheikh Ijlin.^[97]

Climate

Gaza has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSh), with Mediterranean characteristics, featuring mild rainy winters and dry hot summers.^[104] Spring arrives around March or April and the hottest month is August, with the average high being 31.7 °C (89.1 °F). The coolest month is January with temperatures usually peaking at 18.3 °C (64.9 °F). Rain is scarce and falls almost exclusively between November and March, with annual rainfall totalling approximately 395 millimetres or 15.6 inches.^[105]