[101] It contains the Palestinian Legislative Council building, as well as the headquarters of most of the Palestinian Authority ministries. [35] Before the outbreak of World War I, the population of Gaza had reached 42,000; however, the fierce battles between Allied Forces and those of the Ottomans and the Germans in 1917 in Gaza resulted in a massive population decrease. Gaza (/ˈɡɑːzə/;[4] Arabic: غَزَّة‎ Ġazzah, IPA: [ɣaz.zah]; Hebrew: .mw-parser-output .script-hebrew,.mw-parser-output .script-Hebr{font-family:"SBL Hebrew","SBL BibLit","Taamey Ashkenaz","Taamey Frank CLM","Frank Ruehl CLM","Ezra SIL","Ezra SIL SR","Keter Aram Tsova","Taamey David CLM","Keter YG","Shofar","David CLM","Hadasim CLM","Simple CLM","Nachlieli",Cardo,Alef,"Noto Serif Hebrew","Noto Sans Hebrew","David Libre",David,"Times New Roman",Gisha,Arial,FreeSerif,FreeSans}עַזָּה‎, Modern: Aza, Tiberian: ʿAzzā, Ancient: Ġazzā), also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of 590,481 (in 2017), making it the largest city in the State of Palestine. [126], Most Gaza restaurants are located in the Rimal district. The main road of the Gaza Strip, Salah ad-Din Street (the modern Via Maris) runs through the middle of Gaza City, connecting it with Deir al-Balah, Khan Yunis, and Rafah in the south and Jabalia and Beit Hanoun in the north. Palestinian Centre for Human Rights Photo APA Images/SIPA. [14], Gaza is home to a small Palestinian Christian minority of about 3,500 people. 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 BCE;[7] the inhabitants were either killed or taken captive. [69], Gaza's Jewish community was roughly 2,000 years old,[38] and in 1481 there were sixty Jewish households. [64] To the northeast is the district of Tuffah,[61] which is roughly divided into eastern and western halves. 1300–1185 B.C. GAZA (CITY) Principal city of the Gaza Strip.. Gaza City is located in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.Along with the rest of the Gaza Strip, it was inhabited by Philistines in ancient times and subsequently conquered by many peoples due to its strategic location As part of the British Mandate, it came under Egyptian administration after the 1948 … Old City 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. [16] Gaza remained under Egyptian control for 350 years until it was conquered by the Philistines in the 12th century BCE. [38][78], The population of Gaza is overwhelmingly composed of Arabic-speaking Muslims, who mostly follow Sunni Islam. Judeide The hill is crowned by a Muslim shrine (maqam) dedicated to Ali al-Muntar ("Ali of the Watchtower"). Other major towns in the province included Qaqun, Ludd, and Ramla. [10] The Hebrew name of the city is Aza (עזה) – the ayin at the beginning of the word represented a voiced velar fricative in Biblical Hebrew, but in Modern Hebrew, it is silent. [21] However, circa 1300, Syrian geographer al-Dimashqi described Gaza as a "city so rich in trees it looks like a cloth of brocade spread out upon the land. 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. Gaza City following an Israeli aerial attack–Photo: America. [37] In the 1930s and 1940s, Gaza underwent major expansion. [63], The Soldier's Square, located in Rimal, is a monument dedicated to an unknown Palestinian fighter who died in the 1948 War. [83], Gaza has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSh), with Mediterranean characteristics, featuring mild rainy winters and dry hot summers. A variety of wares are sold in Gaza's street bazaars, including carpets, pottery, wicker furniture, and cotton clothing; commercial development in the city is minimal. [94], Gaza has several restaurants, most of the well-known located in the Rimal district. 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. From earliest times it served as the base of Egyptian operations in Canaan.Unlike the neighboring sites of Tell el-'Ajjul and Tell Ali Muntar, Gaza itself did not have much strategic and economic importance during the third and second millennia B.C.E. [81] In Zaytun lies the Saint Porphryrius Church, the Katib al-Wilaya Mosque, and Hamam as-Sammara ("the Samaritan's Bathhouse. [85][88] 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,[75] although the latter is not under the city's municipal jurisdiction. In 2006–07, it had an enrollment of 3,778 students. Cloth for the Gaza thob was often woven at nearby Majdal (Ascalon). [84] Its principal commercial crop was cotton which was sold to the government and local Arab tribes. Gaza has a circumference of four miles and no walls. [45] The Ottoman army quickly and efficiently crushed a small-scale uprising,[48] and the local population generally welcomed them as fellow Sunni Muslims. However, it was abandoned by the 14th century BCE, at the end of the Bronze Age. The exhibition is in a hall made partly of stones from old houses, discarded wood ties of a former railroad, and bronze lamps and marble columns uncovered by Gazan fishermen and construction workers. 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 leaves and chilies). Zeitoun, Great Mosque of Gaza The number of Gazans who live in absolute poverty has increased sharply, with 80% relying on humanitarian aid in 2008 compared to 63% in 2006. Wehda Street. A Palestinian man inspects the rubble of a partially destroyed residential building after it was hit by Israeli missile strikes, at the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, early Tuesday, May. Sheikh Ijlin A report by human rights and development 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. Hadawi 's land and population survey, Gaza 's inhabitants were refugees or their descendants this time Crusaders. 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