Maghazi (camp)

Coordinates: 31°25′16.89″N 34°23′07.35″E / 31.4213583°N 34.3853750°E / 31.4213583; 34.3853750
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Maghazi
Town, originally a Refugee Camp
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicمخيم المغازي
Maghazi is located in State of Palestine
Maghazi
Maghazi
Location of Maghazi within Palestine
Coordinates: 31°25′16.89″N 34°23′07.35″E / 31.4213583°N 34.3853750°E / 31.4213583; 34.3853750
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateDeir al-Balah
Founded1949
Government
 • TypeRefugee Camp
Area
 • Total559 dunams (0.559 km2 or 0.216 sq mi)
Population
 (2017)[1]
 • Total27,827
 • Density50,000/km2 (130,000/sq mi)
 Population total includes that of the refugee camp and the Maghazi municipality

Maghazi (Arabic: مخيم المغازي) is a Palestinian town located in the Deir al-Balah Governorate in the central Gaza Strip. It was established as a Palestinian refugee camp in 1949. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 18,157 in 2017 and the Maghazi municipality had a population of 9,670.[1] The town is built on 559 dunums (0.6 km2).

In early 1949 Quaker aid workers visited Maghazi and reported that there were 2,500 refugees camped on privately owned land. They were living in Bedouin and Egyptian army tents as well the British army barracks. Most of the refugees had come from eight villages including Yasur, Qastina, Al-Batani al-Sharqi, Al-Batani al-Gharbi and Al-Maghar.[2]

On the evening of Monday 6 January 2003, the Israeli Defense Forces raided the camp and killed three Palestinians and wounded dozens claiming they were targeting militants hiding there.[3]

Income

Before the Gaza Strip's closure to Israel in 2000 following the Al-Aqsa Intifada, most residents had taken a number of various jobs in Israel or worked as farmers at local tells and pastures. There is a weekly souk, or open-air market, on Sunday in which residents buy or sell goods from their workshops, bakeries, cafes, diners and grocery lots.

Education

Maghazi has three elementary schools and 2 junior high schools run by the UNRWA. 6,407 pupils had enrolled at these schools in the 2004-2005 year. In 1998, the UNRWA provided integrated educational services to 1,264 children with disabilities. There are a number of youth activities that involve in athletics, social and cultural programs.

Airstrikes

Main articles: Al-Maghazi refugee camp airstrikes and Al-Maghazi UNRWA school airstrike

The camp was struck by Isreaeli airstrikes on 17 October[4], 5 November[5], 6 December[5] and 24 December 2023.[6][7] At least 130 people have died in the attacks.

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017 (PDF). Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) (Report). State of Palestine. February 2018. pp. 64–82. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  2. ^ Gallagher, Nancy (2007) ‘’Quakers in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The Dilemmas of NGO Humanitarian Activism’’ The American University in Cairo Press. ISBN 977-416-105-X p 75
  3. ^ http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/(Symbol)/E.CN.4.2003.G.29.En?Opendocument Question of the Violation of Human Rights in the Occupied Arab Territories Including Palestine
  4. ^ K, S. "Gaza: UNRWA School Sheltering Displaced Families is Hit". Question of Palestine. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Israel-Hamas war: List of key events, day 62". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  6. ^ "At least 45 killed at Al-Maghazi refugee camp". 5 November 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Israeli airstrike kills at least 70 in Al-Maghazi refugee camp, Gaza officials say". The Independent. 25 December 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2023.

External links

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