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'Khan Yunis' (; literally ''Jonah's Inn'') is a city and adjacent refugee camp in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics the city, its refugee camp, and its immediate surroundings had a total population of 180,000 in 2006.[1]

Contents

History

Khan Yunis in the al-Aqsa Intifada

Israeli pullout

See also

References

External links

History

The refugee camp was founded in 1948 and initially held 35,000 refugees, mostly from villages in the Beersheba area. The number of refugees and their descendants registered with UNRWA in mid-2002 was 60,662.

Khan Yunis in the al-Aqsa Intifada

Main articles: Al-Aqsa Intifada

Khan Yunis was the site of Israeli helicopter attacks in August 2001 and October 2002.
It is known as a stronghold of the militant Islamist group Hamas. [2]
The northern part of Khan Yunis overlooks the Kissufim junction — formerly one of the main roads for Israeli traffic to Gush Katif. Buildings there had often been used by militants as sniping posts and mortar bases to shoot settlers and soldiers.
From Khan Yunis' northern buildings, two terrorists killed Tali Hatuel on May 2 2004, forcing her and her four daughters off the road and shooting them at close range. The next week, her memorial service was attacked at the same site. One building was also used as cover for an explosive-laden tunnel, which blew up an Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) outpost on June 27. After each attack, the IDF bulldozed some of the structures used by the terrorists.
On December 16, 2004, the IDF raided the town with armoured bulldozers and tanks in order to stop mortar shelling of Israeli settlements. In the six weeks before the operation about 80 mortar shells and Qassam rockets had hit Gush Katif, killing one Thai worker and wounding a dozen civilians and 11 soldiers.[3] The operation ended with about 14 Palestinians killed, most of them militants.
As a result, Khan Yunis have been the target of frequent raids by the IDF, and heavy battles ensued in the area, leaving tens of Palestinians killed, many of whom were armed militants.

Israeli pullout

In 2005, Israel unilaterally pulled out of Khan Yunis and the rest of the Gaza Strip in its unilateral disengagement plan.

See also

List of Palestinian refugee camps

Abasan El-Kabera

References

Pierre Rehov's " From the river to the sea "

External links

★ close-up map of Gaza