Strip

It was founded in antiquity (around 3000 BC), one of the oldest cities in the world ^[2] . One of the cities of the Philistines . Mentioned in the Bible 22 times.

During the Assyrian conquests, Gaza was subjected to frequent invasions. Her king, Gannun , is mentioned in cuneiform inscriptions. Another king, Zillibel, did not take part in the coalition of the Syrian kings during the war between Sinakherib and Hezekiah and received part of the land taken from Hezekiah from Sinakherib. During the fall of Assyria, the pharaoh Necho took possession of Gaza for a short time ( 608 BC ), but Nebuchadnezzar II conquered all of Syria , and under the Babylonian dominion of Gaza was still in the time of Nabonidus ^[3] . After the fall of Babylon, Gaza became independent for a while and even dared to resist Cambyses on its way to Egypt . Under Daria, she also enjoyed internal self-government. At this time, increased contacts with the Greeks were noted; however, the Philistine identity and exclusivity have not yet yielded to Hellenism . During the conquests of Cambyses (525 BC), Gaza was inhabited by the Arabian Nabataean tribes , which are mentioned by the ancient historians Diodorus of Sicily and Herodotus ^[4] .

Alexander the Great in November 333 BC e. met here almost the same stubborn resistance as in Tire ; he had to spend about 2 months on the siege of Gaza, moreover, he destroyed its walls and destroyed a significant part of the urban population. During the era of the diadoch, Gaza was subjected to frequent devastation. In 312 BC e. it was the site of the defeat of Ptolemy Demetrius Poliorket. Then Ptolemy could not keep her behind him, but again occupied her after the battle of Ips. Under Egyptian rule, it remained until the end of the 3rd century, when it was possessed by Antiochus III (203 BC). Under the rule of the Seleucids, the Hellenization of Gaza made rapid progress and turned it into a stronghold of Hellenism against Judaism revived under the Maccabees . In 104 BC e. she turned to Ptolemy VIII Latur for help against the Jews, but he did not manage to save her, and she fell into the hands of Alexander Yannaya .

Pompey ( 63 BC ) freed Gaza, but under Herod she again fell into a vassal relationship with Judea and became free only after Herod's death. To the beginning of n. e. the main population of Gaza became the Greeks ^[5] . In 66 A.N. e. it was burned by the rebellious Jews. From II and III century. many city copper coins survived, partly autonomous (with the legend Γάήα δήμον Γαζαίων), part of the imperial. The existence of the former indicates a privileged position in Gaza.

Due to the reforms of Diocletian and Constantine, Gaza was reckoned with the province of Palestine I. All writers of this time call Gaza a significant and wealthy city. Christianity appeared here very early, due to the sermon of the Apostle Philip (Acts VIII, 39). The Apostle Philemon was the first bishop of Gaza. But in general, Christianity did not take deep roots here for a long time. Constantine separated Mayuma , where there were many Christians, from the semi-pagan Gaza, and called it Constance; but under Julian she was again subordinate to Gaza. Further success Christianity owed the spread of monasticism in the vicinity of Gaza, which began with St. Hilarion the Great , as well as the tireless activity of St. Porfiry , the bishop of Gaza, who was the edict of the emperor Arkady on the destruction of pagan temples. This was not without the revolt of the Gentiles and even the temporary flight of the bishop ^[6] . Gaza later became the center of mental life and literary activity; here rhetoric, philosophy and poetry with a Christian direction began to flourish. The Gaz school has exposed many rhetoricians ( Aeneas Gazsky , Zosim , Procopius , Choric ), philosophers who sought to bring the teachings of Plato closer to Christianity, and poets who wrote imitations of Anacreont , tragedy and monody (Timothy, John , George). Other arts flourished in Gaza; it was a border point and a bulwark of the cultural world. But this borderline position in the desert itself became fatal for her. Arabs repeatedly attempted to take possession of it; the Persians under Khozroi II succeeded for a while, and in 634 it finally fell into the hands of the Arabs.

In the 7th-9th centuries, the city was part of the Arab Caliphate , in the 9th-11th centuries it was under the rule of the Egyptian dynasties of Tulunids, Ihshidids, Fatimids. At the end of the XI century it was captured by the crusaders , but after the victory of the Egyptian ruler Salah ad-din (1187), he returned to the Egyptian states. During this period, Gaza had the third largest Jewish population in Palestine after Jerusalem and Safed until the middle of Ottoman rule ^[7] . At the beginning of the XVII century, the main rabbi of Gaza was Rabbi Israel bin Moshe Najara , a poet and expert on the Torah. In many cities in Israel today there are streets that bear his name. Rabbi Najara of Peru owns the Ya Ribon anthem - it is sung at the Sabbath meal in all the communities of Israel. Rabbi Israel bin Moshe Najara died in 1625 and is buried in Gaza. The successor to the post of chief rabbi of Gaza was his son. One of the representatives of the Jewish community of Gaza, Nathan from Gaza, was known as a follower and "prophet" of Shabtai Zvi . The ruins of the Jewish synagogue still exist in Gaza.

In 1516, the city ​​was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and until 1917 was part of the Ottoman Empire (in 1831-1840 under the rule of the Egyptian Pasha Muhammad Ali). In 1799, was taken by Napoleon during his Egyptian campaign .

In 1920 - 1947 was part of the British Mandate in Palestine . In 1929, Jews living in Gaza were forced to leave the city as a result of Arab unrest. During the pogroms throughout Palestine , 135 Jews were killed. In order to appease the Arabs, the British yielded to their pressure and forbade the Jews to settle in the city in which the Jewish community existed for centuries ^[8] .

By a decision of the UN General Assembly on November 29, 1947, it was included in the territory of the future Arab state. After the Arab-Israeli war of 1948-1949, Egypt was occupied by the Arab Republic , and after the Six Day War of 1967 - by Israel .

Since 1994, it has been managed by the Palestinian Authority , created as a result of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1993.

In 2007, the Hamas group seized power in the city. Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by Israel , Canada , the USA , Japan and the European Union ^[9] , and is also banned in Jordan and Egypt ^[10] . In Australia and Britain , only the military wing of Hamas is recognized as terrorist. In Russia, Hamas is not recognized as a terrorist organization ^{[11] [12] [13]} Since the Hamas program involves the destruction of the State of Israel and its replacement with Islamic theocracy ^[14] , its leadership, having come to power, refused to recognize the agreements with Israel concluded by the PLO, and disarm your fighters. Gaza has become an enclave of anarchy and terrorism ^{[15] [16]} . As a result, a number of states that previously financed autonomy launched economic sanctions , while Israel and Egypt blocked the city ^[17] .

The boycott and blockade led to grave consequences for the city’s economy and population, but shelling of Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip did not stop. In January 2009, Israel conducted Operation Cast Lead , which aimed to stop shelling. However, a number of states accused Israel of excessive use of force. As a result of the operation, shelling of Israel was minimized, but about 1,400 Palestinians were killed, thousands of houses, factories and public buildings were destroyed, further exacerbating the consequences of the ongoing blockade. A UN Human Rights Council commission led by Richard Goldstone accused Israel and Hamas of war crimes during the operation. The President of Israel and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shimon Peres called the findings of this commission “a mockery of history” ^[18] . A specially appointed UN commission chaired by Ian Martin, investigating various aspects of the Cast Lead anti-terrorist operation, prepared a report containing tough allegations against the Israel Defense Forces. Its authors noted that even before the start of this military operation, Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza, pursued a systematic policy to isolate the sector, which is a collective punishment for all residents of the area. UN officials say the Israeli military deliberately bombarded civilian targets, such as those belonging to the UN Palestine Refugee Relief Agency (UNRWA). The commission paid special attention to such episodes and facts as “deliberate shelling of Al Qods hospital with explosive shells and shells containing white phosphorus” and “shelling of Al Wafa hospital”. Both of these episodes may qualify as “violations of international humanitarian law”. Work on their restoration is postponed due to the ongoing blockade of the sector, limiting the ability to import building materials .

In the course of Israeli actions, more than 1,400 people died. Of these, from 500 to 700 representatives of Hamas and the Palestinian police and from 500 to 900 civilians, including hundreds of children. Over 5,000 injured .

In November 2012, hostilities between Israel and Hamas resumed. After the unilateral withdrawal of the Jewish settlements of Gush, the Arab population of Gaza continues to be treated in Israeli hospitals, tens of thousands of children were treated in hospitals in the State of Israel, including during Operation Cast Lead. Hamas fired on southern cities of Israel, while Ashkelon’s Barzilai hospital continued to treat children from the sector .

The climate of Gaza is subtropical Mediterranean, with hot summers and mild winters. The average annual rainfall is about 300 mm; all of them fall from November to March. The hottest months: July and August, the coldest: January and February. The average minimum in January-February is 7 ° C, and the average maximum in July-August is 33 ° C.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics for 1997, the population of Gaza City, along with the adjacent Al Shati refugee camp, was 353,115. Share of men: 50.9%, women: 49.1%. The proportion of people under the age of 19 was 60.8%; aged 20 to 44 years: 28.8%; 45 to 64 years old: 7.7% more than 64 years: 3.9%. ^[19] According to 1998 data, 51.8% of the population of Gaza were refugees and their descendants. ^[20] More than 90% of the population over the age of 10 years old is competent (as of 1997).

Population dynamics:

• 1914: 42,000
• 1922: 17,426
• 1945: 32,250
• 1982: 100,272
• 1997: 306 113
• 2009: 449,221 people

The vast majority of the population of Gaza are Sunni Muslims .

The total number of Christians is 2 thousand people. The city has a Greek Orthodox Christian community, led by the Archbishop of Gaza ^[21] . The main church is the temple of St. Porfiry (under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Jerusalem ) ^[22] . There is also a Catholic community (Church of the Holy Family) ^[23] . There was a Baptist community in Gaza for some time, but after 2007 was forced to move to the West Bank ^[24]

• The Great Mosque (Gaza) , built on the site of the Temple of Dagon
• Archaeological Museum of Al Mat'haf.
• Stadium.

There are several universities in the city where 28,500 students study. The most significant of these is Al Azhar University.

Gaza is a port city. Land communication is carried out using roads.

•   Barcelona ( Spanish ), Spain
•   Dunkirque ( FR. Dunkerque ), France
•   Turin ( Italian: Torino ), Italy
•   Cascais ( port. Cascais ), Portugal
•   Agadir ( Arabic: اݣادير ), Morocco
•   Tel Aviv ( Hebrew תֵּל אָבִיב-יָפוֹ ), Israel ^[25]
•   Tromsø ( Norwegian Tromsø ), Norway
•   Tabriz ( Persian تبریز , Azeri تبریز Təbriz ), Iran

• Gaza Strip
• Al Azhar University (Gaza)
• Rafah

• Gaza, a city in Syria // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.

• Ghazi Hammad, spokesman for the government led by Ismail Haniyah (Hamas)