Beit Lahia () is a city located north of Jabalia, near Beit Hanoun and the 1949 Armistice Line with Israel. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the city had a population of 59,540 in mid-year 2006.^[1] Hamas, an Islamic party, took control of it during the 2005 municipal elections.

The word ?Lahia? is Syriac and means ?desert? or ?fatigue?. It is surrounded by sand dunes, some rise to above sea level. The area is renowned for its many large sycamore fig trees. The city is known for its fresh, sweet water, berries and citrus trees. It has an ancient hill and nearby abandoned village ruins. A mihrab, or mosque alcove indicating the direction of salaah (prayer), is all that remains of an ancient mosque to the west of Beit Lahia dating to the end of the Fatamid period and beginning of the Ayyubid Dynasty of Saladin, and two other mosques dating to the Ottoman period.^[2]

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

2005 killings

On January 4 2005 seven civilian residents of Beit Lahia, including six members of the same family, were killed when an IDF tank shell hit the agricultural area where they were working.

2006 killings

On June 9, 2006, eight civilians were killed while picnicking on the northern Gazan beach in Beit Lahia. The dead included seven members of the Ali Ghaliya family.^[3]

External links

• Palestinian National Information Centre

References

1. ↑ Projected Mid -Year Population for North Gaza Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
2. ↑ Beit Lahaia Municipality of Gaza.
3. ↑ The Guardian: Death on the beach: seven Palestinians killed as Israeli shells hit family picnic, June 10, 2006