{{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Infobox settlement | name = al-Mughraqa | translit_lang1 = Arabic | translit_lang1_type = [[Arabic script|Arabic]] | translit_lang1_info = {{lang|ar|المغراقة}} | translit_lang1_type1 = [[Latin script|Latin]] | translit_lang1_info1 = Abu Middein (official) | type = [[Municipality (Palestinian Authority)|Municipality type C]] | image_skyline = | image_caption = | pushpin_map = Palestine | pushpin_map_caption = Location of al-Mughraqa within [[Palestine]] | image_map = | map_caption = | coordinates = {{coord|31|28|03.00|N|34|24|35.00|E|region:PS|display=inline,title}} | grid_name = [[Palestine grid|Palestine grid]] | grid_position = | subdivision_type = State | subdivision_name = [[State of Palestine]] | subdivision_type1 = [[Governorates of the Palestinian National Authority|Governorate]] | subdivision_name1 = [[Gaza Governorate|Gaza]] | established_title = Founded | established_date = | government_footnotes = <!-- for references: use <ref> tags --> | government_type = [[Municipality (Palestinian Authority)|Municipality]] | leader_title = Head of Municipality | leader_name = Yousef Abu Hweishel | unit_pref = dunam | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = 3.3 | area_total_dunam = 3260 | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | elevation_min_m = | elevation_max_m = | population_footnotes = <ref name="PrelimCensus2017">{{cite report |date=February 2018 |title=Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017 |url=https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Downloads/book2364-1.pdf |department=[[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS) |publisher=[[State of Palestine]] |pages=64–82 |access-date=2023-10-24}}</ref> | population_total = 11458 | population_as_of = 2017 | population_note = | population_density_km2 = auto | website = | footnotes = | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type2 = }} '''Al-Mughraqa''' ({{langx|ar|المغراقة}}, also known as '''Abu Middein''') is a [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] town in the [[Gaza Governorate]] of the [[Gaza Strip]], located six kilometers southwest of [[Gaza City]]. According to the [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS), al-Mughraqa had a population of 11,458 in 2017.<ref name="PrelimCensus2017" /> The town's alternate name, "Abu Middein" derives from the [[Bedouin]] Abu Middein tribe that inhabits the area, part of the larger [[Hanajira|al-Hanajreh]] tribal confederation.<ref>Roy, Sara. [https://books.google.com/books?id=X8jsAAAAMAAJ&q=Abu+Middain The Gaza Strip: the political economy of de development]. [[Institute for Palestine Studies]], 1995. p.19. {{ISBN|0887282601}}</ref>
== History == In 1996, a Bronze Age settlement dating to the early 2nd millennium BC was discovered in the town and named [[al-Moghraqa]].<ref>{{citation |last1=Steel |first1=Louise |title=Gaza Research Project. Report on the 1999 and 2000 seasons at al-Moghraqa |date=2004 |journal=Levant |volume=36 |pages=37–88 |doi=10.1179/lev.2004.36.1.37 |last2=Clarke |first2=Joanne |last3=Sadeq |first3=Moain |last4=Manley |first4=Bill |last5=McCarthy |first5=Andrew |last6=Munro |first6=R. Neil}}</ref>
In 2002, during the [[Second Intifada]], Israel carried out [[Israeli demolition of Palestinian property|demolitions of Palestinian homes]] in al-Mughraqa.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Israeli Supreme Court Orders Temporary Halt to House Demolitions Near al-Mughraqa |url=https://pchrgaza.org/israeli-supreme-court-orders-temporary-halt-to-house-demolitions-near-al-mughraqa/ |access-date=2025-02-15 |language=en}}</ref>
The [[2014 Gaza War]] caused damage to al-Mughraqa's [[Water supply and sanitation in the State of Palestine|water network]]; in 2015 the municipality had a [[non-revenue water]] rate of 58%, amongst the highest in the Gaza Strip.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Alkasseh |first=Jaber |date=2018 |title=Contribution of Major Factors Affecting Non-Revenue Water to Water Supply Network in Gaza Strip, Palestine |journal=Israa University Journal of Applied Science |volume=2 |page=8 |doi=10.52865/SNMP9081 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
In late 2023, al-Mughraqa's residents fled south to escape the [[Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip]]. They began to return in February 2025 following a [[January 2025 Gaza war ceasefire|ceasefire]]. The damage to al-Mughraqa was extensive, encompassing buildings and agricultural land, and the area was left without running water or an electrical supply.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ibrahim |first=Sally |date=10 February 2025 |title=After Israeli army withdraws from Netzarim, Gaza's al-Mughraqa and Juhor ad-Dik residents return to devastation |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/gazas-al-mughraqa-and-juhor-ad-dik-residents-return-nothing |access-date=15 February 2025 |work=The New Arab}}</ref> The Israeli military established the [[Netzarim Corridor]] which spanned the width of the Gaza Strip and passed through al-Mughraqa.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Al-Khatib |first=Hala |title=The 'Netzarim Corridor' is not a corridor, it is a nightmare |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/2/4/the-netzarim-corridor-is-not-a-corridor-it-is-a-nightmare |access-date=2025-11-17 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> An assessment by [[UNOSAT]] in December 2024 identified more than 2,800 buildings in al-Mughraqa that had been damaged or destroyed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 December 2024 |title=UNOSAT Gaza Strip Comprehensive Damage Assessment |url=https://unosat.org/products/4047 |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=unosat.org}}</ref>
== Education == [[Al-Azhar University – Gaza|Al-Azhar University]] established a new campus in al-Mughraqa with international funding.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Faculty of Agriculture & Environment |url=https://alazhar.edu.ps/Eng/UnderGr/Agri/Home.asp |access-date=15 February 2025 |website=Al-Azhar University}}</ref> The campus was destroyed during the Gaza War in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adler |first=Jonathan |date=2024-07-26 |title=The decimation of Gaza's academia is 'impossible to quantify' |url=https://www.972mag.com/gaza-academia-destruction-universities/ |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=+972 Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Abraham |first1=Leanne |last2=Erden |first2=Bora |last3=Ibrahim |first3=Nader |last4=Shao |first4=Elena |last5=Willis |first5=Haley |date=2024-02-01 |title=Israel's Controlled Demolitions Are Razing Neighborhoods in Gaza |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/02/01/world/middleeast/Israel-gaza-war-demolish.html |access-date=2025-02-15 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
The Moghraqa Preparatory Girls and Moghraqa Elementary Boys schools were damaged during the [[Gaza war|Gaza War]].<ref>{{cite report |url=https://www.eenet.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Preliminary-school-damage-assessment_July2024_Final-1.pdf |title=Verification of Damage to Schools based on proximinty to damaged sites - Gaza, Occupied Palestinian Territories |date=July 2024 |publisher=Enabling Education Network |accessdate=15 February 2025}}</ref>
== Demographics == As of 2010, most of al-Mughraqa's residents were refugees.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 January 2010 |title=From the Wadi to Nowhere |url=https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/features/wadi-nowhere |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=UNRWA |language=en}}</ref> In 2017 it had 11,458 inhabitants.<ref name="PrelimCensus2017" />
== Economy == Al-Mughraqa is mostly rural, and most employed inhabitants work in agriculture,<ref>{{cite web |first=Mohammad |last=al-Naami |title="Netzarim": Gaza's Most Beautiful Areas Turned into Desert by Israel |url=https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/1657181 |publisher=Institute for Palestine Studies |page=8 |date=9 April 2025 |accessdate=17 November 2025}}</ref> cultivating tomatoes, cucumbers, and lemons. The [[Gaza war]] caused widespread destruction of al-Mughraqa's agricultural land as well as its [[built environment]].<ref>{{cite news |first1=Aaron |last1=Boxerman |first2=Aric |last2=Toler |first3=Riley |last3=Mellen |first4=Patrick |last4=Kingsley |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/3134619784 |title=Israel Builds Bases in Central Gaza, a Sign It May Be There to Stay |newspaper=New York Times |date=2 December 2024 |accessdate=17 November 2025 |id={{ProQuest|3134619784}} }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Cite web |last1=Hoog |first1=Niels de |last2=Voce |first2=Antonio |last3=Morresi |first3=Elena |last4=Ganguly |first4=Manisha |last5=Kirk |first5=Ashley |date=2024-01-30 |title=How war destroyed Gaza's neighbourhoods – visual investigation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2024/jan/30/how-war-destroyed-gazas-neighbourhoods-visual-investigation |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=[[The Guardian]] |language=en |issn=1756-3224 |oclc=60623878}} * [https://chronology.palestine-studies.org/Chronology?f%5B0%5D=field_keywords_new%3A104992 The Palestine Chronology]
{{Gaza Governorate}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mughraqa, al-}} [[Category:Towns in the Gaza Strip]] [[Category:Municipalities of Palestine]] [[Category:Palestinian bedouins]]
{{Palestine-geo-stub}}