Ashkelon

{{Short description|City in Israel}} {{about|the modern Israeli city|the ancient Levantine metropolis|Ascalon||Ashkelon (disambiguation)}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Ashkelon | native_name = {{native name|he|אשקלון|italics=off}}<br />{{native name|ar|عسقلان|italics=off}} | settlement_type = [[List of cities in Israel|City]] | translit_lang1 = Hebrew | translit_lang1_type1 = [[ISO 259]] | translit_lang1_info1 = ʔašqlon | translit_lang1_type2 = Translit. | translit_lang1_info2 = Ashkelon | translit_lang1_type3 = Also spelled | translit_lang1_info3 = Ashqelon, Ascalon (unofficial) | image_skyline = {{multiple image | border = infobox | | perrow = 1/2 | total_width = 300 | align = center |image1 = Ashkelon Panorama Image.JPG |caption1 = Ashkelon skyline |image2 = 93439 marina ashkelon PikiWiki Israel.jpg |caption2 = [[:he:מרינה אשקלון|Ashkelon Marina]] |image3 = 96754 ashkelon tomb of sheikh awad PikiWiki Israel.jpg |caption3 = [[:he:קבר השייח' עוואד|Tomb of Sheikh Awad]] |image4 = Ashkelon 180814 05.jpg |caption4 = [[Ashkelon National Park]] |image5 = המכללה האקדמית אשקלון.jpg |caption5 = [[:he:המכללה האקדמית אשקלון|Ashkelon Academic College]] }} | image_flag = Flag of Ashkelon.svg | image_blank_emblem = [[File:Coat of arms of Ashqelon.svg|60px]] | blank_emblem_type = Coat of arms | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map = Israel ashkelon#Israel | pushpin_mapsize = 250 | pushpin_label_position = left | pushpin_map_caption = | pushpin_relief = 1 | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 11 | mapframe-height = 275 | coordinates = | subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]] | subdivision_name = {{ISR}} | subdivision_type1 = | subdivision_name1 = | subdivision_type2 = [[Districts of Israel|District]] | subdivision_name2 = [[Southern District (Israel)|Southern]] | subdivision_type3 = Subdistrict | subdivision_name3 = [[Ashkelon Subdistrict|Ashkelon]] | established_title = Founded | established_date = {{plainlist| *5880 BCE (Neolithic settlement) *2000 BCE (Canaanite city) *1150 BCE (Philistine rule) *6th century BCE (Classical city) *15th century CE (Arab village) *1953 (Israeli city)}} | government_type = [[Mayor–council government|Mayor–council]] | governing_body = Municipality of Ashkelon | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = {{ill|Tomer Glam|he|תומר גלאם}} | unit_pref = dunam | area_total_dunam = {{formatnum:47788|R}} | population_footnotes = {{Israel populations|reference}} | population_total = {{Israel populations|Ashqelon}} | population_as_of = {{Israel populations|Year}} | population_density_km2 = auto | timezone1 = [[Israel Standard Time|IST]] | utc_offset1 = +2 | timezone1_DST = [[Israel Summer Time|IDT]] | utc_offset1_DST = +3 | population_demonym = Ashkelonian | website = [https://www.ashkelon.muni.il/Pages/default.aspx www.ashkelon.muni.il] }} '''Ashkelon''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|ʃ|k|ə|l|ɒ|n}} {{respell|ASH|kə|lon}}; {{langx|he|אשקלון|ʾAšqəlōn}}, {{IPA|he|ʔaʃkeˈlon|IPA|Ashkelon.ogg}}; {{langx|ar|عسقلان|ʿAsqalān}}) or '''Ashqelon''', is a coastal city in the [[Southern District (Israel)|Southern District]] of [[Israel]] on the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] coast, {{convert|50|km|mi|-1}} south of [[Tel Aviv]], and {{convert|13|km|mi|frac=2}} north of the border with the [[Gaza Strip]]. The modern city is named after the ancient seaport of [[Ascalon]], which was destroyed in 1270 and whose remains are on the southwestern edge of the modern metropolis. The Israeli city, first known as '''Migdal''' ({{langx|he|מגדל|links=no}}), was founded in 1949 approximately 4 km inland from ancient Ascalon at the Palestinian town of '''al-Majdal''' ({{langx|ar|الْمِجْدَل|al-Mijdal|links=no}}). Its inhabitants had been exclusively Muslims and Christians, and the area had been allocated to [[Palestine]] in the [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine]]; on the eve of the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]] the inhabitants numbered 10,000 and in October 1948, the city accommodated thousands more [[Palestinian refugees]] from nearby villages.<ref name="Masalha">{{cite book|last1=Masalha|first1=Nur|author-link1=Nur Masalha|title=The Palestine Nakba: Decolonising History, Narrating the Subaltern, Reclaiming Memory|date=2012|publisher=Zed Books, Limited|location=London|isbn=978-1-84813-970-1|pages=115–116}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CC7381HrLqcC&pg=PA331 |title=1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War |last=Morris |first=Benny |date=2008-10-01| publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-14524-3 |pages=331 |language=en |via=books.google.com}}</ref> The town was conquered by Israeli forces on 5 November 1948, by which time [[1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight|much of the Arab population had fled]],<ref name="1948After">B. Morris, The transfer of Al Majdal's remaining Palestinians to Gaza, 1950, in ''[[1948 and After|1948 and After; Israel and the Palestinians]]''.</ref> leaving some 2700 inhabitants, of whom Israeli soldiers deported 500 in December 1948,<ref name="1948After"/> and most of the rest were deported by 1950.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Palestinian People: A History |last1=Kimmerling |first1=Baruch |first2=Joel |last2=S Migdal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6NRYEr8FR1IC |chapter=Reconstituting Palestinian Nation |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6NRYEr8FR1IC&pg=PA172 |page=172 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |year=2003 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |isbn=978-0-674-03959-9 |via=books.google.com}}</ref> Today, the city's population is almost entirely Israeli Jews.

Migdal, as it was called in Hebrew, was initially repopulated by Jewish immigrants and demobilized soldiers. It was subsequently renamed multiple times, first as Migdal Gaza, Migdal [[Tribe of Gad|Gad]] and Migdal Ashkelon, until in 1953, the coastal neighbourhood of Afridar was incorporated, and the name ''Ashkelon'' was adopted for the combined town. By 1961, Ashkelon was ranked 18th among Israeli urban centers with a population of 24,000.<ref name="Golan"/> In {{Israel populations|Year}} the population of Ashkelon was {{Israel populations|Ashqelon}}, making it the third-largest city in Israel's [[Southern District (Israel)|Southern District]].{{Israel populations|reference}}

==Etymology== The name Ashkelon is probably [[West Semitic languages|Western Semitic]], and might be connected to the [[triliteral root]] {{Transliteration|sem|š-q-l}} 'to weigh', from a Semitic root {{Transliteration|sem|ṯ-q-l}}, akin to Hebrew {{Transliteration|he|šāqal}} ({{lang|he|שָקַל}}) or Arabic {{Transliteration|ar|ṯiql|lang=ar}} ({{lang|ar|ثِقْل}}), 'weight', perhaps attesting to its importance as a center for [[trade]]. It appears in late [[Old Egyptian]] in the [[execration texts]] in a form that suggests the earliest pronunciation was ''ʾaθqalānu'', which shifts to ''ʾaθqalōnu'' in [[Middle Egyptian]], demonstrating the [[Canaanite shift]] in the [[2nd millennium BCE]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Huehnergard |first1=John |title=The Name Ashkelon |journal=Eretz-Israel: Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies |date=2018 |volume=33 |pages=91 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26751887 |issn=0071-108X}}</ref>

Its name appeared in [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] and [[Punic language|Punic]] as {{Transliteration|phn|{{sc|šqln}}|italics=no}} ({{lang|phn|𐤔𐤒𐤋𐤍}}) and {{Transliteration|phn|{{sc|ʾšqln}}|italics=no}} ({{lang|phn|𐤀𐤔𐤒𐤋𐤍}}).{{sfnp|Huss|1985|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NvEK7kc3qnQC&pg=PA560 560]}} ''Majdal'' (Arabic) and ''Migdal'' (Hebrew) mean 'tower'.

==History== {{main|Ascalon}}

===Ancient Ascalon (Asqalanu)=== {{see also|Gaza wine|Gaza Jar}} The archaeological site of [[Ascalon]], today known as Tel Ashkelon, was the oldest and largest seaport in [[Canaan]], part of [[Philistia]], the [[pentapolis]] (a grouping of five cities) of the [[Philistines]], north of [[Gaza City]] and south of [[Jaffa]].

The site was an important city during [[Timeline of the Palestine region#Roman period|Roman]], [[Timeline of the Palestine region#Byzantine period|Byzantine]] and [[Bilad al-Sham|pre-Crusades Muslim rule]], and particularly during the period of the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]], due to its location near the coast and between the [[Crusader states]] and Egypt. The [[Battle of Ascalon]] was the last action of the [[First Crusade]]. In 1270, the [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluk sultan]] [[Baybars]] ordered the fortifications and harbour of Ascalon to be destroyed. Its inhabitants moved to ''Majdal 'Asqalān'', which was established by Baybars as a substitute {{convert|3|km}} inland, and endowed with a magnificent{{POV statement|date=May 2026}} [[congregational mosque]], a marketplace and religious shrines.<ref name= RM>{{Cite journal |last1=Marom |first1=Roy |last2=Taxel |first2=Itamar |date=2023-10-01 |title=Ḥamāma: The historical geography of settlement continuity and change in Majdal 'Asqalan's hinterland, 1270–1750 CE |journal=Journal of Historical Geography |volume=82 |pages=49–65 |doi=10.1016/j.jhg.2023.08.003 |issn=0305-7488|doi-access=free }}</ref> [[File:Church of St. Stephen, mosaic depicting the city of Askalon (Ashkelon), Um er-Rasas, Jordan.jpg | thumb |center| Depiction of Askalon (Ashkelon) in the [[Umm ar-Rasas mosaics]], 8th century CE]]

===Al Majdal, Asqalan=== Established by Baybars following the destruction of [[Ascalon]] in the 13th century, the Arab town of Majdal 'Asqalan is mentioned by historians and tourists at the end of the 15th century.<ref name="Orna">{{cite book | author = Orna Cohen | title = "Transferred to Gaza of Their Own Accord" The Arabs of Majdal in Ashkelon and their Evacuation to the Gaza Strip in 1950 | publisher = The Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem | year = 2007}}</ref> In 1596, Ottoman records showed Majdal to be a large village of 559 Muslim households, making it the 7th-most-populous locality in Palestine after [[Safed|Safad]], [[Jerusalem]], [[Gaza City|Gaza]], [[Nablus]], [[Hebron]] and [[Kafr Kanna]].<ref name=Hutteroth>Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 144</ref><ref name="Petersen">Petersen, Andrew (2005). ''The Towns of Palestine under Muslim Rule AD 600–1600''. BAR International Series 1381. p. 133.</ref> Al-Majdal derived part of its prosperity from its location along on the Cairo-Damascus road.<ref>[[Roy Marom|Marom, Roy]] (2026). ''[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/399915713_Settled_Land_-_The_Arab_Countryside_in_IsraelPalestine Settled Land: The Arab Countryside in Israel/Palestine]'' (in Hebrew). Ra'anana: Lamda Scholarship, The Open University of Israel Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-965-06-1769-1.</ref>

An official Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed that ''Medschdel'' had a total of 420 houses and a population of 1175, though the population count included men only.<ref>Socin, 1879, p. [https://archive.org/stream/zeitschriftdesde01deut#page/157/mode/1up 157]</ref><ref>Hartmann, 1883, p. [https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_BZobAQAAIAAJ#page/n939/mode/1up 131], noted 655 houses</ref>

[[File:Ashkelon1870s.jpg |thumb|center| The area of modern Ashkelon cover the land of: Al Majdal, [[Hamama]], [[Al-Jura]], [[Al-Khisas, Gaza|Al-Khisas]] and [[Ni'ilya]]. The ruins of [[Ascalon]] are also shown on the left hand side. Images from the 1871–77 [[PEF Survey of Palestine]].]]

In the [[1922 census of Palestine]], ''Majdal'' had a population of 5,064; 33 Christians and 5,031 [[Muslims]],<ref name=Census1922>Barron, 1923, Table V, Sub-district of Gaza, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n10/mode/1up 8]</ref> increasing in the [[1931 census of Palestine|1931 census]] to 6,226 (6,166 Muslims and 41 Christians) with 172 in the suburbs (167 Muslims, 4 Christians, and one Jew).<ref name=PalestineStats>Palestine Office of Statistics, Vital Statistical Tables 1922–1945, Table A8.</ref>

In the [[Village Statistics, 1945|1945 statistics]] Majdal had a population of 9,910; ninety Christians and 9,820 Muslims,<ref name=1945p30>Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p32.jpg 32]</ref> with a total (urban and rural) of 43,680 [[dunam]]s of land, according to an official land and population survey. 2,050 dunams were public land; all the rest was owned by Arabs.<ref name=Hadawi46>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Gaza/Page-046.jpg 46]</ref> of the dunams, 2,337 were used for citrus and bananas, 2,886 were plantations and irrigable land, 35,442 for cereals,<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Gaza/Page-087.jpg 87]</ref> while 1,346 were built-up land.<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Gaza/Page-137.jpg 137]</ref>

Majdal was known for the [[majdalawi weaving]] industry.<ref>[https://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.aspx?id=13668&mag_id=121 Ashqelon, Eli Cohen Street]</ref> The town had around 500 looms in 1909. In 1920 a British Government report estimated that there were 550 cotton looms in the town with an annual output worth 30–40 million [[French franc|francs]].<ref>{{cite news |title=H.M. Stationery Office (1920) ''Syria and Palestine'' — Viewer — World Digital Library |url=https://www.wdl.org/en/item/11774/view/1/1/#q=Israel |newspaper=The Library of Congress |language=en |archive-date=16 September 2018 |access-date=19 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916014240/https://www.wdl.org/en/item/11774/view/1/1/#q=Israel |url-status=dead }}</ref> But the industry suffered from imports from Europe and by 1927 only 119 weaving establishments remained. The three major fabrics produced were "malak" (silk), 'ikhdari' (bands of red and green) and 'jiljileh' (dark red bands). These were used for festival dresses throughout Southern Palestine. Many other fabrics were produced, some with poetic names such as ''ji'nneh u nar'' ("heaven and hell"), ''nasheq rohoh'' ("breath of the soul") and ''abu mitayn'' ("father of two hundred").<ref>Shelagh Weir, "Palestinian Costume". British Museum Publications, 1989. {{ISBN|978-0-7141-1597-9}}. pages 27–32. Other fabrics produced include ''Shash'' (white muslin for veils), ''Burk''/''Bayt al-shem'' (plain cotton for underdresses), ''Karnaish'' (white cotton with stripes), "Bazayl" (flannelette), ''Durzi'' (blue cotton) and ''Dendeki'' (red cotton).</ref>

In addition to agriculture, residents practiced [[animal husbandry]] which formed was an important source of income for the town. In 1943, they owned 354 heads of [[cattle]], 168 [[sheep]] over a year old, 170 [[goat]]s over a year old, 65 [[camel]]s, 17 [[horse]]s, 39 [[mule]]s, 447 [[donkey]]s, 2966 [[fowl]]s, and 808 [[Domestic pigeon|pigeons]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Marom |first1=Roy |last2=Taxel |first2=Itamar |date=2024-10-10 |title=Hamama: The Palestinian Countryside in Bloom (1750–1948) |url=https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JIA/article/view/26586 |journal=Journal of Islamic Archaeology |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=93 |doi=10.1558/jia.26586 |issn=2051-9729|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

<gallery> El Majdal-Survey-of-Palestine-3-4-5-6-combined.jpg|1931-2 map of central El Majdal. Nearly all Palestinians who lived here and survived the 1947-8 [[Nakba]] were at first confined to a ghetto, then later expelled Majdal11.png|Weavers in Majdal, 1934–39 </gallery>

[[File:Ashkelon region in the 1950s.jpg|thumb|The beginnings of the modern city of Ashkelon shown in the 1950s [[Survey of Israel]]. The built up area labeled אשקלון (Ashkelon) is the area previously known as Majdal. To the left is Afridar. The ruins of [[Hamama]], [[Al-Jura]], [[Ni'ilya]] and [[Al-Khisas, Gaza|Al-Khisas]] are also shown.]]

====1948 war and depopulation of Palestinians==== {{further|Nakba}} Majdal was occupied by the Egyptian army in the early stages of the [[1948 Palestine war]], along with the rest of the Gaza region, which had been allocated to the Arab State in the United Nations plan. Over the next few months, the town was subjected to Israeli air raids and shelling.<ref name="1948After"/> All but about 1,000 of the town's residents were forced to leave by the time it was captured by Israeli forces as a sequel to [[Operation Yoav]] on 4 November 1948.<ref name="1948After"/> General [[Yigal Allon]] ordered the expulsion of the remaining Palestinians, but the local commanders did not do so. The Arab population soon recovered to more than 2500, due mostly to refugees slipping back and also due to the transfer of Palestinians from nearby villages.<ref name="1948After"/><ref name="Orna"/> Most were elderly, women, or children.<ref name="Orna"/> During the next year or so, the Palestinians were held in a confined area surrounded by barbed wire, which became commonly known as the "ghetto".<ref name="Golan">{{cite journal | doi=10.1080/714003467 | author=Golan, Arnon | title=Jewish Settlement of Former Arab Towns and their Incorporation into the Israeli Urban System (1948–1950) | journal=Israel Affairs | year=2003 | volume=9 | issue=1–2 | pages=149–164 | s2cid=144137499 | issn=1353-7121}}</ref><ref name="Orna"/><ref name="MorrisBirth">Morris, 2004, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA528 528] −529.</ref>

[[Moshe Dayan]] and Prime Minister [[David Ben-Gurion]] were in favor of expulsion, while [[Mapam]] and the Israeli labor union [[Histadrut]] objected.<ref name="1948After"/> The government offered the Palestinians positive inducements to leave, including a favorable currency exchange, but also caused panic through night-time raids.<ref name="1948After"/> The first group was deported to the [[Gaza Strip]] by truck on 17 August 1950 after an expulsion order had been served.<ref>[[Sabri Jiryis|S. Jiryis]], The Arabs in Israel (1968), p.57</ref> Deportation was approved by Ben-Gurion and Dayan over the objections of [[Pinhas Lavon]], secretary-general of the Histadrut, who envisioned the town as a productive example of equal opportunity.<ref name="Kafkafi">{{cite journal | doi=10.1017/S0020743800066216 | author=Kafkafi, Eyal | title=Segregation or integration of the Israeli Arabs – two concepts in Mapai | journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies | year=1998 | volume=30 | issue=3 | pages=347–367 | s2cid=161862941 }}</ref> By October 1950, twenty Palestinian families remained, most of whom later moved to [[Lod|Lydda]] or Gaza.<ref name="1948After"/>

In 1951, a trial took place concerning the killing of Arab civilians in al-Majdal in 1949. The case focused on soldiers from a company stationed there to prevent Arabs from returning to the town. The tribunal found that “the [[Soldier|soldiers]] sometimes ran wild,” and that some believed they were free to treat Arabs, especially “infiltrators,” as they wished. Based on testimony the court deemed credible, the killing of Arabs was regarded as “legal” by some fighters, and the person who killed was perceived among his comrades as a “chaver-man” (a “buddy” figure). The trial also discussed an incident in which young Arabs infiltrated al-Majdal to visit their parents who had remained in the town; soldiers captured them and executed them. In an unusual development, the report states that because the parents remained inside Israel, they testified in court, including an account by the father describing his son’s return from [[Gaza City|Gaza]] and the discovery of his body with bullet wounds to the chest, head, and back, as well as signs of beating.<ref>{{cite news |date=26 February 2026 |title=המסמכים הסודיים שנזרקו לפח חושפים פקודות חריגות ממלחמת העצמאות |url=https://www.haaretz.co.il/magazine/2026-02-26/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/0000019c-9039-d930-ad9f-f4fd6f060000 |work=Haaretz |language=he}}</ref>

According to Israeli records, in total 2,333 Palestinians were transferred to the [[Gaza Strip]], 60 to Jordan, 302 to other towns in Israel, and a small number remained in Ashkelon.<ref name="Orna"/> Lavon argued that this operation dissipated "the last shred of trust the Arabs had in Israel, the sincerity of the State's declarations on democracy and civil equality, and the last remnant of confidence the Arab workers had in the Histadrut."<ref name="Kafkafi"/> Acting on an Egyptian complaint, the Egyptian-Israel [[Mixed Armistice Commission]] ruled that the Palestinians transferred from Majdal should be returned to Israel, but this was not done.<ref>{{cite journal | year = 1952 | title = Security Council | journal = International Organization | volume = 6 | issue = 1| pages = 76–88 | doi=10.1017/s0020818300016209| s2cid = 249414466 }}</ref>

===Repopulation of Ashkelon by Israelis=== Majdal was granted to Israel in the [[1949 Armistice Agreements]]. Re-population of the recently vacated Arab dwellings by Jews had been official policy since at least December 1948, but the process began slowly.<ref name="Golan"/> The Israeli national plan of June 1949 designated al-Majdal as the site for a regional [[Urban area|urban center]] of 20,000 people.<ref name="Golan"/> From July 1949, new immigrants and [[demobilization|demobilized]] soldiers moved to the new town, increasing the Jewish population to 2,500 within six months.<ref name="Golan"/> These early immigrants were mostly from [[Yemen]], [[North Africa]], and [[Europe]].<ref>{{cite web |script-title=he:מגדל־גד בהתפתחותה,בחירות ב־26 בפברואר – דבר |url=http://jpress.org.il/Olive/APA/NLI_Heb/SharedView.Article.aspx?parm=o9Sbi1WIsHdoejWFtHsh3QLn0DMAzo4d0FWipSdDt34n%2BE0l6hHZL8hFphABg7HQYw%3D%3D&mode=image&href=DAV%2f1950%2f02%2f10&page=9&rtl=true |website=jpress.org.il |language=he }}{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>

In 1949, the town was renamed Migdal Gaza, and then Migdal Gad. Soon after, it became Migdal Ashkelon. The city expanded as the population grew. In 1951, the neighborhood of Afridar was established for Jewish immigrants from [[South Africa]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Benzaquen |first1=John |title=Neighborhood Watch: Ashkelon's 'Anglo quarter' |url=https://www.jpost.com/Local-Israel/Around-Israel/Neighborhood-Watch-Ashkelons-Anglo-quarter |website=[[The Jerusalem Post]]|date=19 November 2010 |issn=0792-822X}}</ref> and in 1953 it was incorporated into the city. The current name Ashkelon was adopted and the town was granted [[Local council (Israel)|local council]] status in 1953.

In 1955, Ashkelon had more than 16,000 residents. By 1961, Ashkelon ranked 18th among Israeli urban centers with a population of 24,000.<ref name="Golan"/> This grew to 43,000 in 1972 and 53,000 in 1983. In 2005, the population exceeded 106,000.

In 1949 and 1950, three immigrant transit camps ([[ma'abarot]]) were established alongside Majdal (renamed Migdal) for Jewish refugees from [[Arab world|Arab countries]], [[Romania]] and Poland. Northwest of Migdal and the immigrant camps, on the lands of the [[1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight|depopulated Palestinian village]] of [[al-Jura]],{{sfn|Khalidi|1992|p=117}} entrepreneur [[Zvi Segal]], one of the signatories of Israel's Declaration of Independence, established the upscale Barnea neighborhood.<ref name="haaretz.com">{{cite news|last=Margalit |first=Talia |url=https://www.haaretz.com/general/periphery-without-a-center-1.107172 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513170300/http://www.haaretz.com/general/periphery-without-a-center-1.107172 |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 May 2011 |title=Periphery without a center|work=[[Haaretz]] |access-date=2011-08-10}}</ref>

A large tract of land south of Barnea was handed over to the trusteeship of the South African Zionist Federation, which established the neighborhood of Afridar. Plans for the city were drawn up in South Africa according to the [[garden city movement|garden city]] model. Migdal was surrounded by a broad ring of orchards. Barnea developed slowly, but Afridar grew rapidly. The first homes, built in 1951, were occupied by new Jewish immigrants from [[South Africa]] and South America, as well as some native-born Israelis. The first public housing project for residents of the transit camps, the Southern Hills Project (Hageva'ot Hadromiyot), also known as Zion Hill (Givat Zion), was built in 1952.<ref name="haaretz.com"/>

The [[Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade]] launched a series of attempted rocket attacks toward Ashkelon from the Gaza Strip in 2015.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cohen |first=Gili |title=Rocket fired from Gaza hits open area in south Israel |url=https://www.haaretz.com/2015-06-07/ty-article/rocket-fired-from-gaza-hits-open-area-in-southern-israel/0000017f-e1fd-d9aa-afff-f9fd2f9c0000 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250613161305/https://www.haaretz.com/2015-06-07/ty-article/rocket-fired-from-gaza-hits-open-area-in-southern-israel/0000017f-e1fd-d9aa-afff-f9fd2f9c0000 |archive-date=2025-06-13 |access-date=2025-10-29 |work=Haaretz.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-06-07 |title=Israel Launches Airstrike on Gaza After Rocket Fire |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/rocket-launched-israel-gaza-military-says-n371101 |access-date=2025-10-29 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> These included unsuccessful launches in June, August, September,<ref name="MFA">{{Cite news |date=March 16, 2016 |title=Rocket fire from Gaza |url=http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/ForeignPolicy/Terrorism/Pages/Palestinian_ceasefire_violations_since_end_Operation_Cast_Lead.aspx |access-date=March 18, 2016 |work=MFA: Rocket fire from Gaza and ceasefire violations after Operation Cast Lead (Jan 2009)}}</ref> and October,<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 26, 2015 |title=Rocket from Gaza explodes in Israel near border |url=https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Rocket-from-Gaza-explodes-near-Israel-border-430102 |access-date=October 29, 2015 |work=JPost: A rocket exploded in an open area of the Gaza border region in the South Monday evening}}</ref> and one strike on September 18 that destroyed a bus and a residence but caused no reported casualties.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 19, 2015 |title=Rocket sirens sound in western Negev in false alarm |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/rocket-siren-sounds-in-western-negev/ |access-date=September 28, 2015 |work=TimesOfIsrael: On Friday evening, the Iron Dome intercepted a rocket fired at the southern city of Ashkelon, hours after a similar attack saw a rocket strike land in a residential area of Sderot}}</ref>

Under a plan signed in October 2015, seven new neighborhoods comprising 32,000 housing units, a new stretch of highway, and three new highway interchanges will be built, turning Ashkelon into the sixth-largest city in Israel.<ref>{{cite web |title=With 32,000 New Housing Units Ashkelon to Become Israel's 6th Largest City |url=http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/with-32000-new-housing-units-ashkelon-to-become-israels-6th-largest-city/2015/10/30/ |website=jewishpress.com|date=30 October 2015 }}</ref>{{update inline|date=June 2023}}

<gallery> The area around Isdud and Majdal in the UN Palestine Partition Versions 1947 (cropped).jpg|The area around Majdal had been allocated to the Arab state in the [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine]]. Ashqelon.jpg | High-rise residential development along the beach (2007) Harlington Hotel, Ashkelon, 2004.jpg | Harlington Hotel and 13th-century tomb of Sheikh Awad </gallery>

== Landmarks ==

=== Ashkelon National Park === The ancient site of [[Ascalon]] is now administered as the [[Ashkelon National Park]]. The walls that encircled the city are still visible, as well as Canaanite earth ramparts. The park contains mainly Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader ruins.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vie/Ashkelon.html#Ashkelon |title=Ashkelon National Park |publisher=Jewishvirtuallibrary.org |access-date=2011-08-10| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110717104733/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource//vie/Ashkelon.html| archive-date= 17 July 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> The largest dog cemetery in the ancient world was discovered in Ashkelon.<ref>{{cite web|last=Stager |first=Lawrence |url=http://www.bib-arch.org/e-features/dogs-buried-at-ashkelon.asp |title=Why were dogs buried at Ashkelon |publisher=Bib-arch.org |access-date=2011-08-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907092241/http://www.bib-arch.org/e-features/dogs-buried-at-ashkelon.asp |archive-date=7 September 2011 }}</ref>

A Roman burial tomb two kilometres north of Ashkelon National Park was discovered in 1937. There are two burial tombs, a painted Hellenistic cave and a Roman cave. The Hellenistic cave is decorated with paintings of nymphs, water scenes, mythological figures and animals.<ref name="Places to see in Ashkelon"/>

=== Bathhouses === In 1986 ruins of 4th- to 6th-century baths were found in Ashkelon. The bathhouses are believed to have been used for prostitution. The remains of nearly 100 mostly male infants were found in a sewer under the bathhouse, leading to conjectures that prostitutes had discarded their unwanted newborns there.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.2307/25528291|title=Brothels, Baths and Babes: Prostitution in the Byzantine Holy Land|author=Claudine M. Dauphin|year=1996|journal=Classics Ireland|volume=3|pages= 47–72|url=http://www.ucd.ie/cai/classics-ireland/1996/Dauphin96.html|jstor=25528291|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

=== Religious sites === The remains of a 4th-century [[Byzantine architecture|Byzantine]] church with marble slab flooring and glass mosaic walls can be seen in the Barnea Quarter.<ref name="Places to see in Ashkelon"/> Remains of a synagogue from this period have also been found.<ref name="Roth1972">{{cite book|author=Cecil Roth|title=Encyclopaedia Judaica |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ua4KAQAAIAAJ|year=1972|publisher=Encyclopaedia Judaica|page=714}}</ref>

==== Maqam al-Imam al-Husayn ====

An 11th-century mosque, [[Shrine of Husayn's Head|Maqam al-Imam al-Husayn]], a site of pilgrimage for both [[Sunni]] and [[Shia]] Muslims,<ref name=thesis/>{{rp|185–186}}<ref name=reuthusmash>{{Cite news|title=Prophet's grandson, Hussein, honored on the grounds of an Israeli hospital|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-religion-israel-shi-ite/prophets-grandson-hussein-honored-on-grounds-of-israeli-hospital-idUSKBN0LD17720150209|access-date=12 May 2020|date=9 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200512092013/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-religion-israel-shi-ite/prophets-grandson-hussein-honored-on-grounds-of-israeli-hospital-idUSKBN0LD17720150209|archive-date=12 May 2020|author=Rami Amichay}}</ref><ref name=alarab>{{Cite news|title=أتباع البهرة الشيعية يذرفون الدمع على قبر للحسين في عسقلان |newspaper=Al-ʻArab |url=https://alarab.co.uk/%D8%A3%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%8A%D8%B0%D8%B1%D9%81%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D9%82%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B9%D8%B3%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531130930/https://alarab.co.uk/%D8%A3%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%8A%D8%B0%D8%B1%D9%81%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D9%82%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B9%D8%B3%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86 |archive-date=31 May 2020 |access-date=31 May 2020 |date=11 February 2015 |trans-title=Shi'a Bohra followers shed tears at Hussein's grave in Ashkelon |language=ar |issn=0140-010X |issue=9825 |page=20 |via=alarab.co.uk}}</ref> which had been built by the [[Fatimid Caliphate]] by [[Badr al-Jamali]] and where tradition held that the head of Mohammad's grandson [[Hussein ibn Ali]] was buried, was blown up by the [[Israel Defense Forces]] under instructions from [[Moshe Dayan]] as part of a broader programme to destroy mosques in July 1950.<ref name="hist">Brief History of Transfer of the Sacred Head of Hussain ibn Ali, From Damascus to Ashkelon to Qahera By: Qazi Dr. Shaikh Abbas Borhany PhD (USA), NDI, Shahadat al A'alamiyyah (Najaf, Iraq), M.A., LLM (Shariah) Member, Ulama Council of Pakistan. Published in ''Daily News'', Karachi, Pakistan on 3 January 2009 [http://www.durrenajaf.com/upload/51310a3ca52c8.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214142006/http://www.durrenajaf.com/upload/51310a3ca52c8.pdf|date=14 December 2017}}.</ref><ref name="haaretz1">[[Meron Rapoport]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20101104061326/http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/history-erased-1.224899 'History Erased,'] ''[[Haaretz]]'', 5 July 2007.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2014/03/husseins-head-and-importance-of-cultural-heritage/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517142125/https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2014/03/husseins-head-and-importance-of-cultural-heritage/|archive-date=17 May 2020|title=Hussein's Head and Importance of Cultural Heritage|work=American School of Oriental Research|author=Michael Press|date=March 2014|access-date=17 May 2020}}</ref> The area was subsequently redeveloped for a local Israeli hospital, [[Barzilai Medical Center|Barzilai]]. After the site was re-identified on the hospital grounds, funds from [[Mohammed Burhanuddin]], leader of a [[Dawoodi Bohra|Shi'a Ismaili]] sect based in India, were used to construct a small marble prayer platform, which is visited by Shi'ite pilgrims from India and Pakistan.<ref name=thesis>{{Cite journal|first1=Daniella|last1=Talmon-Heller|first2=Benjamin|last2=Kedar|first3=Yitzhak|last3=Reiter|date=Jan 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200512010853/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daniella_Talmon-Heller/publication/301537484_Vicissitudes_of_a_Holy_Place_Construction_Destruction_and_Commemoration_of_Mashhad_Husayn_in_Ascalon/links/5cddc4d492851c4eaba685d8/Vicissitudes-of-a-Holy-Place-Construction-Destruction-and-Commemoration-of-Mashhad-Husayn-in-Ascalon.pdf|archive-date=12 May 2020|title=Vicissitudes of a Holy Place: Construction, Destruction and Commemoration of Mashhad Ḥusayn in Ascalon|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301537484|journal=Der Islam|volume=93|doi=10.1515/islam-2016-0008|pages=11–13, 28–34}}</ref><ref name=alarab/><ref name="haaretz1"/><ref name="Shiites in Ashkelon">{{cite web|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2008/05/israel--surpris.html |title=Shiites in Ashkelon? |work=Los Angeles Times |date=20 May 2008 |access-date=2011-08-10}}</ref>

A domed structure housing the 13th-century tomb of Sheikh Awad sits atop a hill overlooking Ashkelon's northern beaches.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JXoY2vCZ5AEC&q=sheikh+awad+ashkelon&pg=PA117 |title=Israel and the Palestinian territories: The rough guide, Daniel Jacobs, Shirley Eber, Francesca Silvani |access-date=2011-08-10|isbn=978-1-85828-248-0 |last1=Jacobs |first1=Daniel |last2=Eber |first2=Shirley |last3=Silvani |first3=Francesca |year=1998 |publisher=Rough Guides }}</ref>

=== Museums === Ashkelon Khan and Museum contains archaeological finds, among them a replica of Ashkelon's Canaanite silver calf, whose discovery was reported on the front page of ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref name="Places to see in Ashkelon">{{cite web|url=http://www.israel-a-la-carte.com/israelcity_view.asp?id=7 |title=Places to see in Ashkelon |publisher=Israel-a-la-carte.com |access-date=2011-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713063744/http://www.israel-a-la-carte.com/israelcity_view.asp?id=7 |archive-date=13 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The Outdoor Museum near the municipal cultural center displays two Roman burial coffins made of marble depicting battle and hunting scenes, and famous mythological scenes.<ref name="Places to see in Ashkelon"/>

=== Marina and water park === The Ashkelon Marina, located between Delila and Bar Kochba beaches, offers a shipyard and repair services. Ashkeluna is a water-slide park on Ashkelon beach.<ref name="Places to see in Ashkelon"/>

<gallery> 71-7100-100 - תל אשקלון - שרידי כנסיית סנטה מריה וירידיס - לריסה סקלאר גילר (3).jpg | [[Ashkelon National Park]] מרינה אשקלון.PNG | Ashkelon Marina Muslim Celebrations at Wady Nemil and Al Husayn Shrine in Ashkelon.jpg | Palestinian Muslims at Mejdal, in [[Mandatory Palestine]] in April 1943, with ''[[Maqam al-Imam al-Husayn]]'' in the background. </gallery>

== Palestinians and Ashkelon ==

=== Origins of Hamas === {{further | List of towns and villages depopulated during the 1947–1949 Palestine war |Towns and villages in Mandatory Palestine }} {{CSS crop | float = left | Description = Family origins of Hamas leaders. | cWidth = 240 | cHeight = 180 | oLeft = 0 | oTop = 200 | bSize = 360 | Location = center | Content = {{Location map many | Israel | float = center | caption = | maplink = Occupied Palestinian Territories | width = 300  | label1 = [[Al-Jura|Jura]] | label1_size = | position1 = left | background1 = | mark1 = SpringGreen pog.svg | mark1size = | link1 = Al-Jura | coordinates1 = {{coord|31|39|57|N|34|33|17|E}}  | label2 = [[Yibna]] | position2 = left | mark2 = SpringGreen pog.svg | link2 = Yibna | coordinates2 = {{coord|31|51|58|N|34|44|47|E}}  | label3 = [[Silwad]] | position3 = left | mark3 = SpringGreen pog.svg | link3 = Silwad | coordinates3 = {{coord|31|58|46|N|35|15|40|E}}  | label4 = Al{{nbh}}Majal | position4 = top | mark4 = SpringGreen pog.svg | link4 = Ashkelon | coordinates4 = {{coord|31|40|N|34|34|E}}   | label5 = [[Bayt Tima]] | position5 = right | mark5 = SpringGreen pog.svg | link5 = Bayt Tima | coordinates5 = {{coord|31|37|24|N|34|38|21|E}}  }} }}

Most of the founding members of Hamas were born in [[Mandatory Palestine]], outside of the [[Gaza Strip]], or have parents who were. Many of them were from villages that were in the vicinity of present-day Ashkelon, including most of the party's leaders:

* Founding leader [[Ahmed Yassin]] was born in [[Al-Jura]].<ref name="Yassin Jura" >{{cite book | last=Kabahā | first=Muṣṭafá | title= The Palestinian People: Seeking Sovereignty and State | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QyTCNAEACAAJ | year=2014 |publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers, Incorporated | isbn=978-1-58826-882-2 | access-date=28 October 2020 | archive-date= 19 December 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219083406/https://books.google.com/books?id=QyTCNAEACAAJ | url-status=live | page=323 }}</ref> * Yassin's successor [[Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi]] was born in [[Yibna]].<ref name="Aziz Gaza history" >{{cite book| title= Gaza: A History | publisher= [[Oxford University Press]] | page=97 | author-link= Jean-Pierre Filiu | first= Jean-Pierre |last=Filiu}}</ref> * The father of [[Faiq Al-Mabhouh|Faiq]] and [[Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh]] was from [[Bayt Tima]].<ref name="Mabhouh - AJ Ency" >{{cite news| title= Fayeq Al-Mabhouh...a police general in Gaza who was assassinated by Israel | url = https://aja.ws/7ff59c | access-date=30 April 2024 | work=Encyclopedia | agency=Al Jazeera | date=19 March 2024 }}</ref> * [[Ismail Haniyeh]]'s parents [[1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight|migrated]] from [[Al-Jura]] to [[Gaza Strip#1948|Gaza]] in [[1948 Palestine war|1948]].<ref name=bbcprofile>{{cite news|title=Profile: Hamas PM Ismail Haniya |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4655146.stm |newspaper=BBC |date=14 December 2006|access-date=25 June 2024|archive-date=18 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218062008/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4655146.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> * [[Yahya Sinwar]] was born in the [[Khan Yunis refugee camp|Khan Yunis]] in [[Occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Arab Republic|Egyptian-occupied Gaza]] in 1962 to a family who [[1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight|left]] Ashkelon (then called Al-Majdal) during the [[1948 Palestine War]].<ref name="britannica_Yahya-Sunwar">{{Cite web | date= 2024-01-28 | title= Yahya Sinwar {{!}} Hamas Leader, Biography, & Facts {{!}} Britannica | url= https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yahya-Sunwar |access-date=2024-02-01 | website= www.britannica.com | language=en | archive-date=28 January 2024 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240128125507/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yahya-Sunwar | url-status=live }}</ref> * One of few exceptions is [[Khaled Mashal]], who was born in [[Silwad]], in the [[Jordanian annexation of the West Bank|Jordanian]] ruled [[West Bank]].<ref name="2008a" >{{cite journal | title = Khalid Mishal: The Making of a Palestinian Islamic Leader Interviewed by Mouin Rabbani | date = 2008 | volume = 37 | issue = 1 | last = Rabbani | first = Mouin | author-link = Mouin Rabbani | url = https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/42013 | journal = [[Journal of Palestine Studies]] | publisher = Institute for Palestine Studies | pages = 61 | doi = 10.1525/jps.2008.37.3.59 }}</ref>

[[File:Rocketpopmap.jpeg |thumb|center| Ashkelon is located in the 20–30 seconds' run to safety area due to [[BM-21 Grad]] rocket range. ]]

=== Palestinian conflict with modern Ashkelon ===

On 1–2 March 2008, rockets fired by [[Hamas]] from the [[Gaza Strip]] (some of them [[BM-21#Gaza Strip|Grad rockets]]) hit Ashkelon, wounding seven, and causing [[property damage]]. Mayor Roni Mahatzri stated that "This is a [[Declaration of war|state of war]], I know no other definition for it. If it lasts a week or two, we can handle that, but we have no intention of allowing this to become part of our daily routine."<ref>{{cite news|title=Israeli City Shocked As Rockets Hit|agency=Associated Press|date=3 March 2008}}</ref> In March 2008, 230 buildings and 30 cars were damaged by rocket fire on Ashkelon.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bassok |first=Moti |url=https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/ashkelon-sderot-residents-file-1-000-damage-claims-over-recent-rocket-attacks-1.240800 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513170337/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/ashkelon-sderot-residents-file-1-000-damage-claims-over-recent-rocket-attacks-1.240800 |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 May 2011 |title=Ashkelon, Sderot residents file 1,000 damage claims over recent rocket attacks |work=Haaretz |date=16 May 2007 |access-date=2011-08-10}}</ref>

On 12 May 2008, a rocket fired from the northern Gazan city of [[Beit Lahia|Beit Lahiya]] hit a shopping mall in southern Ashkelon, causing significant structural damage. According to ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'', four people were seriously injured and 87 were treated for [[Post-traumatic stress disorder|shock]]. Fifteen people suffered minor to moderate injuries as a result of the collapsed structure. Southern District [[Chief of police|Police chief]] Uri Bar-Lev believed the Grad-model [[Katyusha rocket launcher|Katyusha]] rocket was manufactured in [[Iran]].<ref name="autogenerated7">{{cite web|url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1210668639052&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |work=Jeruselum Post|title=Iranian made rocket strikes Ashkelon – Ashkelon |access-date=2008-05-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511145843/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1210668639052&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |archive-date=11 May 2011 }}</ref>

In March 2009, a Qassam rocket hit a school, destroying classrooms and injuring two people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jta.org/news/article/2009/03/01/1003355/kassam-slams-into-ashkelon-school |title='Improved' Kassam slams into Ashkelon school |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=1 March 2009 |access-date=2011-08-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727053047/http://www.jta.org/news/article/2009/03/01/1003355/kassam-slams-into-ashkelon-school |archive-date=27 July 2011 }}</ref>

In November 2014, the mayor, [[Itamar Shimoni]], began a policy of discrimination against Arab workers, refusing to allow them to work on city projects to build bomb shelters for children. His discriminatory actions brought criticism from others, including Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] and [[Jerusalem]] mayor [[Nir Barkat]] who likened the discrimination to the anti-Semitism experienced by Jews in Europe 70 years earlier.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jerusalem Mayor: We cannot discriminate against Arabs |url=https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Jerusalem-Mayor-We-cannot-discriminate-against-Arabs-382504 |website=[[The Jerusalem Post]]|date=22 November 2014 |issn=0792-822X}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ho |first1=Spencer |title=PM, senior ministers pan Ashkelon mayor for barring Arab workers |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/rights-group-to-sue-ashkelon-mayor-for-barring-arab-workers/ |website=The Times of Israel |date=20 November 2014 }}</ref>

On May 11, 2021, Hamas fired 137 rockets on Ashkelon<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-rocket-fire-israeli-air-strikes-gaza-2021-05-11/|title=Hamas and Israel trade blows as Jerusalem unrest ignites Gaza|work=Reuters|access-date=2021-05-11|date=2021-05-11|last1=Al-Mughrabi|first1=Nidal|last2=Farrell|first2=Stephen|last3=Heller|first3=Jeffrey}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-palestine-jerusalem-gaza-airstrikes-rockets-middle-east-news-2021-05-11/|title=Israel hammers Gaza with deadly airstrikes in retaliation for volley of rockets as Mideast crisis escalates|publisher=[[CBS News]]|access-date=2021-05-11|date=2021-05-11}}</ref> killing 2 and injuring many others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/four-people-injured-after-rocket-strikes-house-in-ashkelon-667825|title=Two dead, over 70 Israelis injured after rockets strike Ashkelon, Ashdod|access-date=2021-05-11|date=2021-05-11}}</ref>

On October 10, 2023, during the [[Gaza war]], [[Abu Obaida]], spokesperson for Hamas, warned all citizens of Ashkelon to evacuate before 5:00 P.M. local time via a post to his [[Telegram (software)|Telegram]] channel. Once the deadline hit, Hamas launched a barrage of missiles towards Ashkelon.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hughes |first=Clyde |date=2023-10-10 |title=Hamas warns residents of coastal Israeli city to evacuate before rocket attack |url=https://news.yahoo.com/idf-says-regained-control-gaza-120017085.html |access-date=2023-10-10 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Demographics == {{Historical populations |title=Historical population |type = Israel |footnote = |1955|16600 |1961|24300 |1972|43000 |1983|52900 |1995|83100 |2008|110600 |2010|114500 |2011|117400 |source =<br/> *<ref name="autogeneratedil">{{cite web|url=http://www1.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st02_15&CYear=2012 |title=Statistical Abstract of Israel 2012 – No. 63 Subject 2 – Table No. 15 |publisher=.cbs.gov.il |access-date=2013-08-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020040546/http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st02_15&CYear=2012 |archive-date=20 October 2013 }}</ref> }}

In the early years, the city was primarily inhabited by [[Mizrahi Jews]], who moved to Israel after being [[Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries|expelled or migrating from Muslim lands]]. Today, [[Mizrahi Jews]] still constitute the majority of the population. In the early 1950s, many [[South African Jews]] settled in Ashkelon, establishing the [[Afridar]] neighbourhood. They were followed by an influx of [[British Jews|immigrants from the United Kingdom]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nbn.org.il/communities/template/community/152 |title=Nefesh b'Nefesh community guide |publisher=Nbn.org.il |date=27 March 2006 |access-date=2011-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718153013/http://www.nbn.org.il/communities/template/community/152 |archive-date=18 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> During the 1990s, the city received additional arrivals of [[Ethiopian Jews]] and [[Russian Jews]].

== Ashkelon today ==

=== Economy === Ashkelon is the northern terminus for the [[Trans-Israel pipeline]], which brings [[petroleum product]]s from [[Eilat]] to an [[Oil depot|oil terminal]] at the port. The Ashkelon seawater [[reverse osmosis]] (SWRO) [[desalination]] plant is the largest in the world.<ref>[http://www.israel21c.org/briefs/israel-is-no-5-on-top-10-cleantech-list Israel is No. 5 on Top 10 Cleantech List] in [http://www.israel21c.org/technology/archive Israel 21c A Focus Beyond] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101016013525/http://www.israel21c.org/technology/archive |date=16 October 2010 }} Retrieved 2009-12-21</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.water-technology.net/projects/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713125053/http://www.water-technology.net/projects/israel/Ashkelon |title=Projects Archive |archive-date=13 July 2015|website=Water Technology}}</ref> The project was developed as a BOT ([[build–operate–transfer]]) by a consortium of three international companies: [[Veolia]] water, [[IDE Technologies Ltd.|IDE Technologies]] and Elran.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Ashkelon desalination plant – A successful challenge | doi = 10.1016/j.desal.2006.03.525 | volume=203 | journal=Desalination | pages=75–81| year = 2007 | last1 = Sauvet-Goichon | first1 = Bruno | issue = 1–3 | bibcode = 2007Desal.203...75S }}</ref> In March 2006, it was voted "Desalination Plant of the Year" in the Global Water Awards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.water-technology.net/projects/israel/ |title=Ashkelon Seawater Reverse Osmosis |publisher=Water-technology.net |access-date=2011-08-10| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110724181500/http://www.water-technology.net/projects/israel/| archive-date= 24 July 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref>

Since 1992, [[Israel Beer Breweries]] has been operating in Ashkelon, brewing [[Carlsberg Group|Carlsberg]] and [[Tuborg Brewery|Tuborg]] beer for the Israeli market.<ref>{{Cite journal | title= The Central Bottling Company Group – Company Profile | url= http://www.duns100.com/ts.cgi?tsscript=comp_eng&duns=600057582 | journal= Dun & Bradstreet Israel – Dun's 100 Israel's Largest Enterprises 2009 | access-date= 2009-11-22 | url-status= dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120301080555/http://www.duns100.com/ts.cgi?tsscript=comp_eng&duns=600057582 | archive-date= 1 March 2012 }}</ref>

=== Culture and sports ===

The [[Ashkelon Sports Arena]] opened in 1999. The "Jewish Eye" is a Jewish world film festival that takes place annually in Ashkelon. The festival marked its seventh year in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewisheye.org.il/en/about |title=Jewish Eye world film festival |publisher=Jewisheye.org.il |date=18 October 2010 |access-date=2011-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721150812/http://www.jewisheye.org.il/en/about |archive-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Breeza Music Festival has been held yearly in and around Ashkelon's amphitheatre since 1992. Most of the musical performances are free. [[Israel Lacrosse]] operates substantial youth lacrosse programs in the city and recently hosted the Turkey men's national team in Israel's first home international in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://laxallstars.com/an-israel-lacrosse-experience-rob-berkenblit/ |title=An Israel Lacrosse experience |publisher=laxallstars.com |date=19 August 2013 |access-date=13 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130819162625/http://laxallstars.com/an-israel-lacrosse-experience-rob-berkenblit/ |archive-date=19 August 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

There is also a museum and art gallery called Ashkelon Khan Museum located in what was the Great Mosque (''Jamia al-Kabir'') that was constructed by [[Sayf al-Din Salar]] in 1300.<ref name=Petersen/><ref name=Khan>{{cite web|url=https://ashkelon123.com/ashkelon-khan-museum/|title=Ashkelon Khan Museum|access-date=2025-12-09}}</ref>

=== Health care === {{see also|Healthcare in Israel}}

Ashkelon and environs is served by the [[Barzilai Medical Center]], established in 1961.<ref name="Shiites in Ashkelon"/> It was built in place of [[Hussein ibn Ali]]'s 11th-century mosque, a center of Muslim pilgrimages, destroyed by the [[Israel Defense Forces|Israeli army]] in 1950.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rapoport|first=Meron|title=History Erased|website=Haaretz|date=2014-10-05|url=https://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/history-erased-1.224899|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101104061326/http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/history-erased-1.224899|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 November 2010|access-date=2014-10-04}}</ref> Situated {{convert|6|mi|km|0|order=flip|spell=in}} from [[Gaza City|Gaza]], the hospital has been the target of numerous [[Qassam rocket]] attacks, sometimes as many as 140 over one weekend. The hospital plays a vital role in treating wounded soldiers and terror victims.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://njjewishnews.com/njjn.com/041008/sxSteadyRain.html |title=Steady rain of missiles strains Israeli hospital |publisher=Njjewishnews.com |date=8 April 2008 |access-date=2011-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722031630/http://njjewishnews.com/njjn.com/041008/sxSteadyRain.html |archive-date=22 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> A rocket and missile-proof emergency room opened in February 2018.<ref>[https://embassies.gov.il/MFA/PressRoom/2018/Pages/PM-Netanyahu's-remarks-at-Barzilai-Medical-Center-20-February-2018.aspx PM Netanyahu's remarks at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon]</ref>

[[File:Barzilai03.JPG |thumb|250px|right| [[Barzilai Medical Center]]. ]]

=== Education ===

The city has 19 elementary schools, and nine junior high and high schools. The [[Ashkelon Academic College]] opened in 1998, and now hosts thousands of students. [[Harvard University]] operates an archaeological summer school program in Ashkelon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.summer.harvard.edu/programs/abroad/ashkelon/Harvard|title=summer school program in Ashkelon}}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

[[File:Ashkelon Academic College.jpg |thumb|250px|center| [[Ashkelon Academic College]]. ]]

== Twin towns – sister cities == {{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Israel}} Ashkelon is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with: {{Div col}} * {{flagicon|CAN}} [[Côte Saint-Luc]], Quebec, Canada * {{flagicon|BLR}} [[Grodno]], Belarus * {{flagicon|PRC}} [[Xinyang]], China * {{flagicon|CHI}} [[Iquique]], Chile * {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Aix-en-Provence]], France<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aix-jumelages.com/ |title=Association of twinnings and international relations of Aix-en-Provence |publisher=Aix-jumelages.com |access-date=2011-08-10| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110707100515/http://www.aix-jumelages.com/| archive-date= 7 July 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mairie-aixenprovence.fr/article.php3?id_article=2981|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113162049/http://www.mairie-aixenprovence.fr/article.php3?id_article=2981 |title=Les jumelages existants |website=Mairie d'Aix-en-Provence |archive-date=13 January 2009 |language=fr}}</ref> * {{flagicon|GEO}} [[Vani]], Georgia<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://vani.org.ge/files/upload-file/pdf/sisters.pdf |title=Vani.org.ge – Twinned Cities |access-date=9 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820015312/http://vani.org.ge/files/upload-file/pdf/sisters.pdf |archive-date=20 August 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> * {{flagicon|GEO}} [[Kutaisi]], Georgia * {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Aviano]], Italy * {{flagicon|GER}} [[Pankow|Berlin-Pankow]], Germany * {{flagicon|UGA}} [[Entebbe]], Uganda * {{flagicon|USA}} [[Portland, Oregon]], United States * {{flagicon|USA}} [[Baltimore, Maryland]], United States<ref name="Baltimore">{{cite web|url=http://www.baltimorecity.gov/government/intl/sistercities.php |title=Baltimore City Mayor's Office of International and Immigrant Affairs – Sister Cities Program |access-date=2009-07-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080807173931/http://www.baltimorecity.gov/government/intl/sistercities.php |archive-date=7 August 2008 }}</ref> * {{flagicon|USA}} [[Sacramento, California]], United States

Former: * {{flagicon|POL}} [[Sopot]], Poland (city partnership terminated in November 2025, citing the [[Gaza genocide]].)<ref>{{cite web|title= Sopot pierwszym samorządem w Polsce, który zerwał partnerstwo z izraelskim miastem. Zdecydowali o tym radni|url= https://trojmiasto.wyborcza.pl/trojmiasto/7,35612,32429747,sopot-pierwszy-w-polsce-zerwal-partnerstwo-z-izraelskim-miastem.html|website=[[Gazeta Wyborcza]]|date=27 November 2025|last=Pietrzak|first=Maciej|access-date=1 December 2025|language=Polish}}</ref>

== Notable people == *[[Ahmed Yasin]] (1936–2004), Palestinian, the first [[List of leaders of Hamas|leader]] of [[Hamas]]. *[[Yitzhak Cohen]] (born 1951), Israeli politician, from the [[Shas]] faction. *[[Avi Dichter]] (born 1952), Israeli politician, from the [[Likud]] faction. *[[Eva Erben]] (born 1930), Czech-Israeli writer and Holocaust survivor *[[Boris Polak]] (born 1954), world champion and Olympic sport shooter. *[[Shlomo Glickstein]] (born 1958), professional tennis player. *[[Yael Abecassis]] (born 1967), actress and model. *[[Topaz Luk]] (born 1992), political advisor. *[[Zion Golan]] (born 1955), Israeli singer.

== See also == *[[Scallion]] and [[shallot]], types of onion known from and named after ancient Ascalon – ''Ascalōnia caepa'' or Ascalonian onion<ref>[https://www.balashon.com/2006/07/scallion_05.html?m=1 "scallion"], at ''Balashon – Hebrew Language Detective'', 5 July 2006. Retrieved 28 Feb 2024.</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

== Bibliography == {{refbegin|40em}} *{{cite book| editor = Barron, J.B.| title = Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922| url = https://archive.org/details/PalestineCensus1922| publisher = Government of Palestine| year = 1923}} *{{cite book|last=Canaan|first=T.|author-link=Tawfiq Canaan|url=https://archive.org/details/MohammedanSaintsAndSanctuariesInPalestine|title=Mohammedan Saints and Sanctuaries in Palestine|year=1927|location=London|publisher=Luzac & Co.}} * {{cite journal | last1 = Garfinkel | first1 = Y. | last2 = Dag | first2 = D. | last3 = Hesse | first3 = B. | last4 = Wapnish | first4 = P. | last5 = Rookis | first5 = D. | last6 = Hartman | first6 = G. | last7 = Bar-Yosef | first7 = D.E. | last8 = Lernau | first8 = O. | year = 2005 | title = ''Neolithic Ashkelon'': Meat Processing and Early Pastoralism on the Mediterranean Coast | journal = Eurasian Prehistory | volume = 3 | pages = 43–72 }} * {{cite book |last1=Garfinkel |first1=Y. |last2=Dag |first2=D. |year=2008 |title=Neolithic Ashkelon |series=Qedem 47 |location=Jerusalem |publisher=Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University |oclc=494272503}} * {{cite journal |author=Golan, Arnon |title=Jewish Settlement of Former Arab Towns and their Incorporation into the Israeli Urban System (1948–1950) |journal=Israel Affairs |year=2003 |volume= 9 |issue=1–2 |pages=149–164 |doi=10.1080/714003467|s2cid=144137499 }} *{{cite book|title=Village Statistics, April, 1945|url=http://web.nli.org.il/sites/nli/Hebrew/library/Pages/BookReader.aspx?pid=856390|author=Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics|year=1945}} *{{cite book|title=Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine|url=http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html|first=S.|last=Hadawi|author-link=Sami Hadawi|year=1970|publisher=Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center|access-date=2009-03-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181208215837/http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html|archive-date=2018-12-08}} * {{cite journal | last = Hartmann | first = M. | author-link = Martin Hartmann | title = Die Ortschaftenliste des Liwa Jerusalem in dem türkischen Staatskalender für Syrien auf das Jahr 1288 der Flucht (1871) | journal = Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins | volume = 6 | pages = 102–149 | url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_BZobAQAAIAAJ | year = 1883 }} * {{EI2 |article=Askalan |last1=Hartmann |first1=R. |last2=Lewis |first2=B. |author-link2=Bernard Lewis |volume=1 |pages=710–711}} * {{citation |last=Huss |first=Werner |title=Geschichte der Karthager |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NvEK7kc3qnQC |publisher=C.H. Beck |location=Munich |year=1985 |isbn=978-3-406-30654-9 }}. {{in lang|de}} * {{cite book|last1=Hütteroth|first1=W.-D.|author-link1=Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth|first2=K.|last2=Abdulfattah|author-link2=Kamal Abdulfattah|title=Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wqULAAAAIAAJ|year=1977|publisher=Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft|isbn=978-3-920405-41-4}} * {{cite journal |author=Kafkafi, Eyal |title=Segregation or Integration of the Israeli Arabs: Two Concepts in Mapai |journal=[[International Journal of Middle East Studies]] |year=1998 |volume= 30 |issue=3 |pages=347–367 |doi= 10.1017/S0020743800066216 |s2cid=161862941 }} * {{cite book|title=All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_By7AAAAIAAJ|first=W.|last=Khalidi|author-link=Walid Khalidi|year=1992|location=[[Washington D.C.]]|publisher=[[Institute for Palestine Studies]]|isbn=978-0-88728-224-9}} * {{cite journal |last1=Lecker |first1=Michael |title=The Estates of 'Amr b. al-'Āṣ in Palestine: Notes on a New Negev Arabic Inscription |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London |year=1989 |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=24–37 |jstor=617911 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X00023041 |s2cid=163092638 }} * {{cite book | editor = Mills, E. | title = Census of Palestine 1931. 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== External links == {{Commons category|Ashkelon}} {{wikivoyage|Ashkelon}} *[https://www.livescience.com/ancient-fish-hook-suggests-sharks-were-hunted-off-israels-coast-6000-years-ago Ancient fish hook suggests sharks were hunted off Israel's coast 6,000 years ago – LiveScience – 31 March 2023] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060827141931/http://www.ashkelon.muni.il/openning_eng.asp Ashkelon City Council] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20010611165001/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0101/feature4/ "Ashkelon, ancient city of the sea"], ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]'', January 2001 * [http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/projects/ash/ Ancient Ashkelon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080424034046/http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/projects/ash/ |date=24 April 2008 }}—University of Chicago * [https://ashkelon123.com/ English information on Ashkelon]—Ashkelon Volunteers * [https://www.palestineremembered.com/Gaza/al-Majdal-Asqalan/index.html Welcome To The City of al-Majdal Asqalan] Information and images about the historical Palestinian city of '''Mijdal''' and what remains of it today, as Ashkelon's '''Migdal''' neighbourhood

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashkelon}} [[Category:Ashkelon| ]] [[Category:Populated coastal places in Israel]] [[Category:Cities in Southern District (Israel)]] [[Category:Holy cities]]