Al-Shati refugee camp

{{Short description|Palestinian refugee camp in the Gaza Strip}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Al-Shati | translit_lang1 = Arabic | translit_lang1_type = [[Arabic script|Arabic]] | translit_lang1_info = {{lang|ar|مخيم الشاطئ}} | translit_lang1_type1 = [[Latin script|Latin]] | translit_lang1_info1 = mukhayyam ash-Shati (official)<br />Beach camp (unofficial) | type = [[Palestinian refugee camps|Refugee Camp]] | image_skyline = Aerial view of destruction in Beach refugee camp, Gaza Strip.jpg | image_caption = Aerial view of the Al-Shati refugee camp, significantly destroyed due to Israeli airstrikes,<br>3 July 2024. | mapframe = yes | image_map = | map_caption = | coordinates = {{coord|31|31|55.91|N|34|26|43.42|E|region:PS|display=inline,title}} | grid_name = [[Palestine grid|Palestine grid]] | grid_position = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Palestine | subdivision_type1 = [[Governorates of the Palestinian National Authority|Governorate]] | subdivision_name1 = [[Gaza Governorate]] | subdivision_type2 = City | subdivision_name2 = [[Gaza city]] | subdivision_type3 = Control | subdivision_name3 = | established_title = Founded | established_date = | government_footnotes =  | government_type = [[Palestinian refugee camps|Refugee Camp]] (from 1949) | leader_title = | leader_name = | unit_pref = dunam | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = 0.52 | area_total_dunam = 520 | 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 = 40734 | population_as_of = 2017 | population_note = | population_density_km2 = auto | website = | footnotes = }}

'''Al-Shati''' ({{langx|ar|مخيم الشاطئ}}), also known as '''Shati''' or '''Beach camp''', is a [[Palestinian refugee camp]] along the [[Mediterranean Sea]], located in [[Gaza City]] within [[Gaza Governorate]] in the northern part of [[Gaza Strip]].

Al-Shati was established in 1948 for about 23,000 Palestinians who [[1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight|fled or were expelled]] from the cities of [[Jaffa]], [[Lod]], and [[Beersheba]] as well as surrounding villages during the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]]. The camp's total land area consists of 520 [[dunam|dunum]]s.<ref name="UNRWA">[https://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work/gaza-strip/beach-camp Beach Camp] [[United Nations Relief and Works Agency]] (UNRWA)</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=The battle of northern Gaza is almost over |url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/11/15/the-battle-of-northern-gaza-is-almost-over |access-date=2024-01-09 |work=[[The Economist]] |issn=0013-0613}}</ref>

According to the [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS), al-Shati had a population of 40,734 inhabitants in 2017.<ref name="PrelimCensus2017" /> As of July 2023, the [[United Nations Relief and Works Agency]] (UNRWA) reports a population of 90,173 registered [[Palestinian refugee|refugees]].<ref name="UNRWA" /> The camp is the third largest [[Palestine refugee camps|refugee camp in the Palestinian Territories]].

==History== Al-Shati was established in 1948 for about 23,000 Palestinians who [[1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight|fled or were expelled]] by Zionist militias from the cities of [[Jaffa]], [[Lod]], and [[Beersheba]] as well as surrounding villages during the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]]. [[File:The entrance to a Beach camp in Gaza is blocked during the first intifada.jpg|left|thumb|Israeli blockade of the camp during the [[First Intifada]], 1991]] In 1971, Israeli authorities demolished over 2,000 shelters for the purpose of widening the roads for security reasons. About 8,000 refugees were forced to leave the camp to the nearby housing project in [[Sheikh Radwan]] in [[Gaza City]].<ref name="UNRWA" /><ref>[http://www.badil.org/Publications/badil-nakba-60-info-packet/maps/population-camps-2007.pdf Badil] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216020001/http://www.badil.org/Publications/badil-nakba-60-info-packet/maps/population-camps-2007.pdf |date=2012-02-16}} During the 1970s, the Israeli military administration destroyed thousands of refugee shelters in the occupied Gaza Strip under the guise of security. Large refugee camps were targeted in particular. Refugees were forcefully resettled in other areas of the occupied Gaza Strip, with a smaller number transferred to the occupied West Bank. In the occupied Gaza Strip, several housing projects were established for these refugees. Some of these projects today are referred to as camps. These include the Canada project (1972), the Shuqairi project (1973), the Brazil project (1973), the Sheikh Radwan project (1974), and the al-Amal project (1979).</ref><ref>[http://www.pij.org/details.php?id=599 Palestine Israel Journal] Refugee Resettlement: The Gaza Strip Experience by Norma Masriyeh</ref><ref>[http://www.badil.org/Publications/Bulletins/Bulletin-19.htm Badil] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227104708/http://www.badil.org/Publications/Bulletins/Bulletin-19.htm |date=2009-02-27}} The Continuing Catastrophe --1967 and beyond</ref>

In 2023, Al-Shati was [[Al-Shati Camp airstrike|hit by multiple airstrikes]] during the [[Gaza war]]. On November 10, during the [[Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip (2023–present)|Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip]], [[Israel Defense Forces]] said they had killed around 150 [[Hamas]] militants during battles in the Al-Shati area.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fabian |first=Emanuel |date=2023-11-10 |title=IDF says troops captured key Hamas strongholds in Gaza City today, killing 150 terrorists |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-says-troops-captured-key-hamas-strongholds-in-gaza-city-today-killing-150-terrorists/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231111225613/https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-says-troops-captured-key-hamas-strongholds-in-gaza-city-today-killing-150-terrorists/ |archive-date=2023-11-11 |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=[[Times of Israel]]}}</ref> In November 2023 the Israel Defense Forces took control of the camp completely.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-11-14 |title=Israeli military says it has taken control of Al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza |url=https://edition.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-11-14-23#h_6def8f1162b3cabfd4b966510c5c489b |access-date=2024-01-09 |agency=[[CNN]] |language=en}}</ref>

==Economy== Before September 2000, when Israel closed off its border with the [[Gaza Strip]] due to the violence of the [[Second Intifada]], the majority of al-Shati's work force were laborers in [[Israel]] or worked in agriculture. Today, some refugees work in workshops and sewing factories.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}} A sizable number of the camp's 2453 families depend on fishing for income. It contains a sewage system, a health center, and 23 schools (17 primary, 6 secondary).<ref name="UNRWA"/>

==People from Al-Shati== * [[Ismail Haniyeh]], ''de facto'' [[Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority]] * [[Rashid Masharawi]], filmmaker * [[Said Seyam]], assassinated [[Interior Minister of the Palestinian National Authority]] based in Gaza * [[Fadel al-Utol]], Palestinian archaeologist * [[Mosab Abu Toha]], poet

==See also== * [[Canada Camp]] * [[Sheikh Radwan]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category}} * [http://www.unrwa.org/tags.php?tag_id=45 Beach], articles from [[UNWRA]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shati, Al-}} [[Category:Populated places established in 1948]] [[Category:1948 establishments in All-Palestine (Gaza)]] [[Category:Palestinian refugee camps in the Gaza Strip]] [[Category:Neighborhoods of Gaza City]]