{{Short description|Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip}} {{Protection padlock|small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Beit Hanoun | native_name = {{lang|ar|بيت حانون}} | translit_lang1 = Arabic | translit_lang1_type = Arabic | translit_lang1_info = {{lang|ar|بيت حانون}} | image_skyline = 20140805 beit hanun7.jpg | image_caption = Ruins of Beit Hanoun in 2014, after Israeli bombing | translit_lang1_type1 = Latin | translit_lang1_info1 = Beit Hanun (official)<br>Bayt Hanun (unofficial) | type = Municipality type A (City) | image_blank_emblem = BeitHanoun_Logo.gif | blank_emblem_type = Municipal Seal of Beit Hanoun | pushpin_map = Palestine | pushpin_map_caption = Location of Beit Hanoun within Palestine | established_title1 = Date of depopulation | established_date1 = Late 2023 | coordinates = {{Coord|region:PS_type:city|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | grid_name = Palestine grid | grid_position = 105/105 | subdivision_type = State | subdivision_name = Palestine | subdivision_type1 = Governorate | subdivision_name1 = North Gaza | established_title = Founded | government_type = City | leader_title = Head of Municipality | leader_name = Mohamad Nazek al-Kafarna | unit_pref = dunam | area_total_km2 = 12.5 | area_total_dunam = 12500 | 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=24 October 2023 |archive-date=4 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230704174803/https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Downloads/book2364-1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> | population_total = 52237 | population_as_of = 2017 | pop_est_as_of = 2026 | population_est = 0 | population_density_km2 = auto | blank_name_sec1 = Name meaning | blank_info_sec1 = "The house of Hanun"{{sfn|Palmer|1881|p=[https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp00conduoft#page/358/mode/1up 358]}} | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 11 | mapframe-wikidata = yes | website = {{URL|http://www.beithanoun.ps/}} }}
'''Beit Hanoun''' or '''Beit Hanun''' ({{langx|ar|بيت حانون}}) is a destroyed and depopulated<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2025-09-26 |title=Israeli Army Levels Last 33 Buildings in Beit Hanoun |url=https://gazaherald.com/2025/09/26/beit-hanoun/ |access-date=2025-10-08 |website=Gaza Herald |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Shami |first=Hala Al |title=Investigation reveals Israeli campaign to flatten Gaza town of Beit Hanoon |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/26/investigation-reveals-israeli-campaign-to-flatten-gaza-town-of-beit-hanoon |access-date=2026-03-15 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> Palestinian city on the northeast edge of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 52,237 in 2017.<ref name="PrelimCensus2017" /> As a result of the ongoing Gaza war, the area of Beit Hanoun has been militarily contested between the Hamas administration and Israel. The remains of Beit Hanoun are located by the Nahal-Hanun stream, {{convert|6|km|mi|sp=us}} away from the Israeli city of Sderot.
==History== [[File:Beit hanun 1239.jpg|200px|left|thumb|The 1239 Beit Hanoun battle, by Matthew Paris]]
The Ayyubids defeated the Crusaders at a battle in Umm al-Nasser hill, just west of Beit Hanoun in 1239, and built the Umm al-Naser Mosque ("Mother of Victories Mosque") there in commemoration of the victory.{{sfn|Sharon|1999|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=EPFDU8POrXIC&pg=PA98 98] ff}} A Mamluk post office was located in Beit Hanoun as well.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mideasttravelling.net/palestine/gaza/gaza_culture.htm |title=Beit Hanoon |access-date=19 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823050026/http://www.mideasttravelling.net/palestine/gaza/gaza_culture.htm |archive-date=23 August 2013 }}</ref>
===Ottoman era=== Incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Historic Palestine, Beit Hanoun appeared in the 1596 tax registers as being in the ''Nahiya'' of Gaza, part of Gaza Sanjak. It had a population of 36 Muslim households and paid a fixed tax rate of 33.3% on wheat, barley, summer crops, fruit trees, occasional revenues, goats and/or beehives; a total of 9,300 akçe.<ref name=Hutteroth>{{harvnb|Hütteroth|Abdulfattah|1977|p=147 }}</ref>
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the area of Beit Hanoun experienced a significant process of settlement decline due to nomadic pressures on local communities. The residents of abandoned villages moved to survive settlements, but the land continued to be cultivated by neighbouring villages.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Marom |first1=R. |author-link1=Roy Marom |last2=Taxel |first2=Itamar |date=1 January 2023 |title=Ḥamāma: The historical geography of settlement continuity and change in Majdal 'Asqalān's hinterland, 1270 – 1750 CE |url=https://www.academia.edu/106637796 |journal=Journal of Historical Geography |volume=82 |pages=49–65 |doi=10.1016/j.jhg.2023.08.003 |doi-access=free |access-date=17 September 2023 |archive-date=14 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214195636/https://www.academia.edu/106637796 |url-status=live }}</ref> Beit Hanoun survived, and Pierre Jacotin named the village ''Deir Naroun'' on his map depicting Napoleon's Syrian campaign of 1799.{{sfn|Karmon|1960|p=[http://www.jchp.ucla.edu/Bibliography/Karmon,_Y_1960_Jacotin_Map_(IEJ_10).pdf 173]}}
In 1838, Edward Robinson passed by and described how "all were busy with the wheat harvest; the reapers were in the fields; donkeys and camels were moving homewards with their high loads of sheaves; while on the threshing-floors near the village, I counted not less than thirty gangs of cattle."{{sfn|Robinson|Smith|1841|loc=Vol 2, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearc00smitgoog#page/n393/mode/1up 371]–372}} He further noted it as a Muslim village, located in the Gaza district.{{sfn|Robinson|Smith|1841|loc=Vol 3, Appendix 2, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/118/mode/1up 118]}} In May 1863, Victor Guérin visited the village. He observed indications of ancient constructions in the shape of cut stones, fragments of columns, and bases among the gardens.<ref>{{harvnb|Guérin|1869|p=[https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr03gugoog#page/n186/mode/1up 175]}}, as noted by {{harvnb|Conder|Kitchener|1883|loc=SWP III, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp03conduoft#page/247/mode/1up 247] }}</ref> He further noted that the population consisted of "400 souls".<ref>{{harvnb|Guérin|1869|p=[https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr03gugoog#page/n186/mode/1up 175] }}</ref> Socin found from an official Ottoman village list from about 1870 that Beit Hanoun had 94 houses and a population of 294. However, the population count included men only.{{sfn|Socin|1879|p=[https://archive.org/stream/zeitschriftdesde01deut#page/146/mode/1up 146]}} Hartmann found that ''Bet Hanun'' had 95 houses.{{sfn|Hartmann|1883|p=[https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_BZobAQAAIAAJ#page/n937/mode/1up 129]}}
In 1883, the PEF's ''Survey of Western Palestine'' described it as a small adobe village, "surrounded by gardens, with a well to the west. The ground is flat, and to the east is a pond beside the road."{{sfn|Conder|Kitchener|1883|loc=SWP III, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp03conduoft#page/233/mode/1up 233]}}
===British Mandate era=== thumb|left|Beit Hanoun 1931 1:20,000
In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Beit Hanoun had a population of 885 inhabitants, all Muslim,<ref name=Census1922>{{harvnb|Barron|1923|loc=Table V, Sub-district of Gaza, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n10/mode/1up 8] }}</ref> decreasing in the 1931 census to 849, still all Muslims, in 194 houses.{{sfn|Mills|1932|p=[https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 2]}}
thumb|left|Beit Hanoun 1945 1:250,000
In the 1945 statistics, Beit Hanun had a population of 1,680 Muslims and 50 Jews, with 20,025 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.<ref name=1945p31>{{harvnb|Department of Statistics|1945|p=[http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p31.jpg 31] }}</ref><ref name=Hadawi45>{{harvnb|Department of Statistics|1945}} Quoted in {{harvnb|Hadawi|1970|p=[http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Gaza/Page-045.jpg 45] }}</ref> Of this, 2,768 dunams were for citrus and bananas, 697 were plantations and irrigable land, and 13,186 used for cereals,<ref>{{harvnb|Department of Statistics|1945}} Quoted in {{harvnb|Hadawi|1970|p=[http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Gaza/Page-086.jpg 86] }}</ref> while 59 dunams were built-up land.<ref>{{harvnb|Department of Statistics|1945}} Quoted in {{harvnb|Hadawi|1970|p=[http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Gaza/Page-136.jpg 136] }}</ref>
===Egyptian occupation=== [[File:Beit Hanoun.jpg|thumb|Members of Yiftach Brigade beside a mosque, Beit Hanoun, 1948]] In the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the vicinity of Beit Hanoun, and later Beit Hanoun itself, served as an Israeli tactical wedge (Beit Hanoun wedge) to halt the movement of the Egyptian army from Ashkelon to forces to the south in the area that later became the Gaza Strip.
During the occupation, Egypt complained to the Mixed Armistice Commission that on 7 and 14 October 1950, Israeli military forces had shelled and machine-gunned the Arab villages of Abasan al-Kabera and Beit Hanoun in Egyptian controlled territory of the Gaza Strip. According to Egypt, this action caused the death of seven and the wounding of twenty civilians.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/nl5/014/59/pdf/nl501459.pdf?token=DEYYgXD3o08p4PyiC9&fe=true |title=UN Doc S/1459 |date=20 February 1950 |publisher=Mixed Armistice Commission }}</ref>
===Israeli occupation=== {{see also|2004 Israeli operation in the northern Gaza Strip}} [[File:The home of 'Abd al-Hafez Hamad. Six members of this family were killed when the house was bombed on the night of 8 July 2014.jpg|250px|left|thumb| The body of a person killed in the home of 'Abd al-Hafez Hamad. Six members of one family were killed when the Hamad family home was bombed on the night of 8 July 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.btselem.org/photoblog/201407_gaza_strip |title=Gaza Strip, July 2014: A constant state of emergency |access-date=19 September 2014 |work=B'Tselem |archive-date=26 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726225357/http://www.btselem.org/photoblog/201407_gaza_strip |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
According to the Palestinian Authority, 140 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in Beit Hanoun from September 2000 to November 2006.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=17908 |title=Palestinian Authority |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070119131529/http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=17908 |archive-date=19 January 2007 }}</ref>
The Israeli army besieged Beit Hanoun from 15 May to 30 June 2003, during which it demolished dozens of houses, razed large areas of agricultural land and largely destroyed the civilian infrastructure of the town.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2675 |title=''Uprooting Palestinian Trees And Leveling Agricultural Land'' |access-date=19 September 2014 |work=PCHR |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021200322/http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2675 |archive-date=21 October 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> During the Raid on Beit Hanoun in 2004, the town was besieged for 37 days. About 20 Palestinians were killed, and immense damage was caused to property and infrastructure. In 2005, the infrastructure of Beit Hanoun was heavily damaged during an incursion by Israeli forces.<ref>{{cite report |url=http://www.ecwbg.info/DARD_Beit%20Hanoun_report_18_DEC_05_final_ver.pdf |publisher=European Commission |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327042312/http://www.ecwbg.info/DARD_Beit%20Hanoun_report_18_DEC_05_final_ver.pdf |archive-date=27 March 2009 |id=MED/2004/090-716 |title=Damage Assessment: Beit Hanoun Area |date=17 December 2005 }}</ref>
=== Palestinian administration === Following the removal of Israeli settlers from Gaza in August 2005, 19 Palestinian civilians were killed in the 2006 shelling of Beit Hanoun. In December 2006, the UN appointed a fact-finding commission led by Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu to investigate the attack. Despite initial difficulties accessing the area via Israel, the commission, led by Tutu and legal scholar Christine Chinkin, eventually entered Gaza through Egypt.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Allen |first=Lori |title=A History of False Hope |date=2021 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=9781503606722 |edition=1st |location=Redwood City |pages=221–223 }}</ref> Tutu's final report to the United Nations Human Rights Council<ref>[http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/9session/A.HRC.9.26.doc HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN PALESTINE AND OTHER OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES] Report of the high-level fact-finding mission to Beit Hanoun established under Council resolution S-3/1</ref> concluded that "[I]n the absence of a well-founded explanation from the Israeli military – who is in sole possession of the relevant facts – the mission must conclude that there is a possibility that the shelling of Beit Hanoun constituted a war crime."<ref>{{cite news |author=McCarthy |first=Rory |date=15 September 2008 |title=Israeli shelling of Beit Hanoun a possible war crime, Desmond Tutu tells UN |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/sep/15/israelandthepalestinians.unitednations |access-date=19 September 2014 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>
On 27 March 2007, sewage water flooded the northern Umm al-Nasser suburb of Beit Hanoun, killing five people.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6498835.stm |title=''Sewage flood causes Gaza deaths'' |date=27 March 2007 |access-date=19 September 2014 |archive-date=25 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140825170339/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6498835.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>
Shells and rockets hit Beit Hanoun several times during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict. The shelling of a UNWRA Elementary school by Israel killed 11–15 people, including women and children.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newsweek.com/israel-hits-un-run-school-gaza-officials-say-261082 |title=Israel Hits UN-Run Shelter, Gaza Officials Say |website=Newsweek |date=24 July 2014 |access-date=19 September 2014 |archive-date=17 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917110400/http://www.newsweek.com/israel-hits-un-run-school-gaza-officials-say-261082 |url-status=live }}</ref> An IDF spokesperson said that "the IDF encountered heavy fire in vicinity of the school, including anti-tank missile{{nbsp}}... [and] that an errant mortar did indeed land in the empty courtyard of the school".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/features/guardian-newspaper-report-israeli-strikes-unrwa-schools |title=UNRWA, The Guardian Feature Article, 20 August 2014 |access-date=3 September 2014 |archive-date=2 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141202050513/http://www.unrwa.org//newsroom/features/guardian-newspaper-report-israeli-strikes-unrwa-schools |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Gaza war (2023–present) === {{Main|Battle of Beit Hanoun|Siege of North Gaza|May 2025 Gaza offensive{{!}}Operation Gideon's Chariots}}
Israeli forces advanced on the city on 27 October 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 October 2023 |title=Palestinian Sources Report IDF Armor Advancements on Beit Hanoun, Intense Strikes Continue |url=https://theatlasnews.co/brief/2023/10/27/palestinian-sources-report-idf-armor-advancements-on-beit-hanoun-intense-strikes-continue/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027192501/https://theatlasnews.co/brief/2023/10/27/palestinian-sources-report-idf-armor-advancements-on-beit-hanoun-intense-strikes-continue/ |archive-date=27 October 2023 |access-date=27 October 2023 |website=Atlas News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Yerushalmy |first=Jonathan |date=27 October 2023 |title=Gaza before and after: satellite images show destruction following Israeli airstrikes |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/27/gaza-before-and-after-satellite-images-show-destruction-after-israeli-airstrikes |access-date=27 October 2023 |issn=0261-3077 }}</ref> By 12 November, the IDF advanced beyond the city, however, they continued to be attacked behind the frontlines due to a maintained presence of al-Quds and Al-Qassam militants. As a result of massive bombardment campaigns and the ground invasion, Beit Hanoun was believed to be entirely depopulated and destroyed, with destruction so extensive that it has been described as "no longer existing".<ref name="ISW Nov 12">{{cite web |last1=Carter |first1=Brian |last2=Moore |first2=Johanna |last3=Soltani |first3=Amin |last4=Carl |first4=Nicholas |title=Iran Update, November 12, 2023 |url=https://www.criticalthreats.org/analysis/iran-update-november-12-2023 |website=Critical Threats |publisher=Institute for the Study of War |access-date=13 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231113011518/https://www.criticalthreats.org/analysis/iran-update-november-12-2023 |archive-date=13 November 2023 |date=12 November 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Rémy |first=Jean-Philippe |date=8 November 2023 |title=Inside Gaza with the Israeli army as it hunts for Hamas tunnels |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/11/08/inside-gaza-with-the-israeli-army-as-it-hunts-for-hamas-tunnels_6238900_4.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212034043/https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/11/08/inside-gaza-with-the-israeli-army-as-it-hunts-for-hamas-tunnels_6238900_4.html |archive-date=12 February 2024 |access-date=16 December 2023 |work=Le Monde}}</ref> On 18 December 2023, it was reported that Israeli forces had full control over Beit Hanoun and had destroyed Hamas’ Beit Hanoun Battalion.<ref name="ISW Dec 18">{{cite web |last1=Jhaveri |first1=Ashka |last2=Soltani |first2=Amin |last3=Parry |first3=Andie |last4=Braverman |first4=Alexandra |last5=Ganzeveld |first5=Annika |last6=Tyson |first6=Kathryn |last7=Mills |first7=Peter |title=Iran Update, December 18, 2023 |url=https://www.criticalthreats.org/analysis/iran-update-december-18-2023 |website=Critical Threats |publisher=Institute for the Study of War |access-date=18 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219013517/https://www.criticalthreats.org/analysis/iran-update-december-18-2023 |archive-date=19 December 2023 |date=18 December 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ToI">{{Cite news |last=Fabian |first=Emanuel |date=18 December 2023 |title=IDF signals full control over Beit Hanoun in north Gaza |work=Times of Israel |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-signals-full-control-over-beit-hanoun-in-north-gaza/ |access-date=18 December 2023 |archive-date=19 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219032322/https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-signals-full-control-over-beit-hanoun-in-north-gaza/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
However, local media claimed that on 24 December, Israeli forces left Beit Hanoun due to remaining Palestinian fighting in the city.<ref>{{cite web |title=صحفيون في شمال قطاع غزة: جيش الاحتلال انسحب من بيت حانون |url=https://royanews.tv/news/317232 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231225122229/https://royanews.tv/news/317232 |archive-date=25 December 2023 |access-date=30 December 2023 |work=Roya News |language=ar}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=اللواء الدويري: إسرائيل مضطربة وجحر الديك صورة لما تواجهه قواتها بغزة |url=https://www.aljazeera.net/news/2023/12/24/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%a1-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%af%d9%88%d9%8a%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d8%a5%d8%b3%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%a6%d9%8a%d9%84-%d9%85%d8%b6%d8%b7%d8%b1%d8%a8%d8%a9-%d9%88%d8%ac%d8%ad%d8%b1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231229123409/https://www.aljazeera.net/amp/news/2023/12/24/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%a1-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%af%d9%88%d9%8a%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d8%a5%d8%b3%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%a6%d9%8a%d9%84-%d9%85%d8%b6%d8%b7%d8%b1%d8%a8%d8%a9-%d9%88%d8%ac%d8%ad%d8%b1 |archive-date=29 December 2023 |access-date=30 December 2023 |work=Al Jazeera |language=ar}}</ref> IDF withdrawal was not confirmed by independent media. Civilians were seen tearing down Israeli flags that were flown in the city in late December.<ref>{{cite web |title="مش راح نرفع الراية البيضاء ولا نركع لأميركا وإسرائيل". شاب فلسطيني ينزع علم الاحتلال عن منزل دمره الاحتلال في بيت حانون شمال القطاع= |url=https://nabd.com/s/130292043-2d750e/%D9%85%D8%B4-%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AD-%D9%86%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7-%D9%86%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%B9-%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A7-%D9%88%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84-.-%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D9%81%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%B2%D8%B9-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B2%D9%84-%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%AA-%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B9 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240428002635/https://nabd.com/s/130292043-2d750e/%D9%85%D8%B4-%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AD-%D9%86%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7-%D9%86%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%B9-%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A7-%D9%88%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84-.-%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D9%81%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%B2%D8%B9-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B2%D9%84-%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%AA-%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B9 |archive-date=28 April 2024 |access-date=11 January 2024 |work=Nabz |language=ar}}</ref>
On 6 February 2024 it was reported that the IDF was again operating in Beit Hanoun and that troops had identified "four terrorist operatives trying to set up observation infrastructure in an attempt to restore intelligence-gathering capabilities" in Beit Hanoun and had launched a strike against them.<ref>{{cite web |last=Tawfeeq |first=Mohammed |date=6 February 2024 |title=Houthis say they will increase attacks on US and UK ships in the Red Sea if the war in Gaza does not stop |url=https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-02-06-24/h_14a7a3d9a2eb1fd668465b531c5c707d |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303024443/https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-02-06-24/h_14a7a3d9a2eb1fd668465b531c5c707d |archive-date=3 March 2024 |access-date=3 March 2024 |website=CNN}}</ref>
On 31 May 2024, the IDF once more ended up withdrawing from Beit Hanoun following a 20-day operation that marked the end of the Battle of Jabalia.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=31 May 2024 |title=Israeli Forces Withdraw from Northern Gaza - Extensive Damage and Casualties |url=https://www.palestinechronicle.com/israeli-forces-withdraw-from-northern-gaza-extensive-damage-and-casualties/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603113349/https://www.palestinechronicle.com/israeli-forces-withdraw-from-northern-gaza-extensive-damage-and-casualties/ |archive-date=3 June 2024 |access-date=3 June 2024 |website=Palestine Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref>
Beit Hanoun was one of the three cities attacked by Israel during its siege of North Gaza, which lasted from October 2024 to January 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adler |first=Jonathan |date=2025-03-18 |title=Palestinians across Gaza awake to new Israeli massacre |url=https://www.972mag.com/gaza-massacre-renewed-israeli-assault/ |access-date=2025-10-08 |website=+972 Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> In January, during the 2025 Gaza war ceasefire, some families returned to Beit Hanoun to attempt to salvage their homes, many of which had been destroyed or damaged in the war.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brison |first=Amos |date=2025-01-23 |title=‘My neighborhood was one of Gaza's most beautiful. All that’s left is rubble’ |url=https://www.972mag.com/palestinians-returning-northern-gaza-ceasefire-destruction/ |access-date=2025-10-08 |website=+972 Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>
On 7 July 2025, the Israeli defense minister, Israel Katz, posted an aerial photograph showing Beit Hanoun and other areas in North Gaza, declaring that the area had been "level[ed] to the ground."<ref name=":1" /> That same day, there was a Hamas attack on IDF forces; five IDF soldiers were killed and were wounded. On 8 July 2025, the Israeli military had surrounded the Beit Hanoun area "from all directions," with forces of the Netzah Yehuda Battalion and the 646th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade, and was attempting to exert full control over the area that they had failed to capture during prior clashes in the city.<ref>[https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250708-the-beit-hanoun-operation-a-blow-to-the-colonys-alleged-legitimacy/ The Beit Hanoun operation: A blow to the colony’s alleged “legitimacy”], Middle East Monitor, 8 July 2025</ref><ref>[https://www.timesofisrael.com/5-idf-soldiers-killed-14-injured-by-roadside-bomb-in-northern-gaza/ 5 IDF soldiers killed, 14 injured by roadside bombs in northern Gaza], Times of Israel, 8 July 2025</ref><ref>[https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-hamas-palestinians-war-news-07-08-2025-ec0e95f8988e8624d1d4e051116709f8 Militants kill 5 Israeli soldiers in Gaza and Israeli strikes kill 51 Palestinians], AP, 8 July 2025</ref> On 31 July, the Israeli military once again attacked Beit Hanoun. Colonel Netanel Shamaka asserted that Hamas members were still using tunnels in the city, and that the IDF's goal for this fifth offensive was to destroy the remainder of the tunnels.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Fabian |first=Emanuel |date=2025-07-31 |title=In Beit Hanoun for 5th time, officers say Hamas battalion to be destroyed ‘within a week’ |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-beit-hanoun-for-5th-time-officers-say-hamas-battalion-to-be-destroyed-within-a-week/ |access-date=2025-10-02 |work=The Times of Israel |language=en-US |issn=0040-7909}}</ref> He also stated that "maybe 10 buildings" would remain afterward, because they were civilian buildings and did not contain tunnel entrances.<ref name=":2" /> In September 2025 it was reported that the last remaining buildings in Beit Hanoun had been destroyed.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" />
==Educational and health institutions== There were twelve secondary, primary and agricultural schools in Beit Hanoun and an agricultural college which is related to al-Azhar University – Gaza. There was a medical center and hospital in the city and several clinics mostly managed by the United Nations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://beithanoun.ps/en/index.php?action=our_city |title=Our City – Beithanoun Municipality |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216211030/http://beithanoun.ps/en/index.php?action=our_city |archive-date=16 February 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> All of these were destroyed during the Gaza war.
==Demographics== In 1922, Beit Hanoun had a population of 885.<ref name=Census1922/> In 1931, the population slightly decreased to 849.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/palestine-census-1931 |title=Palestine Census 1931 }}</ref> The population then increased to 946 in 1938.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VillageStatistics1938orig.pdf |title=Village Statistics |year=1938 |pages=62 |access-date=7 November 2023 |archive-date=7 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107124512/https://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VillageStatistics1938orig.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Up to this point, the population had been entirely Muslim. The population increased again by 1945 to 1,730 (1,680 Muslims and 50 Jews).<ref name=1945p31/><ref name=Hadawi45/> In 1961, the population rose to 3,876.<ref name="PR">{{cite web |url=http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/Bayt_Hanun_861/index.html |title=Welcome To Bayt Hanun |access-date=19 September 2014 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195600/http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/Bayt_Hanun_861/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
Beit Hanoun's residents came from various origins. These included people Egypt, Kurds from Hebron, the Hauran (southwest Syria), Transjordan, and Bedouin communities.<ref name=":02">{{cite book |author=Grossman, D |date=1986 |chapter=Oscillations in the Rural Settlement of Samaria and Judaea in the Ottoman Period |title=מחקרי שומרון |trans-title=Shomron Studies |editor=Dar, S. |editor2=Safrai, S. |location=Tel Aviv |publisher=Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House |page=385 |oclc=21580069 }}</ref>
In the first official census by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Beit Hanoun had a population of 20,780. Over 90% of the residents were Palestinian refugees.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/ngz_t6.aspx |title=Palestinian Population by Locality and Refugee Status |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118181250/http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/ngz_t6.aspx |archive-date=18 November 2008 |website=Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) }}</ref> There were 10,479 males and 10,301 females. People of 14 years of age or younger constituted the majority at 65.6%, people between the ages of 20 and 44 were 26.8%, 45 to 64 was 5.7%, and residents above the age of 65 were 1.9%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/ngz_t1.aspx |title=Palestinian Population by Locality, Sex and Age Groups in Years |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118181322/http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/ngz_t1.aspx |archive-date=18 November 2008 |website=Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) }}</ref>
Before the Gaza war, Beit Hanoun was home to an estimated 60,000 people.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mahmoud |first=Ramzi |last2=Yousef |first2=Khaled |last3=Abu Shamala |first3=Ramia |date=2025-05-07 |title=Israeli army pounds Gaza’s Beit Hanoun with massive airstrikes amid genocidal war |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israeli-army-pounds-gaza-s-beit-hanoun-with-massive-airstrikes-amid-genocidal-war/3629412 |access-date=2025-10-08 |website=www.aa.com.tr}}</ref> It has since been entirely depopulated as a result of the Gaza war, and all of its structures have been destroyed.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Alioglu |first=Yusuf |last2=Abu Shamala |first2=Rania |date=2025-07-12 |title=Israeli defense minister shares aerial photo showing complete destruction of northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israeli-defense-minister-shares-aerial-photo-showing-complete-destruction-of-northern-gaza-s-beit-hanoun/3628687 |access-date=2025-09-28 |website=www.aa.com.tr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=de Hoog |first=Niels |last2=Voce |first2=Antonio |last3=Morresi |first3=Elena |last4=Ganguly |first4=Manisha |last5=Kirk |first5=Ashley |last6= |first6= |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=2025-09-28 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kubovich |first=Yanib |date=2025-08-01 |title='You Don't Understand How Burned Out We Are': Inside Northern Gaza's Flattened Beit Hanoun With Israeli Soldiers |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-08-01/ty-article-magazine/.premium/exhausted-burning-out-israeli-soldiers-speak-in-northern-gazas-flattened-beit-hanoun/00000198-647f-dc50-a9bf-ed7f38b40000 |access-date=2025-09-28 |website=Haaretz}}</ref>
== Sister cities == {{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Palestine}} * {{Flag icon|Turkey}} Osmangazi, Turkey<ref>{{cite web |title=Kardeş Şehirlerimiz |url=http://www.osmangazi.bel.tr/tr/osmangazi/kardes-sehirler |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250214131431/http://www.osmangazi.bel.tr/tr/osmangazi/kardes-sehirler |archive-date=2025-02-14 |access-date=2020-01-18 |publisher=Osmangazi |language=tr}}</ref> * {{Flag icon|Turkey}} Selçuklu, Turkey<ref>{{Cite web |title=Filistin Beit Hanoun Belediyesi {{!}} İlçemiz {{!}} Selçuklu Belediyesi |url=https://www.selcuklu.bel.tr/ilcemiz/detay/271/filistin-beit-hanoun-belediyesi.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215150450/https://www.selcuklu.bel.tr/ilcemiz/detay/271/filistin-beit-hanoun-belediyesi.html |archive-date=2021-12-15 |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=www.selcuklu.bel.tr |language=tr}}</ref> * {{Flag icon|Turkey}} Zeytinburnu, Turkey<ref>{{Cite web |title=Filistin Beyt Hanun Belediyesi / Zeytinburnu Belediyesi |url=https://zeytinburnu.istanbul/Filistin-Beyt-Hanun-Belediyesi |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028051731/https://zeytinburnu.istanbul/Filistin-Beyt-Hanun-Belediyesi |archive-date=2020-10-28 |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=zeytinburnu.istanbul |language=tr-TR}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Palestine }} * 2004 Israeli operation in the northern Gaza Strip * 2006 Israeli operation in Beit Hanoun
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==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==Bibliography== {{refbegin}} * {{cite book |editor-last=Barron |editor-first=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 |last1=Conder |first1=C.R. |author-link1=Claude Reignier Conder |last2=Kitchener |first2=H.H. |author-link2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener |year=1883 |url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp03conduoft |title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology |location=London |publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund |volume=3 }} * {{cite book |title=Village Statistics, April, 1945 |url=http://web.nli.org.il/sites/nli/Hebrew/library/Pages/BookReader.aspx?pid=856390 |author=Department of Statistics |year=1945 |publisher=Government of Palestine |access-date=15 July 2016 |archive-date=2 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402072744/http://web.nli.org.il/sites/nli/hebrew/library/pages/bookreader.aspx?pid=856390 |url-status=live }} * {{cite book |last=Guérin |first=V. |author-link=Victor Guérin |title=Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine |url=http://archive.org/details/descriptiongog02gu |volume=1: Judee, pt. 2 |year=1869 |publisher=L'Imprimerie Nationale |location=Paris |language=French }} * {{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 Centre |access-date=17 September 2008 |archive-date=8 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181208215837/http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html |url-status=live }} * {{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 }} * {{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=3-920405-41-2 |access-date=2 November 2016 |archive-date=28 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240928153216/https://books.google.com/books?id=wqULAAAAIAAJ |url-status=live }} * {{cite journal |last=Karmon |first=Y. |title=An Analysis of Jacotin's Map of Palestine |url=http://www.jchp.ucla.edu/Bibliography/Karmon,_Y_1960_Jacotin_Map_(IEJ_10).pdf |journal=Israel Exploration Journal |volume=10 |issue=3,4 |year=1960 |pages=155–173; 244–253 |access-date=15 July 2016 |archive-date=22 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222063351/http://jchp.ucla.edu/Bibliography/Karmon,_Y_1960_Jacotin_Map_(IEJ_10).pdf |url-status=dead }} * {{cite book |editor-last=Mills |editor-first=E. |title=Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas |url=https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas |publisher=Government of Palestine |location=Jerusalem |year=1932 }} * {{cite book |last=Palmer |first=E.H. |author-link=Edward Henry Palmer |year=1881 |url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00conduoft |title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer |publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund }} * {{cite book |last1=Robinson |first1=E. |author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar) |last2=Smith |first2=E. |author-link2=Eli Smith |year=1841 |url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearc00smitgoog |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838 |location=Boston |publisher=Crocker & Brewster |volume=2 }} * {{cite book |title=Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae, B-C |volume=II |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EPFDU8POrXIC |first=M. |last=Sharon |author-link=Moshe Sharon |year=1999 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9004110836 }} * {{cite journal |last=Socin |first=A. |author-link=Albert Socin |title=Alphabetisches Verzeichniss von Ortschaften des Paschalik Jerusalem |journal=Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins |volume=2 |pages=135–163 |url=https://archive.org/details/zeitschriftdesde01deut |year=1879 }} {{refend}}
==External links== {{Sister project links|auto=y}} * [http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/Bayt_Hanun_861/index.html Welcome To The City of Bayt Hanun] * Survey of Western Palestine, Map 19: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8381 IAA], Wikimedia commons
{{Cities in the Gaza Strip}} {{North Gaza Governorate}}
Category:Beit Hanoun Category:Cities in the Gaza Strip Category:Municipalities of Palestine