Jabalia جباليا | |
|---|---|
| Arabic transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | جباليا |
| • Latin | Jabalya (official) |
 Ruins of Jabalia, in February 2025 | |
 Interactive map of Jabalia | |
  Jabalia Location of Jabalia withinPalestine | |
| Coordinates:31°31′41″N34°28′59″E / 31.52806°N 34.48306°E /31.52806; 34.48306 | |
| Palestine grid | 100/103 |
| State | State of Palestine |
| Governorate | North Gaza |
| Government | |
| • Type | City |
| • Mayor | M. Mazen Al-Abd Al-Najjar[1] |
| Population (2017)[2] | |
• Total | 172,704 |
| Name meaning | "The mountaineers"[3] |
| Website | www |
Jabalia, also spelledJabalya (Arabic:جباليا), is a city in theGaza Strip,Palestine, located 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) north ofGaza City, in theNorth Gaza Governorate of theGaza Strip. According to thePalestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Jabalia had a population of 172,704 in 2017.[2] In addition to Jabalia, the city municipality contains theJabalia refugee camp and the town ofNazla, the latter of which was an independentvillage council before being merged with Jabalia.[4]
From the 1st century BCE to the 2nd century CE, during theRoman period, there was a cemetery in use at Jabalia; archaeologists named it theArd-al-Moharbeen necropolis. The burials may have included high-status officials.[5][6]
During theByzantine period, there was achurch at Jabalia. The church was likely established in the 5th century and used into the 8th century. No contemporary settlement nearby had been identified, and the archaeologistJean-Baptiste Humbert suggested that the church may have been part of anecropolis for Gaza.[7] Byzantine ceramics have also been found in Jabalia.[8]
Jabalia was known for its fertile soil andcitrus trees. TheMamluk Governor of GazaSanjar al-Jawli ruled the area in the early 14th century and endowed part of Jabalia's land to theal-Shamah Mosque he built in Gaza.
Until 2014, Jabalia also had the ancientOmari Mosque. The site was believed to have housed a mosque since the 7nth century, and itsportico andminaret dated back to the 14th century, but the Omari was destroyed byIsraelibombings in 2014.[9] The portico consists of threearcades supported by four stonecolumns. The arcades have pointed arches and the portico is covered by crossing vaults.[10]
Incorporated into theOttoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, Jabalia appeared in 1596tax registers as being in theNahiya of Gaza of theLiwa ofGazza. It had a population of 331 households, allMuslim, who paid taxes on wheat, barley, vine yards, and fruit trees; a total of 37,640akçe. 2/3 of the revenue went to awaqf.[11]
In 1838,Edward Robinson notedJebalia as a Muslim village, located in the Gaza district.[12]
In 1863,Victor Guérin found in the mosque fragments of old constructions, and at thewell some brokencolumns.[13] He further noted: "This village, towards the west, borders on the dunes of the coast. It is surrounded, on the other three sides, by fertile gardens, separated from each other by hedges of cacti and other thorny shrubs. Cultivated with care, they are planted with fig, pomegranate, almond, apricot, lemon and orange trees. There are also a few apple trees. Residents go to sell their fruit in Gaza's various markets."[14]
An Ottoman village list from about 1870 found that the village had a population of 828, in a total of 254 houses, though the population count included men, only.[15][16] In thePalestine Exploration Fund's 1883Survey of Western Palestine, Jabalia was described as being a largeadobe village, with gardens and a well on the northwest. It had a mosque namedJamia Abu Berjas.[17]
In the1922 census of Palestine conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, Jabalia had a population of 1,775 inhabitants, all Muslim,[18] increasing in the1931 census to 2,425, still all Muslims, in 631 houses.[19]
In the1945 statistics, Jabalia had a population of 3,520, all Muslims,[20] with 11,497dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[21] Of this, 138 dunams were for citrus and bananas, 1,009 for plantations and irrigable land, 1,036 for cereals,[22] while 101 dunams were built-up land.[23]
The1948 Arab–Israeli War led to 750,000 Palestinians being displaced.Refugee camps were established to house the displaced people, includingone at Jabalia; the Jabalia camp mostly housed people from southern Palestine. In 1953UNRWA began building the first permanent structures at the camp.[24][25]
During the early months ofFirst Intifada on 27 March 1989 Fares S'aid Falcha, aged 50, was beaten byIsraeli soldiers. He died 3 weeks later in theMakassed Hospital. A report was compiled by theMilitary Police Investigators and details were passed on to theChief Military Prosecutor.[26]
Reconstruction work on theSalah al-Din Road in 1996 led to the discovery of aByzantine church at Jabalia and its excavation byAyman Hassouna and Yasser Matar.[27][7]
In late 2006, Jabalia was the scene of mass protests against airstrikes on homes. Israel contacted the residences of severalHamas members who launched missiles at Israeli civilians from the houses, warning them of an airstrike within the next 30 minutes. Neighbors responded by forming ahuman shield and successfully stalled the demolition.[28] In 2021, seven peoplewere killed by a Hamasrocket.
After a multi-year restoration project, the Byzantine church at Jabalia opened to the public in January 2022.[29] The following month a Roman cemetery was discovered during the construction of a housing project; archaeologists led by René Elter subsequently found 135 graves in what became known as theArd-al-Moharbeen necropolis, making it the largest cemetery to have been discovered in Palestine.[30][31]
The Jabalia refugee camp, which has been the target of multiple Israeli air strikes during the ongoingGaza war, was struck again on 31 October.[32] The Israeli air-strike killed at least 50 Palestinians and trapped more than a hundred beneath the rubble, according to theGaza Health Ministry.[33] TheIndonesia Hospital said most casualties were women and children.[34]Gaza Interior Ministry stated the camp had been "completely destroyed," with preliminary estimates of about 400 wounded or dead.[35]IDF spokespersonDaniel Hagari confirmed that Israeli fighter jets attacked the refugee camp,[36] and stated that the attack killed a Hamas commander who led theOctober 7 attacks, dozens of Palestinian militants, and destroyedPalestinian tunnels.[37] Hamas said none of its commanders were present and that Israel was using these claims as an excuse for the attack.[38] On 4 November, the Al-Fakhoura School in Jabalia was struck; thousands of Palestinians were sheltering in the school and its yard.[39]
TheBattle of Jabalia began on 8 November 2023 as part of the2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and ended its first phase in late January 2024 with an Israeli withdrawal.[40] Following this, Palestinian forces and the IDF intermittently clashed in Jabalia.[41][42][43][44][45] The mayor of Jabalia stated Israel had destroyed 75 percent of Jabalia'swater wells by March 2024.[46]
A May 2024 IDF offensive into the city ended on 31 May 2024 with an IDF withdrawal after over two weeks of intense fighting and more than 200 airstrikes. Palestinian officials said that 70% of the refugee camp was destroyed. The Israeli military said that it had destroyed over 10 kilometers of underground tunnels that it says the militants used.[47][48] The Israeli military also said that it had destroyed a number of weapons production sites and rocket launchers.[47][49] During the weeks-long operation, troops recovered the bodies of sevenIsraeli hostages.[47]
Having failed to dismantle Hamas in Jabalia,[50] the IDFreinvaded the city after four months on 5 October 2024.[51]
After the 10 October 2025ceasefire in Gaza, Hamas allegedly redeployed members in Jabalia and the refugee camp, where they supposedly launched a crackdown on theIsraeli-backed andPopular Forces-affiliatedPopular Army – Northern Forces (also known as the People's Army – Northern Forces), allegedly arresting and killing its members.[52] On 14 October 2025, the group's leader, Ashraf Al-Mansi, released a video where he denied the alleged Hamas crackdown. Al-Mansi proclaimed that PANF controls several areas in northern Gaza, and warned Hamas from entering their territory.[53]
Jabalia's residents have various origins, including theHauran,Egypt, andBedouin communities, as well as people fromHebron andJaffa.[54]
A number of malepseudohermaphrodite births have been reported in Jabalia. Jehad Abudaia, a Canadian-Palestinian pediatrician andurologist, has suggested thatconsanguinity due tocousin marriages accounts for the prevalence of pseudohermaphrodite births. In the Gaza Strip, pseudohermaphrodite conditions often go undetected for years after birth due to the region's lower standards of medical treatment and diagnostics.[55]
Ümraniye, Turkey
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