Soldier's Square orSquare of the Unknown Soldier (Arabic:ميدان الجندي المجهولMidan al-Jundi al-Majhool) is a city square inGaza City,State of Palestine, situated alongOmar Mukhtar Street in theRimal district. It used to be a large public garden popular with unemployed Gazans during the day and promenading families in the evenings.[1] During theGaza war, Israeli forces used bulldozers to flatten the square. The square is now a stretch of brown dirt, the trees have been uprooted, and the playground has been destroyed.[2]
Soldier's Square receives its name from an unknown nativePalestinian Arab soldier (feda'i) who died during the1948 Arab-Israeli War and was buried at the site. The square was built by the Egyptian Army.[3] Prior toIsrael's occupation of Gaza in 1967, the center of the site bore a statue pointing north to the rest ofPalestine commemorating the soldier. It was pulled down by Israeli authorities and until the 1990s, Soldier's Square was a patch of sand with a white plinth (remnant of the statue) in the center.[4] A public garden was later developed at the site with financial help fromNorway,[1] along with acoffeehouse serving visitors to the square.[4] On January 19, 2023, Palestinians gathered in the square to celebrate the release of Maher Younis, a militant who was imprisoned by Israel for 40 years for being part of the then bannedFatah movement and killing an Israeli soldier.[5] After Israeli forces bulldozed the park during theGaza war, the park has become arefugee camp, for Palestinian people who were displaced as a result ofIsraeli bombing of the Gaza Strip.[6]
A Postcard, the Unknown Soldier Square in Gaza, 1995 from the Palestinian Museum's Digital Archive
31°31′09.75″N34°26′40.72″E / 31.5193750°N 34.4446444°E /31.5193750; 34.4446444
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