Gaza: Difference between revisions

'''Gaza''' (in Arabic: غزة) '''(not to be confused with the Gaza Strip)''' is an Arab city in the Gaza Strip that came under the control of the Hamas group after a conflict with the Fatah movement. In the 2005 Gaza municipal elections, Hamas won a decisive vote.

The Gaza Strip has small and large cities, including Gaza City. The Gaza Strip borders Egypt to the south, Israel to the east and north, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Any entry and exit of ships to the Gaza Strip is prohibited and the Israeli navy prevents the passage of ships to Gaza. The way to enter goods into Gaza is through the Rafah crossing in the south of Gaza on the Egypt border and five crossings on the Israeli border. In addition, in the south of Gaza, some people import goods from Egypt into the Gaza Strip by digging tunnels.

Strategically located on the Mediterranean coast, ancient Gaza was a bustling trade center and a stopover for caravans between Egypt and Syria. The city was conquered by Egypt in the 15th century BC. The Palestinians settled in the area centuries later and Gaza became one of the five main cities of the region.

In 145 BC, the city of Gaza was conquered by Jonathan Maccabeus of the Hasmonean dynasty, the brother of Judah Maccabeus of the Maccabean dynasty. The presence of Jews in this area was successful until Gabinus, the Roman governor, expelled them from there in 61 AD. At a time when the religious law of Mishnah and Talmud was prevalent in this area, many Jews were present in Gaza, and there is an inscription on one of the pillars of the Great Mosque of Gaza, that reads "Hananiah Bar Yaqo" (a Hebrew name) with a menorah engraved on it. This sign indicates the previous role of this historical building that was damaged during the uprising. The remnants of the ancient church of Gaza, which was built around 500 BC, have been found near the pier of this city.

In the Achaemenid period, Batis, an Iranian commander of the Achaemenid dynasty, was the governor of Gaza. Alexander, who attacked Palestine, besieged this city for several days. After conquering the city, Alexander asked Batis to beg for mercy. But Batis resisted, Alexander tortured him severely until he died. It is said that as long as Batis had life in his body, he did not look at Alexander except with an angry look and never uttered a word.

Gaza was conquered by the Arabs in the 630s AD after a siege in which the Jewish population of the city defended it alongside the Byzantine garrison. This city is known as an important Islamic city because the grandfather of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) of Islam is buried there. In the twelfth century, Gaza was involved in the Crusades of the Christians and came under the control of the Muslims in 1187. The city fell as a result of the Ottoman attack in the sixteenth century and was taken over by Britain during the First World War (1918-1914).

Following the First World War, Gaza became part of the British Mandate of Palestine. After the start of the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948, Egypt took control of Gaza and conquered the surrounding areas. The Egyptians never accepted the residents as Egyptian citizens and banned their exit from the Gaza Strip. Israel conquered the city during the Six-Day War in 1967 and the Gaza Strip was under Israeli occupation for 27 years after that. Gaza and a smaller area of this large land have been occupied by Israel. This caused a high population density and poverty in the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian government led by Yasser Arafat chose Gaza as its first state headquarters. In September 1995, Israel and the PLO signed a secondary peace agreement that expanded the Palestinian government to some cities in the West Bank. This agreement also established a Palestinian assembly with 88 members, which held its inaugural session in Gaza in March 1996. The current mayor of the city is Saad Kharma.

On October 7, 2023 AD, an armed conflict between Israel and Palestinian paramilitary groups began with Hamas' attack on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip. The Zionist army continued the war with a widespread campaign and air strikes against targets in Gaza, and then with a large-scale ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian resistance forces in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, October 7, 2023 (October 15, 2023) in response to the ongoing crimes of the occupying regime, including the massacre of Palestinians, the desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the violation of its guards, the invasion of settlers with the support of Zionist soldiers, carried out an operation called Al-Aqsa Storm and targeted the positions and bases of the occupying regime of Jerusalem with dozens of missiles.

===Hashem Mosque===

===Sheikh Zakaria Mosque===

It is located in the al-Daraj neighborhood. It was built in the eighth century AH. Currently, except for two beautiful minarets, nothing is remained of this mosque. In this mosque, a person named Sheikh Zakaria al-Tadmuri, one of the muftis of Syria, is buried. He died in the month of Safar in 749 AH and later the mosque was named Sheikh Zakaria.

This mosque is also located in the al-Shuja'iya Turkmen area. The mosque was built by Shihab al-Din Ahmad Zafir ibn al-Zafir Damri( known as al-Qazmari) in 762 AH (1360 AD). The entrance of this mosque, which has many arches, is one of the most beautiful entrances of mosques in the world. The arches consists of golden writings, colorful and different geometric tiles.

The Gaza Public Library is located outside the Wahda Street and has a collection of about 10,000 books. The books are in Arabic, English, and French languages. The total area of the building is about 1,410 square meters (15,200 square feet), and the building consists of two floors and a basement. The library was inaugurated in 1999 after the 1996 agreement by Gaza, Mayor Aoun Shawa, Dunkerque Municipality, and the World Bank. The library meets the best library needs, the needs of the stakeholders, provides the necessary facilities for accessing the available resources, and organizes various cultural programs such as cultural events, seminars, lectures, film screenings, films, art, and books.