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al-Shati
al-Shati
Refugee Camp
Arabic transcription(s)
• Arabic	مخيم الشاطئ
• Latin	mukhayyam ash-Shati (official); Beach camp (unofficial)
	Shati Refugee Camp
	al-Shati Location of al-Shati within Palestine
	Coordinates: 31°31′55.91″N 34°26′43.42″E / 31.5321972°N 34.4453944°E
State	State of Palestine
Governorate	Gaza
Control	Israel Defense Forces
Government
• Type	Refugee Camp (from 1949)
Area
• Total	520 dunams (0.52 km2 or 0.20 sq mi)
Population (2017)
• Total	40,734
• Density	78,000/km2 (200,000/sq mi)

Al-Shati (Arabic: مخيم الشاطئ), also known as Shati or Beach camp, is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the northern Gaza Strip along the Mediterranean Sea coastline in the Gaza Governorate, and more specifically Gaza City.

Al-Shati was established in 1948 for about 23,000 Palestinians who 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 dunums.^[2]

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), al-Shati had a population of 40,734 inhabitants in 2017.^[1] As of July 2023, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reports a population of 90,173 registered refugees.^[2] The camp is the third largest refugee camp in the Palestinian Territories.

The camp is currently under the control of the IDF.^[3]

History

Al-Shati was established in 1948 for about 23,000 Palestinians who 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. 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.^[2]^[4]^[5]^[6]

In 2023, Al-Shati was hit by multiple airstrikes during the Israel-Hamas War. On November 10, during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces said they killed ~150 Hamas operatives during battles in the Al-Shati area.^[7] In November of 2023 the Israel Defense Forces took control of the camp completely.^[8]

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]} 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).^[2]

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
Yasser Elshantaf, Palestinian businessman living in Germany

References

^ ^a ^b Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017 (PDF). Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) (Report). State of Palestine. February 2018. pp. 64–82. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Beach Camp United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
^ "The battle of northern Gaza is almost over". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
^ Badil Archived 2012-02-16 at the Wayback Machine 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).
^ Palestine Israel Journal Refugee Resettlement: The Gaza Strip Experience by Norma Masriyeh
^ Badil Archived 2009-02-27 at the Wayback Machine The Continuing Catastrophe --1967 and beyond
^ Fabian, Emanuel (2023-11-10). "IDF says troops captured key Hamas strongholds in Gaza City today, killing 150 terrorists". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2023-11-11. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
^ "Israeli military says it has taken control of Al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza". CNN. 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2024-01-09.