Rafah

This article is about the city in the Gaza Strip, in Palestine. For the part of the city in North Sinai, see Rafah, Egypt. For other uses, see Rafah (disambiguation).

Rafah
City
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicرَفَح
Aerial view of Rafah in 2012
Aerial view of Rafah in 2012
Location of Rafah in the Gaza Strip
Location of Rafah in the Gaza Strip
Rafah is located in State of Palestine
Rafah
Rafah
Location of Rafah
Coordinates: 31°16′21″N 34°15′31″E / 31.27250°N 34.25861°E / 31.27250; 34.25861
Palestine grid77/78
State State of Palestine[1]
GovernorateRafah[1]
Government
 • TypeCity
 • Head of MunicipalityAnwar al-Shaer (2019)[2]
Area
[3]
 • Total64,000 dunams (64 km2 or 25 sq mi)
Population
 (2017 Census)[4]
 • Total171,899
 • Density2,700/km2 (7,000/sq mi)

Rafah (Arabic: رفح Rafaḥ [rafaħ]) is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine. It is the capital of the Rafah Governorate of the State of Palestine, located 30 kilometers (19 mi) south-west of Gaza City. In 2017, Rafah had a population of 171,889.[4] As a result of massive bombardment and ground assaults in Gaza City and Khan Yunis by Israel during the Israel–Hamas war, about 1.4 million Palestinians are believed to be sheltering in Rafah as of February 2024.[5]

After the 1948 Palestine war, Egypt governed the area and refugee camps for displaced Palestinians who fled or were expelled from what became Israel were established. During the Suez Crisis, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) killed 111 Palestinians, including 103 refugees in the Rafah refugee camp, during the 1956 Rafah massacre. During the 1967 Six-Day War, Israeli forces occupied the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip after capturing them from Egypt. In the same year, IDF troops bulldozed and demolished 144 houses in the Rafah refugee camp, killing 23 Palestinians.[6]

When Israel withdrew from the Sinai in 1982, Rafah was split into a Gazan part and an Egyptian part, dividing families, separated by barbed-wire barriers.[7][8] The core of the city was destroyed by Israel,[9][10][11] as well as Egypt,[12][13] in order to create a large buffer zone.

Rafah is the site of the Rafah Border Crossing, the sole crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Gaza's only airport, Yasser Arafat International Airport, was located just south of the city. The airport operated from 1998 to 2001, until it was bombed and bulldozed by the Israeli military (IDF).[14][15]

  1. ^ a b "PS – Palestine, State of". ISO – Online Browsing Platform. International Organization for Standardization. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Palestinians criticize Hamas' decision to appoint municipal presidents – Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East". November 2019.
  3. ^ Al Jazeera Staff. "What's happening in Gaza's Rafah as Israel threatens to attack?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  4. ^ 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 24 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Gaza: Israel's military operation in Rafah would be fatal for displaced civilians and humanitarian aid". Norwegian Refugee Council. 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference HC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference cinderella was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference kliot_1995 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Razing Rafah — Mass Home Demolitions in the Gaza Strip, pp. 27–28 and 52–66 (PDF text version) on [1], Summary:. The report on refworld:. Human Rights Watch (HRW), October 2004
  10. ^ Supplementary Appeal for Rafah. UNWRA, May 2004
  11. ^ PCHR, Uprooting Palestinian Trees And Leveling Agricultural Land – The tenth Report on Israeli Land Sweeping and Demolition of Palestinian Buildings and Facilities in the Gaza Strip 1 April 2003 – 30 April 2004 On [2]
  12. ^ Egyptian military doubling buffer zone with Gaza, demolishing nearly 1,220 more homes. Associated Press, 8 January 2015
  13. ^ Look for Another Homeland. Human Rights Watch, September 2015
  14. ^ "Grounded in Gaza, but hoping to fly again". NBC News. 19 May 2005. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  15. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20140222201351/http://legacy.icao.int/icao/en/nr/2002/pio200203_e.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)