| Al-Mawasi | |
| Translit Lang1: | Arabic |
| Translit Lang1 Type: | Arabic |
| Translit Lang1 Info: | المواصي |
| Type: | Municipality type D (Village council) |
| Pushpin Map: | Palestine |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Al-Mawasi within Palestine |
| Coordinates: | 31.3289°N 34.23°W |
| Grid Name: | Palestine grid |
| Subdivision Type: | State |
| Subdivision Name: | State of Palestine |
| Subdivision Type1: | Governorate |
| Subdivision Name1: | Rafah |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Government Type: | Village council |
| Unit Pref: | dunam |
| Population Total: | 9,000 |
| Population As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
Al-Mawasi (ar|المواصي) is an agricultural area within the Gaza Strip.[1] It is along the coast and has many sand dunes. Al-Mawasi is fourteen kilometers long and one kilometer wide, making up about 3% of the Gaza Strip. It is a Palestinian Bedouin town and prior to the 2005 unilateral Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip, it was a Palestinian enclave within the Israeli settlements of Gush Katif. Al-Mawasi had a population of 1,409 in the middle of 2006.[2] Prior to the Israel–Hamas war, al-Mawasi had a population of 9,000. It has a number of buildings with a maximum of 100 structures.[3]
Al-Mawasi is known as the "Basket of Food" because of its fertile soil, underground water, and agricultural conditions.
See also: Gaza genocide.
In December 2023, during the Israel–Hamas war, the Israeli military designated Al-Mawasi as one of the only 'safe areas' in the Gaza Strip as a hasbara policy before eventually bombing the area as well.[4] [5] Hundreds of thousands of people had fled there; al-Mawasi was known to be a barren strip of land without basic resources such as food, water, or sanitation.[6] UNRWA estimated more than a million people sought refuge in the area in total.
In February 2024, as the IDF announced plans to expand incursions into Rafah where hundreds of thousands had come to as a last refuge, Israeli authorities called Al-Mawasi a "safer zone".[7] In an interview with Channel 4 News, Israeli spokesperson Eylon Levi, when pressed to confirm if civilians displaced northwards once more would be safe from further bombardment, stated that "it will not be safe" until Gaza was free from Hamas.[8]
By late-August 2024, the United Nations estimated there were between 30,000 to 34,000 people per square kilometre in Al-Mawasi.[9] Food and water grew scarce as the area became increasingly overcrowded.[10]
See also: May 2024 Al-Mawasi refugee camp attack, June 2024 Al-Mawasi refugee camp attack, 13 July 2024 al-Mawasi attack and September 2024 al-Mawasi strike. Two days after the Tel al-Sultan massacre by Israel, in which 45 people were killed, Palestinian officials said Israel attacked al-Mawasi, killing 21 people including 12 women.[11] Israel denied attacking the area. The New York Times published a video of the aftermath of the attack on Al-Mawasi.[12] On July 13, 2024, 90 people were killed by an Israeli airstrike on a displacement camp. [13] On July 28, 2024, five people were killed by an Israeli airstrike on Al-Mawasi, according to the Gaza Civil Defence.[14] On August 21, 2024, four farmers working near al-Mawasi were reportedly killed by Israeli tanks.[15] On September 10, 2024, 40 people were killed and over 60 are injured in an Israeli airstrike on a displacement camp.[16] On September 13, 2024, 19 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes.[17]