Khan Yunis And Mamluk

The Battle of Yaunis Khan, also known as the Battle of Khan Yunis, was fought on October 28, 1516 between the Ottoman Empire and the Mamluk Sultanate. The Mamluk cavalry forces led by Janbirdi al-Ghazali attacked the Ottomans that were trying to cross Gaza on their way to Egypt. The Ottomans, led by Grand Vizier Hadım Sinan Pasha, were able to break the Egyptian Mamluk cavalry charge. Al-Ghazali was wounded during the confrontation, and the left-over Mamluk forces and their commander Al-Ghazali retreated to Cairo.

Khan Younis takes its name from the Mamluk era in the 14th century when it became a stop on regional trade routes, which were dotted with khans — roadside stops where travelers could spend the night. The Barquq Castle, known locally as simply the Khan Younis Castle, was built in the Mamluk era and the surviving wall towering over the city streets continues to make an arresting first impression.

Situated in the southwest of Gaza, the modern city of Khan Younis is home to several hundred thousand people, making it the second largest urban area in the territory.

The Khan Younis Palestinian Refugee Camp is located within the governorate, just west of Khan Younis City. Notably, the famed Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf grew up in this refugee camp.

Khan Yunis , town 14 mi. (23 km.) S.W. of Gaza. This may be the town Ienisos which Herodotus lists among the Philistine towns (3:5). During the period of *Mamluk rule, Khān Yūnis served as an important market for the caravan trade between Ereẓ Israel and *Egypt. At that time the sultan Barqūq ordered an inn (khān) to be built there. There are remnants of this inn with Arabic transcriptions and architectural fragments. Almost all the population was Muslim, except for 316 Christians.

The 1931 census indicated 3,811 inhabitants in Khān Yūnis (and another 3,440 then living in its vicinity); among these were three Jews and 40 Christians. In 1944, the population figure stood at 11,220. Before 1948, Jewish institutions and private persons repeatedly attempted to buy holdings, particularly Jiftlik (i.e., lands in public ownership), but legal difficulties precluded the final transfer.

In 1948, the town was in the Gaza Strip, which remained under Egyptian rule.

It was briefly in Israeli hands after the Sinai Campaign in 1956 and again from the Six-Day War of 1967.

In 1994 it was transferred to the jurisdiction of the *Palestinian Authority. Its economy was based almost exclusively on farming (citrus groves, date palms, other fruits, vegetables, and irrigated and unirrigated field crops).

In 1967 its population was 52,997 inhabitants, nearly half (23,475) living in refugee camps.

By 1997 its population had reached 123,056, nearly two-thirds of whom were refugees. A stronghold of the Hamas terrorist organization, Khān Yūnis was hit by Israeli forces during the al-Aqsa Intifada (see *Israel, State of: Historical Survey) and buildings have been leveled after being unilaterally claimed by Israel as shelters for terrorists shelling Israeli settlements.

Khan Younis, located in southwest Palestine, is the second largest city of the Gaza Strip next to Gaza City. It is 25 kilometers south of Gaza, 20 kilometers north of the Egyptian borders, and 4 kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea.

The city’s name is formed of two words – Khan meaning hostel and Younis, which refers to Prince Younis Dawadar who built a garrison in 1387 for soldiers guarding travelers and pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem and Mecca. The town square is bordered by this impressive historic fortress that dominates the view.

In the old times, the city functioned as a station for commercial caravans. It gained special significance for its strategic location connecting the Nile Valley to the Fertile Crescent, Egypt, and the Arabian Peninsula.

The city dates back to the Mamluk era, where Barquq Castle was built in its center in 1387 AD. It was also a rest for merchants coming from the Levant to Egypt and vice versa serving the southern region. Currently, it is the largest city in the Gaza Strip Palestine by area, and the second largest city in terms of population.

The agricultural sector is considered one of the leading basic sectors in Khan Yunis. According to the latest available data the total production constituted 27.2% of the total agricultural sector production in the Gaza Strip, and thus it occupies the first place of value production. The city is also a commercial center attracting residents flocks from all over the Gaza Strip.

The people of Khan Yunis suffer from a significant lack of basic services to help them to develop their city’s standard of living. The city suffers from a significant lack of electricity supply, poor waste water systems and poor road infrastructure, which have a negative impact on the population’s ability to move and work, as well as on their health, which in turn has a negative impact on economic growth

Therefore, the establishment and support of electrical supply, agricultural, industrial, tourism and animal production projects will create opportunities and reduce the unemployment rate that has reached more than 41%.

Khan Younis is confronting a current expansion in temperature over the ordinary normal temperature that left its effects on agriculture, where Khan Younis is described by having a fruitful soil. In addition to that extraordinary precipitation during winter season that has induced annual floods, leaving its effect of agricultural crops, underground water and roads.