Khan Yunis
Khan Yunis is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip. In 2017, about 205,000 people lived there.[1]
| Arabic transcription(s) | |
|---|---|
| • Arabic | خان يونس |
 | |
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| Coordinates: 31°20′40″N 34°18′11″E / 31.34444°N 34.30306°ECoordinates: 31°20′40″N 34°18′11″E / 31.34444°N 34.30306°E | |
| 83/83 | |
| State |  State of Palestine |
| Governorate | Khan Yunis |
| Founded | 1387 |
| Government | |
| • Type | City |
| • Head of Municipality | Muhammad Jawad Abd al-Khaliq al-Farra |
| Area | |
| • Total | 54.56 km2 (21.07 sq mi) |
| Population (2017)[1] | |
| • Total | 205,125 |
| • Density | 3,759.6/km2 (9,737.4/sq mi) |
| Name meaning | "Caravansary [of] Jonah" |
Ancient period
Herodotus describes a city named Ienysos (Ancient Greek: Ιηνυσος) located between Lake Serbonis and Kadytis (modern Gaza city). He talks about how the Persian military marched through the location on its way to Egypt. He also describes how the coastal area between Kadytis and Ienysos was inhabited by local Arab tribes. Some sources, due to phonological resemblance of the names and due to the general matching of the geographic locations, associate this site with modern Khan Yunis.[2]
Other sources have suggested a further inland location of "Khirbet Ma'in Abu Sitta" (Palestinian village depopulated in 1949, near modern kibbutz of Nir Oz) or the Egyptian town of Arish as possible locations of Ienysos, but there is no clear evidence to support this identification.
Ancient discoveries in Khan Yunis feature a lintel with a Greek inscription, discovered repurposed in the tomb of Sheikh Hamada. The inscription translates to: 'Hilarion - giving thanks to St. Georgius.' Originally housed in the Musée de Notre Dame de France in Jerusalem, the lintel is currently lost.
Khan Yunis Media
The southern part of the historic khan at Khan Yunis, 1930s
1940 Survey of Palestine map of Khan Yunis
Khan Yunis 1931 1:20,000
Khan Yunis 1945 1:250,000
The Kaware house in after bombing in 2014, see Kaware family home
Damage in Khan Yunis in 2025
Khan Yunis beach
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017 (February 2018)State of Palestine. p. 64–82. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
- ↑ RAFAN, AYARATH. No Title.
