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Khan Yunis

Coordinates: 31°20′40″N 34°18′11″E / 31.34444°N 34.30306°E / 31.34444; 34.30306
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Khan Yunis
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicخان يونس
Khan Yunis is located in the Palestinian territories
Khan Yunis
Khan Yunis
Location of Khan Yunis within Palestine
Coordinates: 31°20′40″N 34°18′11″E / 31.34444°N 34.30306°E / 31.34444; 34.30306
Palestine grid83/83
State State of Palestine
GovernorateKhan Yunis
Founded1387
Government
 • TypeCity
 • Head of MunicipalityMuhammad Jawad Abd al-Khaliq al-Farra
Area
 • Total54,560 dunams (54.56 km2 or 21.07 sq mi)
Population
 (2017)[1]
 • Total205,125
 • Density3,800/km2 (9,700/sq mi)
Name meaning"Caravansary [of] Jonah"

Khan Yunis is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip. In 2017, about 205,000 people lived there.[1]

Ancient period

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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.

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 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.
  2. RAFAN, AYARATH. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)