24 October 2024
Nakba of 1948
Jabaliya is Palestine’s largest refugee camp, home to 119,000 Palestinians crammed into just 1.4 km², making it one of the most densely populated places in the world.
The refugees of Jabalia are descendants of 38,000 Palestinians who were ethnically cleansed from Ashdod, Yaffa, Ramleh, Lydd, and Beer Sabe during the Nakba of 1948.
Jabalia Under Israeli Occupation – 1967- 1987
After the 1967 occupation, Israel targeted Gaza’s refugee camps to crush the growing resistance.
Jabalia, historically known as “the Camp of the Revolution”, was particularly targeted.
In the early 1970s, under Ariel Sharon, Israel yet again forcibly displaced 2,000 families from the Camp and demolished over 2,500 homes in Jabalia, Rafah, and Shati’ camps.
Jabalia – The Spark of the First Intifada – 1987-1993
The 1987 Intifada ignited after a group of Palestinian workers from Jabalia were killed by an Israeli military truck on their way to work.
Large protests accompanied the funeral of the martyrs and quickly sparked a wave of mass protests across Palestine, marking the beginning of the First Intifada, a mass popular uprising that continued until the early 1990s.
Jabalia during the Second Intifada – 2000- 2005
In 2004, northern Gaza, including Jabalia, endured a 17-day military siege labeled by Israel as the “Days of Penitence Operation,” with the stated aim of stopping Qassam rockets fired from Gaza.
The military killed over 155 Palestinians, destroyed homes, displaced families, and leveled agricultural lands, with the majority of casualties and damage occurring in Jabalia.
Jabalia Massacres during Military Offensives – 2007- 2023
During the 2009 Israeli military bombings on Gaza, Israel bombed the UNRWA Fakhura School in Jabalia, killing more than 40 Palestinians who were seeking shelter.
In the 2014 offensive, Israel bombed the Jabalia Girls School, killing 17 Palestinians.
“children were killed while sleeping next to their parents on the classroom floor in a UN-designated shelter in Gaza…These are people who were instructed to leave their homes by the Israeli army. The precise location of the [School] and the fact that it was housing thousands of internally displaced people was communicated to the Israeli army seventeen times, to ensure its protection.” – UNRWA
Steadfast Jabalia Under Genocide – 2023- 2024
Jabalia is enduring one of the most brutal massacres and genocidal acts. Since the sixth of October 2024, Jabalia has been under complete brutal siege in an attempt to force its residents’ to flee.