Az-Zawayda

Az-Zawayda, also spelled Zawaida, is a Palestinian town in the Gaza Strip, in the Deir al-Balah Governorate of the State of Palestine. It is located about three kilometers northeast of the city of Deir al-Balah and just west of Maghazi refugee camp. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics 2017 census, there were 23,841 residents.

History

During the Gaza war, an Israeli attack killed at least 13 people after hitting a house in az-Zawayda. Several weeks later, three Israeli missiles struck a warehouse used as shelter by a displaced family, killing at least 16 people, including six children. According to a neighbor, "They were asleep in their beds, kids and babies, then three missiles targeted their place". One of the killed was a wholesale retailer who worked with the Israeli military to bring food into the Gaza Strip.