(Khan Younis Refugee Camp

Khan Younis Refugee Camp is located in the southern Gaza Strip, approximately 2 kilometers from the Mediterranean coast and west of the city of Khan Younis, after which the camp is named. Khan Younis is a historic city and an ancient commercial center that once served as a resting point for caravans traveling between the Levant and Egypt in both directions. A large khan, known as “Khan Younis,” once stood there, and the city has retained this name to the present day.

The camp was established in 1948 by the International Committee of the Red Cross and was subsequently taken over by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in 1950.

At the time of its establishment, the camp covered approximately 549 dunams. It received refugees forcibly displaced from the cities of Haifa, Jaffa, Lydda, Ramle, and Al-Majdal, as well as from the villages of Bayt Dajan, Sarafand, Ashdod, Burqa, Yasur, Arab al-Suqrir, Arab Abu Suwayriḥ, Al-Masmiyya al-Kabira, Al-Masmiyya al-Saghira, Al-Batani al-Gharbi, Al-Batani, Hanin, Yibna, and others.

In 1953, the camp had approximately 12,099 registered refugees. By 1955, this number had risen to around 18,291, largely as a result of frequent movements between refugee camps as people sought greater stability in employment or wished to live closer to relatives and members of their communities of origin.

In 1987, the camp's population reached approximately 35,407 refugees registered with UNRWA. According to UNRWA records, its population was approximately 21,624 in 1997. Meanwhile, estimates by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics put the camp's population at approximately 48,729 refugees in mid-2023.