Mawasi: “Humanitarian” displacement mars Gaza’s bread basket

Mawasi, which Israeli forces designated as a safe area amid its ongoing military campaigns in the Gaza Strip, and where over 90 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on July 13, is a coastal agricultural region stretching along 12 kilometers of the Mediterranean coast. It spreads a kilometer inland to the east, along its full swathe from Deir al-Balah in the north, passing through Khan Younis and reaching Rafah in the south. Its name was coined during Ottoman rule from an Arabic term for mandates, referring to its renowned agricultural lands and groundwater. It has also long been known as the Gaza Strip’s bread basket.

Yet, over recent months, Mawasi's agricultural wealth has been encroached upon by the thousands forcibly displaced to the area in search of shelter from Israel's military operations in surrounding cities. Since Israel issued orders on May 7 for Palestinians to relocate to Mawasi in preparation for its ongoing Rafah ground invasion, displacement tents have filled the coastal area.

Palestinians continue to be displaced to Mawasi in large numbers, turning the agricultural region into a densely populated area that has marred the strip’s traditional bread basket.

Because it has become the main center for displaced people, the Khan Younis section of Mawasi now hosts popular markets and shops selling foodstuffs and prepared meals all along its main street. This area also features makeshift pharmacies, medical labs, dentist offices and OB-gyn centers.