Khan Yunis
City in Gaza, Palestine / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Khan Yunis (Arabic: خان يونس, lit. 'Caravansary [of] Yonis[2]'), also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus, is a Palestinian city serving as the capital of the Khan Yunis Governorate in the southern Gaza Strip. It has been largely destroyed on account of the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.
Khan Yunis | |
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Arabic transcription(s) | |
• Arabic | خان يونس |
Location of Khan Yunis within Palestine | |
Coordinates: 31°20′40″N 34°18′11″E | |
Palestine grid | 83/83 |
State | State of Palestine |
Governorate | Khan Yunis |
Founded | 1387 |
Government | |
• Type | City |
• Head of Municipality | Muhammad Jawad Abd al-Khaliq al-Farra |
Area | |
• Total | 54,560 dunams (54.56 km2 or 21.07 sq mi) |
Population (2017)[1] | |
• Total | 205,125 |
• Density | 3,800/km2 (9,700/sq mi) |
Name meaning | "Caravansary [of] Jonah" |
Before the 14th century, Khan Yunis was a village known as "Salqah". To protect caravans, pilgrims and travellers a vast caravan serai was constructed there by the emir Yūnus an-Nūrūzī in 1387–88, an official of the Mamluk Empire.[3]
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Khan Yunis had a population of 205,125 in 2017.[1] Khan Yunis, which lies only four kilometres (2+1⁄2 miles) east of the Mediterranean Sea, has a semi-arid climate with temperature of 30 °C maximum in summer and 10 °C minimum in winter, with an annual rainfall of approximately 260 mm (10.2 in).