Deir al-Balah 4.5

Deir al-Balah or Dayr al-Balah is a Palestinian city in the central Gaza Strip and the administrative capital of the Deir el-Balah Governorate. It is located over 14km south of Gaza City. The city had a population of 54,439 in 2007. The city is known for its date palms, after which it is named.Deir al-Balah dates back to the Late Bronze Age when it served as a fortified outpost for the New Kingdom of Egypt. A monastery was built there by the Christian monk Hilarion in the mid-4th century AD and is currently believed to be the site of a mosque dedicated to Saint George, known locally as al-Khidr. During the Crusader-Ayyubid wars, Deir al-Balah was the site of a strategic coastal fortress known as "Darum" which was continuously contested, dismantled and rebuilt by both sides until its final demolition in 1196. Afterward, the site grew to become a large village on the postal route of the Mamluk Sultanate . It served as an episcopal see of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem in Ottoman times until the late 19th century.