Salah al-Din Street is one of the oldest roads in history and the most important because it witnessed historically significant events. The Pharaonic armies, Alexander the Great, the Crusaders, and Napoleon Bonaparte passed through it in their quest to occupy the Levant. For the Gaza Strip – after it was paved – it is considered a main, pivotal road that passes through all its governorates. It is of strategic importance, and Israel has tried to control it several times, with the aim of cutting the connection between the north and south of the Strip.
Distance and name
Salah al-Din Street extends from the Erez crossing (Beit Hanoun) in the north of the Gaza Strip to Rafah in the south, for a distance of about 45 kilometers along the western coast. It was named after the founder of the Ayyubid state, Commander Saladin al-Ayyubi, who liberated the Levant from the hands of the Crusaders. His army passed through it during His way to conquer the Holy City, after liberating Gaza and then Ashkelon.
A commercial center and a strategic road
Salah al-Din Street is considered a major commercial center in Gaza, and includes shops, restaurants, cafes, hotels, and commercial centers along its length. It is considered a lively road around the clock.
It also includes sidewalks and parking stations for buses and cars, which contributed to its economic role. The street is divided into two sides, each with two lanes, one for heavy vehicles and the other for light vehicles.
Its strategic importance lies in the following:
- It is considered a main entrance to a number of camps and cities on both sides of its road.
- It is one of the two main streets in the sector, the second being Al-Rashid Street.
- It is the main line along which Gazans move from north to south, passing through the central region.
- It is the lifeline connecting the North and the South, and it is the main reason why Israel continues to try to control it.
- It is considered a major commercial and vital center for the entire sector.
- It is an important tourist landmark, as there are mosques, churches, museums, and entertainment places along its length.
Milestones
Salah El-Din Street is surrounded by several prominent landmarks and places in the Strip along its length, some of which flow into it through internal streets, including:
- Great Omari Mosque
One of the oldest and most prestigious mosques in the Gaza Strip, the Al-Omari Mosque was founded during the reign of Caliph Omar bin Al-Khattab. It is considered the third largest mosque in Palestine after Al-Aqsa Mosque and Ahmed Pasha Al-Jazzar Mosque. It is approximately 380 meters away from Salah El Din Street.
It was a temple in the Roman era, then it was turned into a church. After the Islamic conquest, it became the largest mosque in the Gaza Strip. Ibn Battuta described it as a beautiful mosque. It was bombed by Israeli occupation aircraft on December 8, 2023, which led to its almost complete destruction.
It was built in the 17th century AD in 1661, during the reign of Sultan Muhammad IV, and it was built by Ahmed Al-Saqqa, one of the major merchants of Shujaiyya at the time, and it is about 150 meters away from Salah Al-Din Street.
Its area is 700 square meters, its walls are studded with sandstones, and its ceilings are made of Roman marble. It was restored by the Islamic University before turning it into a cultural center. It was destroyed by the occupation on November 9, 2023.
- English cemetery
A cemetery located in the Al-Daraj neighborhood, east of Gaza, with an area of approximately 25 dunums. It contains the remains of 3,500 soldiers from the British Commonwealth countries who fell during World War I, including Jews, Muslims, and Hindus who participated alongside the Allied Powers against the Ottoman Empire.
The Jarada family inherited the care of the cemetery, and its work is supervised by the British government, which periodically sends delegations to the cemetery and pays a monthly salary to its guard. Gazans often visit it as an outlet and a park.
- Dar es Salaam Hospital
A non-profit charitable hospital founded in 1995 in Khan Yunis on Salah al-Din Road, it is the first hospital established in the south of the Gaza Strip. It consists of 7 floors, and contains two operating rooms and a number of specialized clinics.
- Arab College of Applied Sciences
The first college in Rafah Governorate was established in 1999 under the name “Arab Community College,” offering intermediate diploma and bachelor’s degrees, which it made available to its students in 2009.
- Gaza European Hospital
It was established with a grant from the European Union in 1989, and has 308 beds. It is managed by the Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs in the Gaza Strip. It is considered one of the most important hospitals in the sector.
Israeli ground attack
Israel tried to enter Gaza in all the wars it fought against the Strip, most notably in 2014 when it tried to separate the northern Strip from the rest of Gaza, but it lost and withdrew.
With the beginning of the Israeli ground attack on Gaza on October 26, 2023, the main street in the Strip turned into a bloody battle zone between the Islamic Resistance and the occupation army.
The occupation began its ground invasion in conjunction with an air bombardment near the “Juhr al-Dik” area, located at the entrance to the Central Governorate near the south of Gaza City, which is located in the middle of the street, with the intention of cutting off the north from the south, before announcing its withdrawal hours later, and the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades announced – The military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) – targeting Israeli vehicles.
On October 30, witnesses from within the Gaza Strip circulated reports of occupation tanks arriving at the outskirts of the Zaytoun neighborhood, blocking Salah al-Din Street, and shooting at any vehicle that passed from the road.
On November 7, 2023, Israeli army spokesman Avichai Adraee announced the opening of the street for the passage of humanitarian aid convoys to the north, after the occupation forces cut it off for months by targeting from the air everything that passed through the street, causing famine and severe health conditions in the north of the Gaza Strip.