Juhor ad-Dik
Municipality type D in Gaza, State of Palestine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Juhor ad-Dik (Arabic: جحر الديك, lit. 'burrow of the cock') is a Palestinian farming village in the Gaza Governorate, south of Gaza City, in the central Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the village had a population of 4,586 inhabitants in 2017.[1] This area was controlled by Israel during Gaza war. In May, 2024, the Washington Post reported that the village had been destroyed in order to construct the Netzarim Corridor.[2]
Juhor ad-Dik | |
|---|---|
| Arabic transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | جحر الديك |
| • Latin | Juhar ad-Deek (official) |
 Interactive map of Juhor ad-Dik | |
| Coordinates: 31°27′25″N 34°26′24″E | |
| State | State of Palestine |
| Governorate | Gaza |
| Government | |
| • Type | Village council |
| Population (2017)[1] | |
• Total | 4,586 |
History
2009 Israeli invasion
During Israel's 2009 invasion of the Gaza Strip, Israeli troops and Palestinian militiamen battled frequently in Juhor ad-Dik, with over 100 of the village's houses having been bulldozed by Israeli forces by the end of the conflict.[3][4]
2014 Israeli invasion
The village suffered greatly during the 2014 Gaza war, with many of its buildings reduced to ruins.[5] In January 2015, according to The New Arab, there was "not a house left standing" in the village in the aftermath of the war.[6] Israeli NGO Breaking the Silence published an anonymous interview with a first sergeant in the IDF's Armored Corps, who recounted his unit's wholesale destruction of houses and trees in the village using IDF Caterpillar D9 bulldozers.[7]
2014–2023
The northern Gaza Strip's largest landfill is located in the Juhor ad-Dik area, about 500 meters from the Gaza border fence.[8][9][10] In September 2023, a severe heat wave caused the outbreak of a fire at the landfill site that lasted several days.[9] Amid the Gaza war, waste began accumulating throughout the streets of Gaza City, as municipal garbagemen were unable to transport it to the Juhor ad-Dik landfill site due to heavy Israeli bombardment.[10]
2023 Israeli invasion
Following the October 7 attacks on Israel, on 28 October 2023, an IDF raid maneuvered into the Gaza Strip east of al-Bureij refugee camp, in the Juhor ad-Dik area.[11] During the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, Israeli infantry and armour near Juhor ad-Dik were frequently the targets of ambushes, mortar attacks, and anti-tank fire by Hamas's Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.[12] In June 2024, the IDF reported it had destroyed a 800-meter-long tunnel in the Juhor ad-Dik area. The tunnel, reportedly, 30 meters deep, had several rooms and blast doors, and had been used by Hamas operatives.[13] As of 2026, Juhor ad-Dik remains destroyed and under IDF control.
Demographics
In the 1997 census by the PCBS, Palestinian refugees made up 72.3% of the population which at the time was 2,275.[14]