Bayt Jirja

It is a village known since ancient times and is located in the southern coastal plain, one kilometer from the coastal highway, which allows it to connect to the surrounding cities such as Gaza, Majdal and Jaffa. It is 15.5 kilometers from Gaza, with an average elevation of 50 meters above sea level. Its population in 1945 was 940 people, distributed among 115 houses built of brick and clay, and it includes narrow alleys. Its residents were Muslims, and they took care of a shrine believed to be the tomb of the Prophet Jirja.

Displacement

There are no precise details about the circumstances of the village’s occupation and the displacement of its residents. It is likely that it was occupied at the end of Operation Yoav in late October 1948, or that it was occupied with Majdal on November 4-5, and perhaps before that. Not much is known about the fate of its residents, but it is believed that most of them fled or were expelled towards the Gaza Strip during this operation by order of the commander of the Israeli southern sector and the commander of the Palmach, Yigal Allon, according to Plan Dalet.

Colonization

There are no Israeli colonies on the village lands, but the lands of the destroyed village of Barbara next to it have three colonies built on them (Mifkim, Gea, and Talmei Yafi) and they are close to the village lands.

The village today

A barbed wire fence surrounds the site, and nothing remains visible except the alleys and rubble. One house still stands on the northern edge of the village, with some sycamore trees and cactus plants, and some of the village lands are planted while the forests cover the rest.

Reference: Walid Khalidi, All That Remains, pp. 520, 521