Tel al-Hawa

Tel al-Hawa

تل الهوا
Tel al-Hawa تل الهوا
Neighborhood
	Tel al-Islam
	Tel al-Hawa Location in Gaza Strip
	Coordinates: 31°30′30.97″N 34°26′4.5″E / 31.5086028°N 34.434583°E
Region	Palestine
Governorate	Gaza Governorate
City	Gaza
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	+3

Tel al-Hawa (Arabic: تل الهوا, "Hill of the Wind") is a neighborhood in the southern part of the Palestinian city of Gaza. Founded by the Palestinian National Authority in the late 1990s, Tel al-Hawa is one of the more affluent areas of the city.^[1] It contains the Islamic University in Gaza and the Interior Ministry of the Palestinian National Authority.^[2]

History

Tel al-Hawa was formerly the headquarters of the Preventive Security Service, until Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in 2007 and turned it into a police station.^[3] After capturing the neighborhood, Hamas militiamen had it renamed to "Tel al-Islam".^[4] The Doghmush family held journalist Alan Johnston in Tel al-Hawa between March and July 2007, until Hamas secured his release.^[5]

The neighborhood was severely damaged in the 2008–09 Gaza War, codenamed "Operation Cast Lead" by Israel. It was the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the war. Dozens of Hamas fighters were killed or wounded, and a dozen IDF soldiers were also killed and wounded. At least 12 civilians were killed.^[1]

During the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Tel al-Hawa has been the site of an ongoing battle between Israel and Hamas-led militants. On February 10, 2024, the body of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old who was trapped in a car with all her relatives killed and who had called the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance to find her, was found dead in Tel al-Hawa along with the two drivers of the ambulance that were dispatched to find her.^[6]