Khan Yunis
Khan Yunis (Arabic: خان يونس, lit. 'Caravansary [of] Yonis'), also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus, is a city in the southern Gaza Strip; it is the capital of the Khan Yunis Governorate in the Gaza Strip. Before the 14th century, Khan Yunis was a village known as "Salqah". To protect caravans, pilgrims and travellers a vast caravan serai was constructed there by the emir Yonus an-Nürüzi in 1387-88, an official of the Mamluk Empire. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Khan Yunis had a population of 205,125 in 2017. Khan Yunis, which lies only four kilometres (2+1⁄2 miles) east of the Mediterranean Sea, has a semi-arid climate with temperature of 30 °C maximum in summer and 10 °C minimum in winter, with an annual rainfall of approximately 260 mm (10.2 in).
Khan Yunis | |
|---|---|
Municipality type A (City) | |
| Arabic transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | خان يونس |
|
Municipal Seal of Khan Younis | |
Khan Yunis Location of Khan Yunis within Palestine | |
| Coordinates: 31°20′40″N 34°18′11″E | |
| Palestine grid | 83/83 |
| State | State of Palestine |
| Governorate | Khan Yunis |
| Founded | 1387 |
| Government | |
| • Type | City |
| • Head of Municipality | Muhammad Jawad Abd al-Khaliq al-Farra |
| Area | |
| • Total | 54,560 dunams (54.56 km2 or 21.07 sq mi) |
| Population (2017) | |
| • Total | 205,125 |
| • Density | 3,800/km2 (9,700/sq mi) |
| Name meaning | "Caravansary [of] Jonah" |