Beit Lahia (Arabic: بيت لاهيا) is a city located north of Jabalia, near Beit Hanoun and the 1949 Armistice Line with Israel. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the city had a population of 59,540 in mid-year 2006. Hamas, an Islamist party, took control of it during the 2005 municipal elections, and is still administering the city, together with the entire Gaza Strip.