History
Beit Lahia has an ancient hill and nearby lay abandoned village ruins. A mihrab, or mosque alcove indicating the direction of salaah (prayer), is all that remains of an ancient mosque to the west of Beit Lahia dating to the end of the Fatamid period and beginning of the Ayyubid Dynasty of Saladin, and two other mosques dating to the Ottoman period.
On January 4, 2005 seven civilian residents of Beit Lahia, including six members of the same family, were killed, with the incident blamed on an IDF shelling of agricultural area where they were working. On June 9, 2006, eight civilians were killed, while picnicking on the northern Gazan beach in Beit Lahia. The dead included seven members of the Ali Ghaliya family. with evidence eventually pointing to planted Palestinian explosives to repel an Israeli attack. On December 26, 2008, a crude rocket fired by Palestinian militants fell short of its target in Israel, striking a house in Beit Lahia and killing two Palestinian schoolgirls. The town as a frequent target of airstrikes by Israel and a scene of intense battle between in Israel and Hamas. The Ibrahim al-Maqadna mosque was hit by Israeli missiles, resulting in thirteen deaths.
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