Barqa, Gaza
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Neby Burk, in 1898
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 Barqa
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| Arabic | برقة |
| Name meaning | sandy ground covered with flint |
| Also spelled | Burqa |
| Subdistrict | Gaza |
| Coordinates | 31°46′39″N 34°41′59″E / 31.77750°N 34.69972°ECoordinates: 31°46′39″N 34°41′59″E / 31.77750°N 34.69972°E |
| Palestine grid | 121/131 |
| Population | 890 (1945) |
| Area | 5,206 dunams 5.2 km² |
| Date of depopulation | May 13, 1948 |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
| Current localities | None |
Barqa (Arabic: برقة, Hebrew: ברקה) was a Palestinian Arab village located 37 km north of Gaza near the modern-day Israeli city of Ashdod. It was referred to as Barka by the Greeks and Bareca by the Romans during their rule over the ancient Philistine city. In 1945, the village had a population of 890 and total land area of 5,206 dunums.
It was captured by Israel's Giv'ati Brigade on May 13, 1948 during Operation Barak, an Israeli offensive in southern Palestine just prior to the outbreak of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
It is likely that Barqa was built on the site of the Greek town of Barka, which the Romans called Baraca. The villagers were Muslim, and around the village mosque were a number of tombs that they referred to as the tombs of Shaykh Muhammad, Shaykh Zarruq, and the prophet (al-nabi) Barq.
A burial chamber with four arcosolia have been uncovered at Barqa. It contained three pottery lamps, dated to the late Roman or Byzantine era, and two Byzantine glass vessels, dated to fifth century CE. The village was a major centre in the Byzantine era. In 511 CE a richly decorated basilica church was built, with a mosaic floor. It was in use until the seventh century.
Barqa, like the rest of Palestine, was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517, and in the census of 1596, the village was located in the nahiya of Gazza in the liwa of Gazza. It had a population of 12 households, all Muslim. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, fruit trees and sesame; the taxes totalled 2,100 akçe.
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