Deir Suneid
| Dayr Sunayd | |
|---|---|
 Dayr Sunayd
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| Arabic | دير سنيد |
| Name meaning | "Monastery of the declivity" |
| Also spelled | Deir Suneid, Deir Sineid |
| Subdistrict | Gaza |
| Coordinates | 31°34′28″N 34°33′18″E / 31.57444°N 34.55500°ECoordinates: 31°34′28″N 34°33′18″E / 31.57444°N 34.55500°E |
| Palestine grid | 107/109 |
| Population | 730 (1945) |
| Area | 6,081 dunams 6.1 km² |
| Date of depopulation | Late October or early November 1948 |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
| Current localities | None |
Dayr Sunayd (Arabic: دير سنيد) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Gaza Subdistrict, located 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) northeast of Gaza. Situated at an elevation of 50 meters (160 ft) along the southern coastal plain of Palestine, Deir Sunayd had a total land area of 6,081 dunams. Prior to its depopulation during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, it had 730 inhabitants in 1945.
The first part of its name "Dayr" is Arabic for "Monastery", suggesting that it was once the site of a monastic order or a Christian population possibly resided there at one point of time. "Sunayd" was the name of an Arab tribe in the area. Under the Ottoman Empire, in 1596, Dayr Sunayd laid in the nahiya of Gaza, part of the Sanjak of Gaza. With a population of 66, it paid taxes on wheat, barley, fruit, beehives and goats. The village appeared under the name of Deir Esni on the map that Pierre Jacotin compiled in 1799.
In 1838, Edward Robinson noted it under the name of Deir Esneid, while in 1863, French explorer Victor Guérin found the village, which he called Deir Essneid, to have 150 inhabitants. Its gardens were mainly planted with figs.
In the late 19th century, Dayr Sunayd was a moderate-sized village that was rectangular in shape, split into four quadrants by two roads that crossed at right in angles. It had adobe brick houses, eight wells, gardens, a pond, and at the center of the village was a mosque.
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