Gaza is a Palestinian city with over 450,000 people, making it the largest Palestinian city. The city was captured by Israel in the Six Day War, and was returned to Palestinian government in 1993. In 2006 when Fatah lost power and terrorist political faction Hamas took control, Fatah wouldn’t relinquish control and it was taken by force. The city passed from one power to another at the beginning of the 20th century as well.
On this day November 7th, in 1917, Gaza is captured from the Turks by Britain. This battle is known as the Third Battle of Gaza. It was part of a war between the Ottoman Empire, aka the Turks, and Britain, and already the Brits had won Beersheba on October 31st.
General Edmund Allenby was the general of the British Army. He led the offensive breaking through the Ottoman’s defense. The capture of Gaza was a huge undertaking, and only a step toward the capture Jerusalem on December 9th, which was the true goal. Two times prior British forces had tried to capture Palestine from the Turks but were unable to do so. These battles accounted for the loss of over 40,000 men.