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Kiryat Gat
Kiryat Gat (Hebrew: קריית גת, lit. 'City of Gat') also spelled Qiryat Gat, is a city in the Southern District of Israel. It lies 56 km (35 miles) south of Tel Aviv, 43 km (27 mi) north of Beersheba, and 68 km (42 mi) west southwest of Jerusalem. In 2024 it had a population of 72,140. The city hosts one of the most advanced semiconductor fabrication plants in the world, Intel's Fab 28 plant producing 7 nm process chips.
Kiryat Gat was mistakenly named for Gath, one of the five major cities of the Philistines. In Hebrew, "gat" means "winepress". In the 1950s, archaeologists found ruins at a nearby tell named Tel Erani and identified it as the Philistine city of Gath. Later archeologists proved this to be incorrect, but not before Kiryat Gat had been named in 1954. It proved too difficult to subsequently change the city’s name. This event cooled earlier enthusiasm for restoring biblical names more widely across the region.
The location most favored for Gath now is Tel es-Safi, thirteen kilometers (8.1 miles) to the northeast.
Kiryat Gat was founded in 1954, initially as a ma'abara. The following year it was established as a development town by 18 families from Morocco. It was founded just west of the ruins of the Palestinian Arab village of Iraq al-Manshiyya, which was ethnically cleansed in 1949 after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The former location of Iraq al-Manshiyya is now within the built-up area of Kiryat Gat. By 1992, Kiryat Gat had grown and spread also onto the land that formerly belonged to the village of Al-Faluja.
The population of Kiryat Gat rose from 4,400 inhabitants in 1958 to 17,000 in 1969, mostly Jewish immigrants from North Africa. The economy was initially based on processing the agricultural produce of the Lachish region, such as cotton and wool. In December 1972, Kiryat Gat's municipal status was upgraded and it became Israel's 31st city.
During the 1990s, the mass immigration of Soviet Jews to Israel brought many new residents to the town and its population grew to 42,500 by 1995. The development of the Rabin industrial zone on the eastern edge of the city, and the opening of Highway 6 further improved the economy of the city.
In 2018, the first residents began moving into Carmei Gat, a new neighborhood to the north of Kiryat Gat. The area has attracted a diverse population, including a significant Anglo community. It has grown to approximately 10,000 housing units, with plans underway to double the city’s population in the coming years.
Kiryat Gat has a borderline hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) and a hot semi-arid climate (Bsh). winters are moderately rainy and mild, and summers are hot and dry. the annual amount of precipitation is around 405 mm, mostly falls in winter. Mean daily maximum in January is 17 celsius degrees, while in August it is 33 celsius degrees.
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Kiryat Gat
Kiryat Gat (Hebrew: קריית גת, lit. 'City of Gat') also spelled Qiryat Gat, is a city in the Southern District of Israel. It lies 56 km (35 miles) south of Tel Aviv, 43 km (27 mi) north of Beersheba, and 68 km (42 mi) west southwest of Jerusalem. In 2024 it had a population of 72,140. The city hosts one of the most advanced semiconductor fabrication plants in the world, Intel's Fab 28 plant producing 7 nm process chips.
Kiryat Gat was mistakenly named for Gath, one of the five major cities of the Philistines. In Hebrew, "gat" means "winepress". In the 1950s, archaeologists found ruins at a nearby tell named Tel Erani and identified it as the Philistine city of Gath. Later archeologists proved this to be incorrect, but not before Kiryat Gat had been named in 1954. It proved too difficult to subsequently change the city’s name. This event cooled earlier enthusiasm for restoring biblical names more widely across the region.
The location most favored for Gath now is Tel es-Safi, thirteen kilometers (8.1 miles) to the northeast.
Kiryat Gat was founded in 1954, initially as a ma'abara. The following year it was established as a development town by 18 families from Morocco. It was founded just west of the ruins of the Palestinian Arab village of Iraq al-Manshiyya, which was ethnically cleansed in 1949 after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The former location of Iraq al-Manshiyya is now within the built-up area of Kiryat Gat. By 1992, Kiryat Gat had grown and spread also onto the land that formerly belonged to the village of Al-Faluja.
The population of Kiryat Gat rose from 4,400 inhabitants in 1958 to 17,000 in 1969, mostly Jewish immigrants from North Africa. The economy was initially based on processing the agricultural produce of the Lachish region, such as cotton and wool. In December 1972, Kiryat Gat's municipal status was upgraded and it became Israel's 31st city.
During the 1990s, the mass immigration of Soviet Jews to Israel brought many new residents to the town and its population grew to 42,500 by 1995. The development of the Rabin industrial zone on the eastern edge of the city, and the opening of Highway 6 further improved the economy of the city.
In 2018, the first residents began moving into Carmei Gat, a new neighborhood to the north of Kiryat Gat. The area has attracted a diverse population, including a significant Anglo community. It has grown to approximately 10,000 housing units, with plans underway to double the city’s population in the coming years.
Kiryat Gat has a borderline hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) and a hot semi-arid climate (Bsh). winters are moderately rainy and mild, and summers are hot and dry. the annual amount of precipitation is around 405 mm, mostly falls in winter. Mean daily maximum in January is 17 celsius degrees, while in August it is 33 celsius degrees.