Statistic/Fact	Value
Israeli occupation date	July 8, 1948
Distance from district center	41 (km) North East of Gaza
Elevation from the sea	75 (meters)
Map location	See location number #7 on the map
Israeli military operation	Operation An-Far
Israeli attacking brigade	Possibly Giva'ti Brigade
Exodus Cause	Military assault by Jewish troops
Village remains after destruction by Israelis	The village has been mostly destroyed with the exception of its two schools and several houses remain standing.
Ethnically cleansing by Israelis	al-Masmiyya al-Kabira inhabitants were completely ethnically cleansed.
Land ownership before occupation	Ethnic Group Land Ownership (Dunums) Arab 19,850 Jewish 229 Public 608 Total 20,687
Land usage in 1945	Land Usage Type Arab (Dunum) Jewish (Dunum) Area planted w/ citrus 1,005 0 Irrigated & Plantation 597 0 Planted W/ Cereal 18,086 229 Built up 135 0 Cultivable 19,688 229 Non-Cultivable 635 0
Population before occupation	Year Population 1922 1,930 1931 1,756 1945 2,520 1948 2,923 Est. Refugees 1998 17,952
Number of houses	Year Number of houses 1931 354 1948 589
Schools	al-Masmiyya al-Kabira had two schools, one for boys and one for girls, which were founded in 1922 and 1944, respectively. The number of students reached 307 in the boys' school and 39 in the girls' in 1945.
Religious institutions	Two mosques
Exculsive jewish colonies on town's lands	Bene Re'em, Yinnon, Achawa, and Chawwat Berurim
Related Maps	خرائط تفصيلية للمحافظة View from satellite Help us map this town at WikiMapia
More Information	Language External Links Hebrew Nakba in Hebrew   Nakba-Online

Bibliography and References

Town Today

According to the Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi, the village remaining structures on the village land are:
"The two schools and several village houses are extant. The girls' school is deserted, while the boys' school has been converted into an Israeli army installation. Some of the houses are inhabited but others have been turned into warehouses. One house serves as a shop where juice is sold. All are made of concrete with simple architectural features flat roofs and rectangular doors and windows. A date palm tree grows in the yard of a house that belonged to a Palestinian named Tawfiq al-Rabi. An Israeli gas station is located on the same spot where the village's station (once the property of Hasan 'Abd al-'Aziz and Nimr Muhanna) once stood."

• Nakba Oral History Video Podcast: Interview with Dr. Abdel Rahman Yaghi
• Nakba Oral History Video Podcast: Interview with Ismail Seif