| Barqa | |
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Barqa
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| Arabic | برق |
| Also Spelled | Burqa |
| District | Gaza |
| Coordinates | |
| Population | 890 (1945) |
| Area | 5,206 dunums
5.2 km² |
| Date of depopulation | May 13, 1948[1] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
| Current localities | None |
Barqa (Arabic: برق) 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.
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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.[2]
Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi, the village remaining structures on the village land are:
"Two houses remain standing on the site. One serves as a warehouse; it is made of concrete and has a covered portico on two sides. The other, a stone house with rectangular doors and windows and a flat roof, stands deserted in the midst of wild vegetation. The site is overgrown with weeds interspersed with cactuses and eucalyptus and palm trees. Israelis cultivate the land around the site"[3]