Khan Yunis, also spelled
Khan Younis or
Khan Yunus, is a city in the southern Gaza Strip; it is the capital of the Khan Yunis Governorate in the Gaza Strip. Before the 14th century, Khan Yunis was a village known as "Salqah". To protect caravans, pilgrims and travellers a vast caravan serai was constructed there by the emir Yonus an-Nürüzi in 1387-88, an official of the Mamluk Empire. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Khan Yunis had a population of 205,125 in 2017. Khan Yunis, which lies only four kilometres east of the Mediterranean Sea, has a semi-arid climate with temperature of 30 °C maximum in summer and 10 °C minimum in winter, with an annual rainfall of approximately 260 mm (10.2 in).