Al-Shati was established in 1948 for about 23,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from the cities of Jaffa, Lod, and Beersheba as well as surrounding villages during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

[1] As of July 2023, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reports a population of 90,173 registered refugees.

[3] Al-Shati was established in 1948 for about 23,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled by Zionist militias from the cities of Jaffa, Lod, and Beersheba as well as surrounding villages during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

About 8,000 refugees were forced to leave the camp to the nearby housing project in Sheikh Radwan in Gaza City.

On November 10, during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces said they killed ~150 Hamas operatives during battles in the Al-Shati area.