It had a population of 36 Muslim households and paid a fixed tax rate of 33.3% on wheat, barley, summer crops, fruit trees, occasional revenues, goats and/or beehives; a total of 9,300 akçe.

[5] During the 17th and 18th centuries, the area of Beit Hanoun experienced a significant process of settlement decline due to nomadic pressures on local communities.

[6] Beit Hanoun survived, and Pierre Jacotin named the village Deir Naroun on his map depicting Napoleon's Syrian campaign of 1799.

[7] In 1838, Edward Robinson passed by and described how "all were busy with the wheat harvest; the reapers were in the fields; donkeys and camels were moving homewards with their high loads of sheaves; while on the threshing-floors near the village, I counted not less than thirty gangs of cattle.

He observed indications of ancient constructions in the shape of cut stones, fragments of columns, and bases among the gardens.

During the occupation, Egypt complained to the Mixed Armistice Commission that on 7 and 14 October 1950, Israeli military forces had shelled and machine-gunned the Arab villages of Abasan al-Kabera and Beit Hanoun in Egyptian controlled territory of the Gaza Strip.

Despite initial difficulties accessing the area via Israel, the commission, led by legal scholar Christine Chinkin and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, eventually entered Gaza through Egypt.

"[28] On 27 March 2007, sewage water flooded the northern Umm al-Nasser suburb of Beit Hanoun, killing five people.

[32][33] By 12 November, the IDF advanced beyond the city, however, they continued to be attacked behind the frontlines due to a maintained presence of Saraya Al Quds and Al-Qassam militants.

As a result of massive bombardment campaigns and the ground invasion, Beit Hanoun is believed to be entirely depopulated and destroyed, with destruction so extensive that it has been described as "no longer existing".

[36][37] However, local media claimed that on 24 December, Israeli forces left Beit Hanoun due to remaining Palestinian fighting in the city.

[46] Beit Hanoun's residents have various origins, including people from Egypt, Kurds from Hebron, the Hauran (southwest Syria), Transjordan, and Bedouin communities.

[49] As of mid-December 2023, as a result of the 2023 Israel-Hamas War, Beit Hanoun has been entirely depopulated, and virtually all its structures either destroyed or rendered unusable due to extreme damage.