Hodiya

Nir Yisrael (Hebrew: נִיר יִשְׂרָאֵל, lit. 'Yisrael's Meadow') is a moshav in southern Israel. Located near Ashkelon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 892.

Julis (Arabic: جولس) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Gaza Subdistrict, located 26.5 kilometers (16.5 mi) northeast of Gaza on a slight elevation along the southern coastal plain. In 1945, there were 1,030 inhabitants in the village. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Berekhya (Hebrew: בֶּרֶכְיָה) is a moshav in southern Israel. Located four kilometres east of Ashkelon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 1,252.

Mash'en (Hebrew: מַשְׁעֵן, lit. 'Staff') is a moshav in southern Israel. Located near Ashkelon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 1,069.

Kfar Silver (Hebrew: כְּפַר סִילְבֶר, lit. 'Silver Village') is a youth village in southern Israel. Located near Ashkelon, the village falls under the jurisdiction of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 406.

The Ashkelon railway station is a railway station that is located in Ashkelon, Israel. It is the southern terminus of the Binyamina–Tel Aviv–Ashkelon and the Ra'anana-Rishon LeZion-Ashkelon suburban lines. Previously, Majdal railway station, built by the British forces during World War I, has existed at the site, and since 1920, the station served regular passenger trains between El Kantara, Egypt and Haifa. During 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the connection to Gaza Strip and Egypt was severed, but freight service on the Lod–Ashkelon railway continued.In 2002 it was decided to double-track the Ashdod–Ashkelon railway and recommence the passenger service to Ashkelon. Some of the remains of the old British station were demolished as part of preparing the site. The new Ashkelon passenger station was opened in 2005. Later, a new railway north of Ashkelon was constructed between Rishon LeZion and Ashdod Ad Halom railway station. This new line was inaugurated on 4 August 2013 and significantly shortened the travel time from Ashdod and Ashkelon to Tel Aviv to 35 and 45 minutes respectively. The railway line south of the station was extended to Beersheba beginning in 2006, which enabled rail service to the towns of Sderot, Ofakim and Netivot in the northern Negev. The line was completed in 2015. In late 2021 an NIS 15 million renovation project at the station was completed. The works included preservation of some of the station's original early 20th-century structures. At the same time, the station also underwent electrification. The station complex also houses a large electric multiple unit train maintenance depot that was completed in 2021.

Be'er Ganim (Hebrew: באר גנים, lit. Gardens Well) is a community settlement in southern Israel. It falls under the jurisdiction of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council and had a population of 1,966 in 2021.

Negba (Hebrew: נֶגְבָּה) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the northern Negev desert near the cities of Kiryat Malakhi and Ashkelon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Yoav Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 967.The name of the kibbutz is based on a verse in the Book of Genesis (13:14), where God commands Abraham to cast his eyes and travel throughout the land of Israel, toward the north, south, east and west. The word "negba" means "southward" in Biblical Hebrew.

The Battles of Negba were a series of military engagements between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian army in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Negba, a kibbutz founded in 1939, had a strategic position overlooking the Majdal – Bayt Jibrin road, and was a target of two major assaults by the Egyptians in June and July 1948. On June 2, the Egyptians attacked the village from the south with a battalion reinforced with armor, artillery, and aircraft, and were beaten back by 140 defenders, who were assisted by motorized Negev Brigade forces. The second attack took place on July 12, when the Egyptians staged diversionary assaults on nearby positions and surrounded Negba from all sides, again with a reinforced battalion. This attack was also dispersed, and Negba remained in Israeli hands, serving as a forward base for attacks against Egyptian forces up to Operation Yoav.

Hof Ashkelon Regional Council (Hebrew: מועצה אזורית חוף אשקלון, Mo'atza Azorit Hof Ashkelon, lit. Ashkelon Coast Regional Council) is a regional council in the Southern District of Israel. As of the year 2019, its population is around 18,000.The council is bordered to the north by Be'er Tuvia Regional Council, to the east by the Be'er Tuvia, Lakhish, Shafir and Yoav Regional Councils, to the south by Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council and the Gaza Strip, and to the west by Ashkelon and the Mediterranean Sea. Its average elevation is 54 meters above the sea level.

The Battle of Nitzanim was a battle fought between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian Army in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, on June 7, 1948 (29 Iyar, 5708 in the Hebrew calendar). It was the first major Egyptian victory of the war, and one of the few cases of Israeli surrender. The battle began on the night of June 6–7 with an artillery bombardment of Nitzanim, followed by an aerial bombardment and armored and infantry attacks. The main attack broke through the Israeli defenses at around 11:00; the Israelis retreated to a second position, and finally to a third position at 14:00. At 16:00, 105 Israelis surrendered to the Egyptian Army. Between June 7 and 10, the Battle of Hill 69 was fought nearby. The hill was captured by the Egyptians after a disorganized Israeli retreat. Israelis viewed the surrender of Nitzanim as a humiliation, especially after the Givati Brigade published a leaflet denouncing the defenders. The residents of Nitzanim demanded a probe into the battle, and one was conducted by the General Staff, siding with the residents and coming to the conclusion that surrender was justified.

Nitzanim (Hebrew: נִצָּנִים, lit. 'Flower buds') is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located between Ashkelon and Ashdod on the Nitzanim dunes, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 613.