Dorot

Havat Shikmim (Hebrew: חוות שקמים, lit. "Sycamore Ranch") is a sheep ranch in Israel that belongs to the family of the late Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon. It is located in the northern Negev Desert, near Sderot. The ranch covers 3,823 dunams (4 km²). Sharon purchased the ranch in 1972 with the help of a loan from Meshulam Riklis. The ownership of the ranch was turned over to Sharon's sons Omri and Gilad, to avoid conflict of interest when Sharon became Agriculture Minister of Israel and Industry, Trade and Labour Minister of Israel. The farm was built on the lands of a depopulated Arab village, Huj. According to Izzeldin Abuelaish the mosque of this village has been serving as the pen for Sharon's Arabian thoroughbred horses. In 2007, the farm was hit by rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. One rocket exploded near a sheep barn. In June 2010, the Israel Land Administration (ILA) renewed the ranch's lease for an additional 49 years at NIS142,000 per year. The ranch had been in limbo since 2003, when the ILA decided to verify if the ranch was using extra land not in its ownership. Sharon and his second wife, Lily, are buried in Havat Shikmim.

The Charge at Huj (8 November 1917), (also known by the British as the Affair of Huj), was an engagement between forces of the British Empire' Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) and the Ottoman Turkish Empire's, Yildirim Army Group during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War. It took place during the Pursuit phase of the Southern Palestine Offensive which eventually captured Jerusalem a month later. The charge was carried out by units of the 5th Mounted Brigade, against a rearguard position of German, Austrian and Turkish artillery and infantry armed with machine guns. The charge was successful and the British captured the position, seventy prisoners, eleven pieces of artillery and four machine guns. However British casualties were heavy; of the 170 men taking part, twenty-six were killed and forty wounded. They also had 100 horses killed. The charge is claimed to be one of the last British cavalry charges and was immortalised in a watercolour painting by the noted British artist Lady Butler.

Huj (Arabic: هوج) was a Palestinian Arab village located 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) northeast of Gaza City. Identified as the site of the ancient Philistine town of Oga, the modern village was founded by the Ottomans in the early 19th century. Situated in a hilly area on the northern edge of the Negev Desert, it was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Nir Moshe (Hebrew: נִיר מֹשֶׁה, lit. 'Moshe's Meadow') is a moshav in southern Israel with an elevation of 145 m from sea level. Located in the north-western Negev south-east of Sderot with an area of 2,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Merhavim Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 602.

Kawfakha' (Arabic: كوفخة) was a Palestinian village located 18 kilometers (11 mi) east of Gaza that was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

Nir Akiva (Hebrew: נִיר עֲקִיבָא, lit. Akiva's Meadow) is a moshav in southern Israel. Located in the north-western Negev near Netivot and Nir Moshe and covering 1,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Merhavim Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 714.

Shavei Darom (Hebrew: שָׁבֵי דָּרוֹֹם, lit. Returnees to the South) is a village in southern Israel. Located to the south-east of Sderot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Merhavim Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 467.

Al-Jammama (Arabic: الجمامه) was a Palestinian Arab village located in the Negev desert 30 km north west of the city of Beersheba. Its settled population was recorded as six in the 1931 census.

Ibim (Hebrew: אִבִּים, lit. 'Blossoms') is a village in southern Israel. Located near Sderot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 774.

Sapir College (Hebrew: המכללה האקדמית ספיר, HaMikhlela HaAkademit Sapir) is a college in Israel, located in the northwestern Negev desert near Sderot. It is the largest public college in Israel, with an enrollment of 8,000 students. The college is named after Israeli politician Pinchas Sapir.

Gevim (Hebrew: גֵּבִים, lit. Cisterns) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the northwestern Negev desert near Sderot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 619.

The Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council (Hebrew: מועצה אזורית שער הנגב, Mo'atza Azorit Sha'ar HaNegev, lit. Gate of the Negev Regional Council), is a regional council in the north-western Negev, in Israel's Southern District. The Regional Council's territory lies midway between Beersheba and Ashkelon, bounded on the west by the Gaza Strip. The eastern border abuts Bnei Shimon. The city of Sderot forms an enclave within Sha'ar HaNegev. The region's population is over 6,000, and covers an area of over 45,000 acres (approx. 180 km2 or 70 sq. mi.). The average elevation is approximately 180 m (495 ft.) above sea level. Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council is in a sister city relationship with San Diego, California, in the United States of America, and has a close working relationship with the Jewish Federation of San Diego County.