The modern city of Ashkelon grew out of the Arab town of al-Majdal (Arabic: المجدل‎ or Arabic: مجدل عسقلان‎, Hebrew: אל-מג'דל, מגדל‎). In 1596 it was a village of 559 Muslim households, and in 1931, 6,166 Muslims and 41 Christians were living there. By 1948, the population had grown to about 11,000. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War the city was for a time the forward position of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in Gaza. Most of the population fled to Gaza along with the retreating Egyptian Army. The city was captured by Israeli forces on November 5, 1948.