Between Rafa and Gaza, to the east of the coastal sand dunes, a gently rolling plateau of light, firm soil rose slowly inland, crossed by several dry wadis, which became torrential flows in the rainy season. In the spring, after the winter rains, the area was covered by young crops or fresh grass. For millennia, Gaza had been the gateway for invading armies travelling the coastal route, to and from Egypt and the Levant. The town and the fertile surrounding areas strongly favoured defence; Gaza being located on a plateau high which is separated from the Mediterranean Sea by about of sand hills to the west. To the north, west, and south, orchards surrounded by impenetrable prickly pear hedges extended out for some from the town. With the exception of the ridge extending southwards, which culminated in the dominating high Ali Muntar, the area of orchards stretched from the high plateau down into a hollow.