 Although the first municipal council of Gaza was formed in 1893 under the chairmanship of Ali Khalil Shawa , modern mayorship began in 1906 with his son Said al @-@ Shawa , who was appointed mayor by Ottoman authorities . Like other regions and cities in Palestine at the time , Gaza was economically and politically dominated by a number of powerful clans , particularly the Shawa , Husseini , and Sourani families . Two destructive earthquakes occurred in 1903 and 1914 . 
