{Toward the South} (kata mes(886d)brian). Old word from
mesos and h(886d)era, midday or noon as in  Ac 22:16 , the only
other example in the N.T. That may be the idea here also, though
"towards the South" gets support from the use of kata liba in
 Ac 27:12 . {The same is desert} (haut(8820)estin er(886d)os). Probably
a parenthetical remark by Luke to give an idea of the way. One of
the ways actually goes through a desert. Gaza itself was a strong
city that resisted Alexander the Great five months. It was
destroyed by the Romans after war broke out with the Jews.