Gaza
A Palestinian territory where Israel has conducted extensive military operations against Hamas, leading to significant destruction, humanitarian suffering, and a global backlash.
entitydetail.created_at
8/26/2025, 6:27:07 AM
entitydetail.last_updated
8/26/2025, 6:28:59 AM
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8/26/2025, 6:28:59 AM
Summary
Gaza is a densely populated coastal strip on the eastern Mediterranean, forming one of the two Palestinian territories. Historically, it has been a strategic location, passing through Ottoman, British, Egyptian, and Israeli rule. Currently, it is a focal point of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, characterized by high unemployment, poverty, and a significant refugee population. Recent events, such as the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, have intensified discussions around Israel's military strategy in Gaza and the heightened risk of regional conflict.
Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
Area
365 km2 (141 sq mi)
Width
6 to 12 km (3.7 to 7.5 mi)
Length
41 kilometers (25 miles)
Status
One of two Palestinian territories (the other being the West Bank), not recognized as a de jure part of any extant country, regarded by UN as Israeli-occupied territory
Location
Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, northeast of the Sinai Peninsula
Demographics
Mostly Palestinian refugees and their descendants, high proportion of youth (43.5% children 14 or younger, 50% under 18)
Population Density
One of the most densely populated territories in the world
Economic Conditions
High unemployment, many living below poverty line, dependent on food aid
Predominant Religion
Sunni Islam, with a Palestinian Christian minority
Population (2024 estimate)
2.1 million
Annual Population Growth Rate (2023 est.)
1.99%
Timeline
- End of Ottoman Empire rule over Gaza (Source: web_search_results)
1917
- Gaza area becomes part of the League of Nations mandate of Palestine under British rule (Source: web_search_results)
1918-1948
- UN General Assembly accepts a plan for the Arab-Jewish partition of Palestine, allotting the town of Gaza and surrounding territory to the Arabs (Source: web_search_results)
1947-11
- British mandate ends, and the First Arab-Israeli War begins; Egyptian forces enter the town of Gaza (Source: web_search_results)
1948-05-15
- The area around the town under Arab occupation is reduced to a strip of territory, which became known as the Gaza Strip; tens of thousands of Palestinians take refuge in Gaza, tripling its population to around 200,000 (Source: web_search_results)
1948
- Boundaries of the Gaza Strip are demarcated in the Egyptian-Israeli armistice agreement (Source: web_search_results)
1949-02-24
- Gaza is under Egyptian military rule throughout the 1950s and 1960s (Source: web_search_results)
1950
- Egypt is driven out of Gaza in the Six-Day War, and the Strip is occupied by Israel, which builds settlements and places Gaza's Palestinian population under military rule (Source: web_search_results)
1967
- Gaza International Airport, a symbol of Palestinian hopes for economic independence, is opened (Source: web_search_results)
1998
- Gaza International Airport's radar antenna and runway are destroyed by Israel, which deemed it a security threat after the September 11 attacks (Source: web_search_results)
2001
- Israel unilaterally withdraws its troops and settlers from Gaza, though it retains control of its shared border, airspace, and shoreline (Source: web_search_results)
2005
- The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge, is launched by Israel in the Gaza Strip following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers by Hamas-affiliated militants (Source: web_search_results)
2014-07-08
- Hamas fighters launch an assault from Gaza into Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages (Source: web_search_results)
2023-10-07
- A massive Israeli military offensive by land, sea, and air is triggered in response to the Hamas assault (Source: web_search_results)
2023-10-07
- Debate is fueled regarding the effectiveness and consequences of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's military strategy in Gaza following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh (Source: related_documents)
2024
Web Search Results
- Gaza Strip - Wikipedia
The Gaza Strip,( also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. Inhabited by mostly Palestinian refugees and their descendants, Gaza is one of the most densely populated territories in the world. An end of 2024 estimate puts the population of the Strip at 2.1 million, which was a 6% decline from the previous year due to [...] The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge, was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip. Following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank by Hamas-affiliated Palestinian militants, the IDF initiated _Operation Brother's Keeper_, in which some 350 Palestinians, including nearly all of the active Hamas militants in the West Bank, were arrested.( Hamas subsequently fired a greater number of rockets into Israel from [...] The Gaza Strip is 41 kilometres (25 miles) long, from 6 to 12 km (3.7 to 7.5 mi) wide, and has a total area of 365 km 2 (141 sq mi).( As of 2010, the Strip's population mostly comprised Palestinians and refugees. It has a high proportion of youth, with 43.5% being children 14 or younger and 50% under age of 18.( Sunni Islam is almost ubiquitous, with a Palestinian Christian minority. Gaza has an annual population growth rate of 1.99% (2023 est.), the 39th-highest in the world.( Gaza's
- A brief history of Gaza's 75 years of woe | Reuters
- Gaza is a coastal strip of land that lay on ancient trading and maritime routes along the Mediterranean shore. Held by the Ottoman Empire until 1917, it passed from British to Egyptian to Israeli military rule over the last century and is now a fenced-in enclave, opens new tab inhabited by over 2 million Palestinians. Here are some of the major milestones in its recent history. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. [...] Tens of thousands of Palestinians took refuge in Gaza after fleeing or being driven from their homes. The invading Egyptian army had seized a narrow coastal strip 25 miles (40 km) long, which ran from the Sinai to just south of Ashkelon. The influx of refugees saw Gaza's population triple to around 200,000. Arab villagers fleeing from an unidentified area in the Galilee in October 1948. REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab 1950s & 1960s - Egyptian military rule [...] One casualty was Gaza International Airport, a symbol of thwarted Palestinian hopes for economic independence and the Palestinians' only direct link to the outside world that was not controlled by Israel or Egypt. Opened in 1998, Israel deemed it a security threat and destroyed its radar antenna and runway a few months after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
- Gaza Strip | Definition, History, Facts, & Map | Britannica
Gaza Strip, territory occupying 140 square miles (363 square km) along the Mediterranean Sea just northeast of the Sinai Peninsula. The Gaza Strip is unusual in being a densely settled area not recognized as a de jure part of any extant country. The first accurate census, conducted in September 1967, showed a population smaller than had previously been estimated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) or by Egypt, with nearly half of the [...] Arab-Israeli war began. Egyptian forces soon entered the town of Gaza, which became the headquarters of the Egyptian expeditionary force in Palestine. As a result of heavy fighting in autumn 1948, the area around the town under Arab occupation was reduced to a strip of territory 25 miles (40 km) long and 4–5 miles (6–8 km) wide. This area became known as the Gaza Strip. Its boundaries were demarcated in the Egyptian-Israeli armistice agreement of February 24, 1949. [...] After rule by the Ottoman Empire ended there in World War I (1914–18), the Gaza area became part of the League of Nations mandate of Palestine under British rule. Before this mandate ended, the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) in November 1947 accepted a plan for the Arab-Jewish partition of Palestine under which the town of Gaza and an area of surrounding territory were to be allotted to the Arabs. The British mandate ended on May 15, 1948, and on that same day the first
- History of Gaza - Wikipedia
Around 540, Gaza became the starting point for pilgrimages to the Sinai Peninsula. It was an important city in the early Christian world and many scholars taught at its famous rhetorical school, including 6th-century scholar Procopius of Gaza or the ecclesiastic historian Zacharias Rhetor.( The celebrated Church of Saint Sergius was built in this century among other building projects such as a bath house, stoas and the city wall, that were undertaken by the bishop Marcianus and the provincial [...] In 1293, Qalawun's son an-Nasir Muhammad instituted Gaza as the capital of the province that bore its name, _Mamlakat Ghazzah_, lit. the Governorate of Gaza.( This province covered the coastal plain from Rafah in the south, extending in the east to the western slopes of Samaria and the Hebron Hills; its major towns to the north were Qaqun, Ludd, and Ramla.( [...] Gaza was granted to Herod the Great by Roman emperor Augustus in 30 BCE, where it formed a separate unit within his kingdom; and Cosgabar, the governor of Idumea, was in charge of the city's affairs. On the division of Herod's kingdom, it was placed under the proconsul of Syria.( After Herod's death in 4 BCE, Augustus annexed it to the Province of Syria. In 66 CE, Gaza was burned down by Jews during their rebellion against the Romans. However, it remained an important city; even more so after
- Israel and the Palestinians: History of the conflict explained - BBC
Home to about 2.1 million people, it is one of the most densely populated places on Earth. Even before the latest war between Israel and Hamas, Gaza had one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. Many people were living below the poverty line and depending on food aid to survive. Gaza's boundaries were drawn up as a result of the 1948 Middle East war, when it was occupied by Egypt. [...] Egypt was driven out of Gaza in the 1967 war and the Strip was occupied by Israel, which built settlements and placed Gaza's Palestinian population under military rule. In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza, though it retained control of its shared border, airspace and shoreline, giving it effective control of the movement of people and goods. The UN still regards Gaza as Israeli-occupied territory because of the level of control Israel has. [...] Every round of fighting has seen people killed on both sides, the vast majority of them Palestinians in Gaza. On 7 October 2023, Hamas fighters launched an assault from Gaza, killing about 1,200 people in Israel and taking 251 hostages. This triggered a massive Israeli military offensive, by land, sea and air. More than 61,000 people have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.