What is the Gaza Strip, which is at the centre of Israel-Palestine conflict?

The Israel ‘war’ against Hamas, the militant Palestinian group, has entered its third day. According to AFP, the death toll in Israel and Gaza has surpassed 1,100. Another 1,990 persons have been injured since the violence began on Saturday, according to the Gaza Hamas-controlled health ministry, as reported by CNBC. Israel is seeking to evacuate people in the Gaza Strip within 24 hours, as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of a “long and difficult” war. Here is what we know about Gaza.           The Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip is an impoverished Palestinian enclave that has been under Israeli blockade since 2007. The Gaza Strip is a small territory sandwiched between Israel, Egypt, and the Mediterranean, and is one of the world’s most densely populated areas. The people living in the Gaza Strip are Palestinians, comprises both indigenous settlers and numerous refugees who fled to Gaza from Israel during Israel’s creation in 1948 and later military battles between Israelis and Palestinians.

The Palestinian territories include the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is bounded by Israel, the Dead Sea, and Jordan. It is governed by the Fatah party, the most powerful faction in the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), which recognises Israel’s right to exist and is seen as representing Palestinians in most Western countries. The Gaza Strip has been ruled by the militant Islamist party Hamas since 2007. The organisation opposes the peace process with Israel and, in its charter, demands for Israel’s destruction. **Also Read: What is Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system that took on Hamas’ rain of rockets?** For years, the Hamas terrorists have fired rockets from Gaza into Israeli territory, but the 7 October onslaught is a shocking escalation of the long-running dispute. Hamas (the Arabic acronym for Islamic Resistance Movement) is now at war with Israel for the fifth time in 15 years.

5,000 years of history In 1998, archaeologists discovered the remains of a large fortified Canaanite town, Tell es-Sakan, near Gaza City that was occupied continuously from 3200 to 2000 BC. They hailed the site as being of major interest, marking the shift from agricultural to urban society. **Also Read: Israel-Palestine conflict: The big wars fought over 15 years** Pottery was found that could be linked to Narmer, Egypt’s first king, indicating Gaza’s close ties with its giant neighbour to the east 1,000 years before the pyramids were built. Cramped Mediterranean strip One of the most densely populated places on the planet, Gaza is home to over two million people living on a 362-square-kilometre (140 square miles) strip of land. It is bordered by Israel in the east and north, Egypt in the south, with the Mediterranean Sea to the west. [caption id=“attachment_13220732” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations, killing hundreds and taking captives. AP[/caption] After the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli war that surrounded the creation of Israel, Gaza was placed under Egyptian administration. Israel occupied Gaza during the 1967 Six-Day War and it was only fully returned to Palestinians in 2005, when Israel withdrew its last soldiers and thousands of settlers. Shut-in In 2006, Israel imposed an air, land and sea blockade on Gaza following the capture by Hamas of an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who was held prisoner for five years. [caption id=“attachment_13220802” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Palestinian gunmen lie on the road near Sderot, Israel. AP[/caption] In 2007, Israel tightened the blockade after Hamas — which Israel, the United States and others classify as a terrorist group — took control of Gaza from the secular Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas. The only entrance to Gaza not controlled by Israel is Rafah on the Egyptian border. Crushing poverty The Gaza Strip has virtually no industry and suffers from a chronic lack of water, fuel and electricity. Around half of the population is unemployed, according to the World Bank, and more than two-thirds are reliant on development aid. Fifth war since 2008 This is the fifth war between Palestinian militants in Gaza and Israel following Israel’s withdrawal from the territory in 2005. The four previous wars in 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2021 were marked by devastating Israeli air strikes on the enclave and barrages of rockets raining down on Israel from the other direction. Also read: How Hamas breached Israel’s sophisticated security, hoodwinked its intelligence The deadliest by far was the seven-week conflict in July-August 2014, which killed 2,251 Palestinians and 74 Israelis, including 68 soldiers. Israel had flattened parts of Gaza with the stated goal of stopping Palestinian rocket fire and destroying infiltration tunnels. With inputs from AFP