Gaza Strip: Geography, History, and Legal Status

The Gaza Strip is a narrow Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Egypt to the southwest and Israel on its other land sides. It runs about 41 km (25 mi) long and 6–12 km (4–7 mi) wide, covering roughly 365 km² (141 sq mi). Gaza City is its largest urban center. With a population of around 2 million, it is one of the most densely populated areas on Earth, with density estimates near 6,000 people per km². After the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Strip came under Egyptian administration, though Egypt never annexed it. Israel captured Gaza, along with the West Bank: Geography, Population, and Disputed Status and other areas, during the The Six-Day War (1967) and the Territories It Reshaped of June 1967, beginning a prolonged military occupation. In 2005, Israel carried out a unilateral disengagement, dismantling its settlements and withdrawing its soldiers and settlers from inside the territory. Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections and, after factional fighting with Fatah, took sole control of the Strip in 2007. Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade of Gaza's borders, airspace, and coastal waters since then; critics, including UN bodies and human rights groups, have described the restrictions as turning Gaza into an "open-air prison," a characterization Israel disputes, citing security concerns. Although Israel withdrew its ground forces in 2005, the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and most states continue to regard Gaza as occupied territory, on the grounds that Israel retains effective control over its borders, airspace, and territorial waters. Under this view, protections of the Fourth Geneva Convention: Protecting Civilians Under Occupation apply. Israel's government has contested its status as an occupying power in Gaza following the disengagement. The territory's legal and political status remains internationally contested.