The Gaza Strip, often referred to simply as Gaza, is a small coastal territory in the Southern Levant that is north of Egypt's Sinai, East of the Mediterranean Sea, and South-West of Israel.
The long-standing ruler of the Gaza Strip is Hamas, which is recognized as a terrorist organization by most Western states and international governmental organizations. Under Hamas, Gaza has been in a state of conflict with Israel. Several other terrorist organizations reside in Gaza and take part in the hostilities, including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, ISIS offshoots and others.
Gaza is home to 1.5 million Palestinians, largely Sunni Muslim, some who identify as refugees or descendants of refugees from territory now belonging to Israel. Gaza has a very young population, but is very impoverished due to mismanagement, corruption, conflict, and the redirection of taxes and financial aid to warfare.
Due to the conflict between Gaza and Israel, the territory has been under blockade since 2007, though it shares one border and crossing, Rafah, with Egypt. A significant amount of smuggling occurs on this border, often through tunnels.
Gaza is surrounded by defensive structures created by the Israel Defense Forces to counter Gazan terrorist attacks. This includes a sensor fence that rings the perimeter, an underground barrier to prevent and detect tunneling, and a naval barrier to prevent naval frogman infiltration.
Rockets fired from Gaza have presented a major strategic challenge to Israel. Military infrastructure runs through Gaza's cities, including rocket infrastructure. Launch sites, munitions storage, command & control centers, bunkers and more can be found throughout Gaza, much of it underground. In the past, Hamas leaders have claimed that 500 kilometers of tunnel systems are laced throughout the Strip.
Gaza was part of the British Mandate after the territory was relinquished by the UK from the Ottoman Empire after World War I. After the Mandate dissolved, it was seized during Israel's War of Independence by Egypt, and ruled by the Egyptian puppet All-Palestine Government. During the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel captured the territory, and it was not returned along with other Egyptian holdings after the two made peace in the 1970s. 21 Israeli settlements were established within Gaza, but in 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Strip. In 2006, the Palestinians held legislative elections, but when Hamas won, there was a civil war, and Hamas seized full control of Gaza.
From the disengagement onwards, Hamas and other terrorist organizations increased terrorist attacks against Israelis, and several operations have been fought to quell Gazan attacks, including 2008's Cast Lead, 2011's Pillar of Defense, 2014's Protective Edge, and 2021's Guardian of the Walls.
Report: IDF building corridor in northern Gaza •IDF fighting continues in Gaza • Israel buys more Arrow air defense missiles.
The IDF said it had agreed to provide the families of the Nahal Oz observers killed on October 7 with the recordings taken from their last 24 hours on the outpost.
“Reduce your Facebook comments so you don’t have to visit us,” one of the dissidents was warned by the Hamas electronic crimes unit.
The three combat soldiers were at the entrance of a building when an explosion occurred, with several other soldiers wounded in the same incident.
The official named the presence of Israeli troops in the Philadelphi Corridor as an issue that was yet to be resolved in negotiations.
The fact that armed men seem to have taken over a health center and the UN didn’t do anything illustrates the ‘Gazafication’ of Jenin.
The military added that the terrorists had used the area to carry out terror activities against IDF troops and the State of Israel.
The poll also found that 61% of Israelis think the IDF should remain stationed near the Syrian border until the situation in Syria stabilizes.
Despite the reported sticking points, “the status of ongoing negotiations in Doha is excellent," Hamas sources said.
Although the report described the deprivation of water as an act of genocide, it noted that proving the crime of genocide against Israeli officials would also require establishing their intent.
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