5 things to know about the Gaza Strip

1. Early History

After rule by the Ottoman Empire ended there in World War I, the Gaza area became part of the League of Nations mandate of Palestine under British rule. In Nov. 1947, the United Nations 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 Arab-Israeli War began. In the war, Israel seized more than three-quarters of the total Palestinian territory. More than half the Palestinian Arab population was expelled or fled as refugees to the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and neighboring countries. From 1948-1967, Gaza was under the control of Egypt. Israel subsequently gained control of and occupied the Gaza Strip and the West Bank following its victory in the 1967 Six-Day War against Arab neighbors Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.

2. Recent History

Following the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel occupied Gaza for the next quarter century. December 1987 marked the start of the “Intifada,” a Palestinian uprising that featured frequent clashes with the occupying Israeli troops. In 1994 Israel began a phased transfer of governmental authority in Gaza to the Palestinian Authority (PA). Led by Yassar Arafat, the Palestinian government struggled with a poor economy, divided popular support, and stalled negotiations with Israel over further troop withdrawals. Beginning in late 2000, a breakdown in negotiations between the PA and Israel was followed by a further, more extreme outbreak of violence. To help end the fighting, Israel announced a plan that centered on withdrawing Israeli soldiers and settlers from the Gaza Strip, a process that was completed in 2005. In 2006 elections, the ruling Fatah party lost control to Hamas and Israel declared the Gaza Strip a hostile entity.

3. Political Classification

 As of June 2024, more than 75% of U.N. member nations recognized the State of Palestine, which includes the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as a sovereign nation. The United States, in part because of its strong alliance with Israel, does not recognize Palestine’s sovereignty. Palestine has been a nonmember observer state of the United Nations General Assembly since 2012. Full U.N. recognition has been blocked by the United States, as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.

4. In the view of the U.S. State Department

“The United States is strongly committed to the development of a secure, free, democratic, and stable Palestinian society and governance. The U.S. government remains committed to a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and believes that Israelis and Palestinians alike deserve equal measures of freedom, security and prosperity. The United States will continue to work with the Palestinian people — including civil society — to advance these objectives.”

5. Fast Facts

1. The area is 140 square miles.
2. The population (2017) — 1,899,291; (2025 est.) 2,351,000.
3. The population density (2025) is 16,792 people per square mile.
4. Even before the way, living conditions in the Gaza Strip were typically poor, due to the region’s very dense and rapidly growing population, inadequate water, sewage, and electrical services, and high rates of unemployment.
5. Agriculture is the economic mainstay of the employed population, and nearly three-fourths of the land area is under cultivation. The chief crop, citrus fruit, is raised on irrigated lands and is exported to Europe and other markets under arrangement with Israel.