The Gaza Strip...a coastal strip that disturbs Israel
A sector in the form of a narrow strip, occupying the southern region of the Palestinian coast on the Mediterranean Sea, and constituting about 1.33% of the area of historical Palestine . It is distinguished by its strategic location and its modern history, which includes the British Mandate, then the Egyptian administration, then the Israeli occupation, then withdrawal from it and besieging it since 2007. Aggressive wars against him.
Location
The Gaza Strip is located southwest of Palestine in the form of a narrow strip in the southern region of the coast of historic Palestine on the Mediterranean Sea. It gained its name from its largest city, Gaza City, which is the second largest Palestinian city after Jerusalem .
The strip extends over an area of 360 square kilometers, is 41 kilometers long, and ranges in width from 6 to 12 kilometers. It is bordered by Israel to the north and east, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and Egypt to the southwest.
Farmers working on their land in the town of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip, near the border fence
A farmer working on his land in the town of Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, near the border fence (Al Jazeera)
Population
Based on estimates prepared by the General Administration of Civil Status at the Ministry of Interior in Gaza, the population in the Strip will be two million and 375 thousand and 259 people by the end of 2022.
According to the same census, the number of males reached 1,204,986 people, or 50.7%, while the number of females reached 1,170,273 people, or 49.3%.
The Gaza Governorate has the largest population, with a total of 893,932 people, followed by the Khan Yunis Governorate in the south of the Gaza Strip, with a total of 463,744 people. In third place is the North Gaza Governorate, with a total of 388,977 people, then the Central Governorate is in fourth place with a total of 331,945 people. Rafah Governorate ranks fifth, with a population of 296,661 people, and most of the Gaza Strip’s residents are refugees from 1948.
There are 44 population centers in Gaza, including: Gaza, Rafah, Khan Yunis, Bani Suhaila, Khuza’a, Abasan al-Kabira, Abasan al-Jadidah, Deir al-Balah, Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia.
The Gaza Strip is considered one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with the density rate reaching, according to recent figures, 26,000 residents per square kilometre, while in the camps the population density rises to approximately 55,000 residents per square kilometre.
Economy
The Gaza Strip has been subject to a stifling siege imposed by Israel since the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) took control of it in the summer of 2007. It includes preventing or rationing the entry of fuel, building materials and many basic goods, and prohibiting fishing in the depths of the sea.
The residents of the besieged sector live with the minimum basic services, and suffer from several humanitarian crises, especially with the high rate of unemployment, poverty, lack of job opportunities, and deteriorating economic conditions. The restrictions and siege have led to a major disruption that included the agricultural sector, the fishing sector, and industrial sectors, most notably clothing and textiles.
The long, stifling siege resulted in the failure of most factories and an increase in the unemployment rate to exceed 70%, becoming the highest unemployment rate in the world, in addition to a severe shortage of medicines and all medical materials. The construction movement was also completely disrupted, which increased the crisis of homeowners that were destroyed in the war on Gaza. .
The Israeli blockade included severe restrictions on the movement of goods through the Kerem Shalom crossing, and on people and businessmen through the Beit Hanoun crossing, which led to the Gaza Strip’s economy entering a state of recession, exacerbated by the repeated halting of exports or imports from time to time, in addition to the destruction of dozens of factories during military operations. launched by Israel in the Gaza Strip.
History
The Gaza Strip was under the authority of the British Mandate over Palestine until 1948, the date of the declaration of the establishment of Israel , then it was subject to Egyptian military rule between 1948 and 1956, before the Israeli army occupied it for five months during the tripartite aggression against Egypt in 1956, and in March 1957 it withdrew and returned. The sector returned to Egyptian rule.
In the 1967 war, the Israeli army again occupied the Strip along with the Sinai Peninsula , and remained under occupation until September 2005, the date of the Israeli withdrawal, which included the evacuation of the settlements that were located on Gaza land.
The Gaza Strip had become subject to self-rule under the Oslo Accords signed by the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel in 1993, and Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip on June 14, 2007 as part of the internal Palestinian conflict.
Since 2008, Israel has launched a series of wars on the Gaza Strip under various pretexts. These wars left thousands of martyrs, wounded and widespread destruction, and each time the Palestinian factions responded by striking various Israeli targets.
On December 27, 2008, Israel began a war on the Gaza Strip, which it called “Operation Cast Lead,” and the Palestinian resistance in the Strip responded with an operation it called “The Battle of Al-Furqan.”
In 2012, Israel launched a war called “Pillar of Defense,” and the Palestinian resistance responded with the Battle of “Shale Stones.” This war began on November 14, 2012 and lasted 8 days.
On July 7, 2014, Israel launched an operation called “Protective Edge,” and the resistance responded with the “Devouring Storm” battle. The confrontation continued for 51 days, during which the occupation army launched more than 60,000 raids on the Gaza Strip.
On the morning of November 12, 2019, the people of Gaza woke up to the sound of an explosion with a missile launched from an Israeli drone that targeted the commander of the northern region of the Al-Quds Brigades, the military arm of the Islamic Jihad movement in Gaza, Bahaa Abu Al-Atta, in his residential apartment in the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, which led to his martyrdom. He and his wife.
The Battle of the “Sword of Jerusalem” - which Israel called “the Guardian of the Walls” - broke out after settlers seized the homes of Jerusalemites in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, as well as because Israeli forces stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque.
On Friday, August 5, 2022, Israel assassinated the commander of the northern region of the Al-Quds Brigades, the military arm of the Islamic Jihad movement in Gaza, targeting him with a drone inside a residential apartment in the “Palestine Tower” in the Al-Rimal neighborhood.
Notables
Many struggle figures descend from the Gaza Strip who played a major role in resisting the Israeli occupation. Among the most famous of these figures is Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, founder of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). He is one of the most important symbols of Palestinian national action in the last century. The Israeli occupation assassinated him with a missile attack at dawn. March 22, 2004.
Dr. Abdel Aziz Al-Rantisi , a Palestinian politician and one of the founders of Hamas, also hails from the Gaza Strip. He was the leader of the movement in the Gaza Strip before he was assassinated by an Israeli missile that targeted his car on April 17, 2004.
Among the most famous leaders of the Islamic Jihad movement in the Gaza Strip are Ramadan Shallah, secretary and leader of the movement, Salah Abu Hassanein, who was assassinated in an Israeli raid on Rafah in July 2014, and Khader Habib, in addition to other political, scientific and cultural figures.
Source : Al Jazeera + Websites
