Rama Krishna Sangem
The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is an ancient and historical city with access to sea trade and rich oasis lands. By taking control of this vital part of Palestine, both Israel and the US want to achieve two objectives: One to wipe out Hamas, a militant outfit that fights for Palestinian sovereignty, Two to establish their own rule, thus gaining control of vast natural resources and an important trade hub. After creating a buffer zone in Gaza, Palestine will become harmless to Israel.
Gaza means strong city in Hebrew and powerful in Arabic languages. This stripe is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Inhabited mostly by Palestinian refugees and their descendants, Gaza is one of the most densely populated territories in the world.
An end of 2024 estimate puts the population of the Strip at 2.1 million, which was a 6% decline from the previous year due to the Gaza war. Gaza is bordered by Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the east and north. Its capital and largest city is Gaza City. Estimates say, at least 65,000 people of Gaza died in the current war with Israel since October 2023. Another 2 lakh people fled the area to safer places.
The territorial boundaries were established while Gaza was controlled by the Kingdom of Egypt at the conclusion of the 1948 Arab–Israeli war. During that period the All-Palestine Protectorate, also known as All-Palestine, was established with limited recognition and it became a refuge for Palestinians who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestine war.
Israel occupied it in 1948
During the Six-Day War, Israel captured and occupied the Gaza Strip, initiating its decades-long military occupation of the Palestinian territories The mid-1990s Oslo Accords established the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a limited governing authority, initially led by the secular party Fatah until that party’s electoral defeat in 2006 to the Sunni Islamic Hamas. Hamas would then take over the governance of Gaza in the Battle of Gaza the next year,subsequently warring with Israel.
The Gaza Strip is 41 km long, from 6 to 12 km wide, and has a total area of 365 km. As of 2010, the Strip’s population mostly comprised Palestinians and refugees. It has a high proportion of youth, with 43.5% being children 14 or younger and 50% under age of Sunni Islam is almost ubiquitous, with a Palestinian Christian minority.
Gaza has an annual population growth rate of 1.99% (2023 est.), the 39th-highest in the world. Gaza’s unemployment rate is among the highest in the world, with an overall unemployment rate of 46% and a youth unemployment rate of 70%. Despite this, the area’s 97% literacy rate is higher than that of nearby Egypt, while youth literacy is 88%.. Gaza has throughout the years been seen as a source of Palestinian nationalism and resistance
