{ "Introduction": { "Background": { "text": "
The Gaza Strip has been under the de facto governing authority of the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) since 2007 and has faced years of conflict, poverty, and humanitarian crises. Inhabited since at least the 15th century B.C., the Gaza Strip area has been dominated by many different peoples and empires throughout its history; it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in the early 16th century. The Gaza Strip fell to British forces during World War I, becoming a part of the British Mandate of Palestine. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Egypt administered the newly formed Gaza Strip; Israel captured it in the Six-Day War in 1967. Under a series of agreements known as the Oslo Accords signed between 1993 and 1999, Israel transferred to the newly-created Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the Gaza Strip, as well as the West Bank.
In 2000, a violent intifada or uprising began in response to perceived Israeli provocations, and in 2001, negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip stalled. Subsequent attempts to re-start negotiations have not resulted in progress toward determining final status and resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel in 2005 unilaterally withdrew all of its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip, but it continues to control the Gaza Strip’s land borders, maritime territorial waters, cyberspace, telecommunications, and airspace. In 2006, HAMAS won a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council election. Fatah, the dominant Palestinian political faction in the West Bank, and HAMAS failed to maintain a unity government, leading to violent clashes between their respective supporters and HAMAS's violent seizure of all PA military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip in 2007. Since HAMAS's takeover, Israel and Egypt have enforced tight restrictions on movement and access of goods and individuals into and out of the territory. Fatah and HAMAS have since negotiated a series of agreements aimed at restoring political unity between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank but have struggled to enact them.
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip and the Israel Defense Forces periodically exchange projectiles and air strikes, respectively, threatening broader conflict. In 2021, HAMAS launched rockets into Israel, sparking an 11-day conflict that also involved other Gaza-based militant groups. Egypt, Qatar, and the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process negotiated ceasefires, averting a broader conflict. Since 2018, HAMAS has coordinated demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel security fence. HAMAS has also stood by while other militant groups, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad, fought brief conflicts with Israel, most recently in August 2022 and May 2023.note: effective 3 January 2009, the Gaza maritime area is closed to all maritime traffic and is under blockade imposed by Israeli Navy until further notice
" }, "Climate": { "text": "temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers" }, "Terrain": { "text": "flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain" }, "Elevation": { "highest point": { "text": "Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Awdah) 105 m" }, "lowest point": { "text": "Mediterranean Sea 0 m" } }, "Natural resources": { "text": "arable land, natural gas" }, "Irrigated land": { "text": "(2013) 151 sq km; note - includes the West Bank" }, "Population distribution": { "text": "population concentrated in major cities, particularly Gaza City in the north" }, "Natural hazards": { "text": "droughts" }, "Geography - note": { "text": "once a strategic strip of land along Mideast-North African trade routes that has experienced an incredibly turbulent history" } }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "total": { "text": "2,141,643" }, "male": { "text": "1,086,340" }, "female": { "text": "1,055,303 (2024 est.)" } }, "Nationality": { "noun": { "text": "NA" }, "adjective": { "text": "NA" } }, "Ethnic groups": { "text": "Palestinian Arab" }, "Languages": { "Languages": { "text": "Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by many Palestinians), English (widely understood)" }, "major-language sample(s)": { "text": "see entry for the West Bank
" } }, "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { "text": "100% (2022 est.)" }, "note": "note: includes the West Bank and the Gaza Strip" }, "Electricity": { "installed generating capacity": { "text": "352,000 kW (2022 est.)" }, "consumption": { "text": "6.746 billion kWh (2022 est.)" }, "imports": { "text": "6.7 billion kWh (2022 est.)" }, "transmission/distribution losses": { "text": "880.312 million kWh (2022 est.)" }, "note": "note: includes the West Bank and the Gaza Strip" }, "Electricity generation sources": { "fossil fuels": { "text": "77.5% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)" }, "solar": { "text": "22.4% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)" }, "note": "note: includes the West Bank and the Gaza Strip" }, "Coal": { "exports": { "text": "(2022 est.) less than 1 metric ton" }, "note": "note: includes the West Bank and the Gaza Strip" }, "Petroleum": { "refined petroleum consumption": { "text": "29,000 bbl/day (2022 est.)" }, "note": "note: includes the West Bank and the Gaza Strip" }, "Carbon dioxide emissions": { "total emissions": { "text": "3.942 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)" }, "from petroleum and other liquids": { "text": "3.942 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)" }, "note": "note: includes the West Bank and the Gaza Strip" }, "Energy consumption per capita": { "Total energy consumption per capita 2022": { "text": "15.201 million Btu/person (2022 est.)" }, "note": "note: includes the West Bank and the Gaza Strip" } }, "Communications": { "Telephones - fixed lines": { "total subscriptions": { "text": "384,000 (2023 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "7 (2023 est.)" }, "note": "note: entry includes the West Bank and the Gaza Strip" }, "Telephones - mobile cellular": { "total subscriptions": { "text": "4.15 million (2023 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "78 (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: entry includes the West Bank and the Gaza Strip" }, "Telecommunication systems": { "general assessment": { "text": "Israel, which controls Palestinian frequencies and telecom infrastructure, limits mobile internet speeds in the Palestinian territories to levels that are significantly lower than in Israel and Jewish West Bank settlements; the World Bank urged Israel to let Palestinian cellular companies set up more advanced networks, and to ease restrictions on the import of equipment needed to build and operate them; Israel is rolling out fifth generation technology for its citizens, while the West Bank operates on 3G and Gaza, 2G; Israeli mobile operators don’t officially service Palestinian areas, but many Palestinians use the faster Israeli networks with SIM cards; the Times of Israel reported in November that Israel tentatively agreed to let Palestinian operators launch 4G services
(2022)" }, "domestic": { "text": "fixed-line 9 per 100 and mobile-cellular 28 per 100 (includes West Bank) (2021)" }, "international": { "text": "country code 970 or 972 (2018)" } }, "Broadcast media": { "text": "1 TV station and about 10 radio stations; satellite TV accessible" }, "Internet country code": { "text": ".ps; note - IANA has designated .ps for the Gaza Strip, same as the West Bank" }, "Internet users": { "percent of population": { "text": "87% (2023 est.)" }, "note": "note: includes the West Bank" }, "Broadband - fixed subscriptions": { "total": { "text": "431,000 (2023 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "8 (2023 est.)" }, "note": "note: includes the West Bank" } }, "Transportation": { "Roadways": { "text": "note: see entry for the West Bank
" } }, "Military and Security": { "Military and security forces": { "text": "HAMAS maintains security forces inside Gaza in addition to its military wing, the 'Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades; the military wing ostensibly reports to the HAMAS Political Bureau but operates with considerable autonomy; there are several other militant groups operating in the Gaza Strip, most notably the Al-Quds Brigades of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which are usually but not always beholden to HAMAS's authority (2024)" }, "Military expenditures": { "text": "not available" }, "Military and security service personnel strengths": { "text": "prior to the start of the 2023-2025 conflict with Israel, the military wing of HAMAS was estimated to have 20-30,000 fighters (2024)" }, "Military equipment inventories and acquisitions": { "text": "the military wing is armed with light weapons, including an inventory of rocket, anti-tank, anti-aircraft, indirect fire (typically mortars), and armed UAV capabilities; HAMAS acquires its weapons through smuggling or local construction and receives significant military support from Iran (2024)" }, "Military - note": { "text": "since seizing control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, the terrorist group HAMAS has had repeated clashes with Israel, including armed conflicts in 2008-09, 2012, 2014, 2021, and 2023-24; the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist group also operates in the Gaza Strip and has cooperated with HAMAS (2024)" } }, "Terrorism": { "Terrorist group(s)": { "text": "Army of Islam; Abdallah Azzam Brigades; al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade; HAMAS; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham - Sinai Province (ISIS-SP); Mujahidin Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem; Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ); Palestine Liberation Front; Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP); PFLP-General Command", "note": "note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide" } }, "Transnational Issues": { "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { "text": "1.6 million (Palestinian refugees) (2022)" }, "IDPs": { "text": "1.7 million or approximately 75% of the population (as of 26 January 2024, since HAMAS's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023)