GAZA STRIP (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – Geography)

Context: Recently, Israel launched airstrikes on Gaza targets in its ongoing conflict with Hamas, which was triggered by the October 7 attacks. 

• International concerns have escalated as the civilian death toll continues to rise on the third day of renewed hostilities following the end of a truce.

Gaza Strip

• About: It is also known as Gaza, is a Palestinian enclave situated on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
• Boundaries: It shares an 11-kilometer (6.8-mile) border with Egypt to the southwest and a 51-kilometer (32-mile) border with Israel to the east and north.

oBoth the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are territories claimed by the de jure sovereign State of Palestine.

oIsraeli territory separates the territories of Gaza and the West Bank from each other.

oInitially under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, the Gaza Strip has been governed by Hamas, a militant Palestinian fundamentalist Islamic organization, since the Battle of Gaza in June 2007, following their victory in the 2006 elections.

Israel

• About: Israel is located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea in West Asia.
• Boundaries: North by Lebanon, the northeast by Syria, the east by Jordan and the West Bank, and to the southwest by Egypt.