# Gaza Strip ## Executive Profile (BLUF) The **Gaza Strip** is a 365 km² Palestinian coastal territory bordered by [[Israel]] (north, east), [[Egypt]] (south via the Rafah crossing and Philadelphi corridor), and the Mediterranean Sea (west). Pre-war population was approximately 2.3 million Palestinians, making it one of the most densely populated territories in the world. Captured by Israel from Egypt in the 1967 [[Six-Day War]] and formally evacuated of Israeli settlers in the 2005 Israeli disengagement, Gaza has since 2007 been under [[Hamas]] governance (following the Hamas-Fatah split) and under an Israeli-Egyptian land, air, and sea blockade. The territory is the principal theatre of the 2023–present [[Gaza War|Israeli military operation]] following the [[Hamas]] October 7, 2023 attack — the most destructive conflict in Gaza's modern history. As of early 2026, UNOSAT SAR-based damage assessments indicate destruction of approximately 60% of the territory's pre-war building stock and displacement of virtually the entire civilian population. ## Strategic Context * **Legal Status**: Occupied territory under IHL; Israel maintains it retains "effective control" obligations per multiple rulings, though it does not operate a civil administration as in [[West Bank]] Area C. * **Governance (pre-Oct 2023)**: [[Hamas]] — ruling political-administrative authority since 2007; [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad]] — secondary armed faction. * **Humanitarian Dimension**: Subject of vault's flagship IHL analysis [[09 Repository/Investigative Reports/Starvation as a Weapon - Israeli weaponization of famine in Gaza]] and [[09 Repository/Investigative Reports/Gaza Double Tap Tactic Analysis]]. IPC famine classification (Phase 5 catastrophe) in multiple districts since 2024. * **Legal Proceedings**: Subject of [[International Court of Justice]] case *South Africa v. Israel* (genocide convention proceedings, provisional measures 2024); [[International Criminal Court]] arrest warrants against [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] and [[Yoav Gallant]] (20 May 2024, issued Nov 2024). * **Border architecture**: Rafah crossing (Egypt) and Kerem Shalom crossing (Israel) — principal humanitarian access points. Philadelphi corridor control contested. ## Key Connections - [[Israel]] — principal kinetic and siege actor - [[Hamas]] — governing authority and primary armed adversary - [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad]] — secondary armed faction - [[Egypt]] — southern border state; Rafah crossing and Sinai-buffer security role - [[04 Current Crises/Active Conflicts/Gaza War]] — principal active conflict theatre - [[Israel Defense Forces]] — kinetic actor - [[02 Concepts & Tactics/Dahiya Doctrine]] — governing Israeli operational framework - [[09 Repository/Investigative Reports/Gaza Double Tap Tactic Analysis]] — tactical analysis - [[09 Repository/Investigative Reports/Starvation as a Weapon - Israeli weaponization of famine in Gaza]] — humanitarian analysis - [[International Court of Justice]] — genocide proceedings - [[International Criminal Court]] — arrest warrants - [[Fourth Geneva Convention]] — governing IHL framework - [[West Bank]] — paired Palestinian territory - [[Palestinian Authority]] — nominal political counterpart (not in control of Gaza since 2007)