Inhabited since at least the 15th century B.C., Gaza has been dominated by many different peoples and empires throughout its history; it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in the early 16th century. Gaza 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; it was captured by Israel in the Six-Day War with Egypt in 1967, and later transferred to the Palestinian National Authority. Under a series of agreements signed between 1994 and 1999, Israel transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the Gaza Strip as well as the West Bank. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip stalled after the outbreak of an intifada in mid- 2000. In early 2003, the "Quartet" of the US, EU, UN, and Russia, presented a roadmap to a final peace settlement by 2005, calling for two states - Israel and a democratic Palestine. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004 and the subsequent election of Mahmud ABBAS (head of the Fatah political party) as the PA president, Israel and the PA agreed to move the peace process forward. Israel in late 2005 unilaterally withdrew all of its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip, but continues to control maritime, airspace, and other access. In early 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won the Palestinian Legislative Council election and took control of the PA government. Attempts to form a unity government failed, and violent clashes between Fatah and HAMAS supporters ensued, culminating in HAMAS's violent seizure of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. Fatah and HAMAS in early 2011 agreed to reunify the Gaza Strip and West Bank, but the factions have struggled to implement details on governance and security. Brief periods of increased violence between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip in 2007-08 and again in 2012, both led to Egyptian-brokered truces. The status quo remains with HAMAS in control of the Gaza Strip and the PA governing the West Bank.

Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel

slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC

see entry for Israel

temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers

flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain

arable land, natural gas

240 sq km; note - includes West Bank (2003)

desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation; depletion and contamination of underground water resources

strategic strip of land along Mideast-North African trade routes has experienced an incredibly turbulent history; the town of Gaza itself has been besieged countless times in its history

Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by many Palestinians), English (widely understood)

Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 99.3%, Christian 0.7%

1,763,387 (July 2013 est.)

33.27 births/1,000 population (2013 est.)

3.15 deaths/1,000 population (2013 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2013 est.)

64 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

4.41 children born/woman (2013 est.)

Israeli security controls imposed since the end of the second intifada have degraded economic conditions in the Gaza Strip, the smaller of the two areas comprising the Palestinian territories. Israeli-imposed border closures, which became more restrictive after HAMAS seized control of the territory in June 2007, have resulted in high unemployment, elevated poverty rates, and a sharp contraction of the private sector that had relied primarily on export markets. The population depends on government spending - by both the Palestinian Authority and HAMAS's de facto government - and humanitarian assistance. Changes to Israeli restrictions on imports in 2010 resulted in a rebound in some economic activity, but regular exports from Gaza still are not permitted. Standard-of-living measures remain below levels seen in the mid-1990s.

see entry for West Bank

$6.674 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$6.674 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$914.9 million (31 December 2012 est.)

$851.1 million (31 December 2011 est.)

olives, fruit, vegetables, flowers; beef, dairy products

textiles, food processing, furniture

see entry for West Bank

strawberries, carnations, vegetables (small and irregular shipments, as permitted to transit the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing)

see entry for West Bank

food, consumer goods

see entry for West Bank

new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar -

51,000 kWh (2011 est.)

193,000 kWh (2011 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2010 es)

337,000 (includes West Bank) (2010)

2.405 million (includes West Bank) (2010)

1 TV station and about 10 radio stations (2008)

.ps; note - same as West Bank

1.379 million (includes West Bank) (2009)

Hamas does not have a conventional military in the Gaza Strip, but maintains security forces in addition to its military wing, the 'Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades; the military wing reports to the external Hamas Political Bureau leadership, which has been in exile in Cairo and Doha since closing its Damascus headquarters in late 2011 (2013)

the current status of Gaza Strip is subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement with permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel removed settlers and military personnel from Gaza Strip in August 2005