Held by the Ottoman Empire until 1917, the area was then transferred from British and Egyptian military rule to Israel and is now home to over 2 million Palestinians. Here are some of the key milestones in the area’s 75-year history:
Smoke rises from Gaza's port area. Photo: Reuters
1948: End of British rule
As British colonial rule in Palestine ended in the late 1940s, violence increased between Jews and Arabs, culminating in war between the newly established State of Israel and its Arab neighbors in May 1948.
The Egyptian army captured this narrow 40-kilometer strip of coastline, which runs from Sinai south to Ashkelon. Tens of thousands of Palestinians then sought refuge in Gaza. The influx of refugees tripled Gaza's population to about 200,000.
1950-1960: Military rule in Egypt
Egypt held the Gaza Strip for two decades, allowing Palestinians to work and study in Egypt. During this time, armed Palestinians launched attacks on Israel.
The United Nations then established a refugee agency called UNRWA, which now provides services to 1.6 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, as well as to Palestinians in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank.
1967: War and Israeli military occupation
Israel captured the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war. The Israeli census of that year showed a population of 394,000 in Gaza, with at least 60% of them being refugees.
As the Egyptians left, many workers in Gaza began working in agriculture, construction, and services inside Israel. The Israeli military continued to administer the territory and protect the settlements that Israel built in the following decades, a source of growing resentment among Palestinians.
1987: The First Palestinian Uprising
Twenty years after the 1967 war, Palestinians launched their first intifada. It began in December 1987 after a traffic accident in which an Israeli truck hit a vehicle carrying Palestinian workers in the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza, killing four people. It was followed by stone-throwing protests, strikes and shutdowns.
The Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood has capitalized on popular anger to form a Palestinian militant wing, Hamas, with its power base in Gaza. Hamas advocates attacks on Israel and the restoration of Islamic rule.
1993: Oslo Accords and Palestinian semi-autonomy
Israel and the Palestinians signed a historic peace agreement in 1993 that led to the establishment of the Palestinian Authority. Under the interim agreement, the Palestinians were first given limited control over Gaza and Jericho in the West Bank.
The Oslo Accords gave the newly formed Palestinian Authority some autonomy and were expected to achieve statehood in five years. But that never happened. Israel accused the Palestinians of reneging on security agreements, and Palestinians were angry at Israel's continued settlement building.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad have carried out bombings in an attempt to derail the peace process, prompting Israel to impose more restrictions on Palestinian movement out of Gaza.
2000: Second Palestinian uprising
In 2000, Israeli-Palestinian relations hit a new low after the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada, which ushered in a period of Palestinian suicide bombings and gun attacks, as well as Israeli airstrikes, demolitions, and strict control of the area.
Gaza International Airport, a symbol of Palestinian hopes for economic independence that opened in 1998, was viewed by Israel as a security threat and destroyed its radar antenna and runways months after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Another casualty has been Gaza's fishing industry, which supports tens of thousands of people. Gaza's fishing zone has been restricted by Israel, a restriction it says is necessary to stop ships smuggling weapons.
2005: Israel evacuates Gaza settlements
In August 2005, Israel evacuated all troops and settlers from Gaza, which was completely fenced off from the outside world by Israel at that time.
Palestinians demolished abandoned buildings and infrastructure for scrap. The dismantling of settlements led to greater freedom of movement within Gaza and a booming “tunnel economy.” Armed groups, smugglers, and many businessmen quickly dug numerous tunnels into Egypt to smuggle goods into Gaza.
2006: Isolated under Hamas
In 2006, Hamas won a surprise victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections and subsequently took full control of Gaza. Much of the international community cut off aid to Palestinians in Hamas-controlled areas because they considered Hamas a terrorist organization.
Israel has blocked tens of thousands of Palestinian workers from entering the country, cutting off a vital source of income. Israeli airstrikes have crippled Gaza's only power plant, causing widespread blackouts. Citing security concerns, Israel and Egypt have also imposed tighter restrictions on the movement of people and goods through Gaza's border crossings.
Hamas had plans to refocus Gaza’s economy toward the Egyptian border, away from Israel. However, seeing Hamas as a threat, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who was elected Egyptian president in 2014, closed the border with Gaza and blew up most of the tunnels. Once again, Gaza’s economy was isolated.
Cycle of conflict
Gaza's economy has been hit by a cycle of conflict, attacks and reprisals between Israel and Palestinian militant groups.
Some of the worst fighting before 2023 occurred in 2014, when Hamas and other militant groups launched rockets into major cities in Israel. Israel launched airstrikes and shelling that devastated residential areas in Gaza. More than 2,100 Palestinians were killed. Israel suffered 73 deaths.
2023: Surprise Attack
While Israel believes it is effectively containing Hamas, the group's fighters are being trained in secret.
On October 7, Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, destroying towns, shooting hundreds of people and taking dozens of hostages. Israel retaliated, hitting Gaza with airstrikes in the worst conflict in 75 years, with some 2,000 people killed on both sides.
Quoc Thien (according to Reuters)
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