Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The Gaza Strip is currently still being intensively bombarded by Israel, as part of revenge for the attack by the Hamas armed group on October 7.
As a result, as many as 2.3 million residents of the Palestinian enclave were forced to experience collective punishment which resulted in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
Quote Al JazeeraGaza is currently on the brink of a humanitarian crisis, with hospitals overwhelmed by the loss of life during a complete blockade after Israel intensified its 16-year siege of the territory.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed as Israel vows to avenge the deaths of at least 1,200 of its citizens in attacks carried out by Hamas.
The World’s Largest ‘Open Prison’
With 2.3 million people living in an area of 365 square km (141 square miles), the Gaza Strip is considered one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Its population density of 5,500 people per square kilometer (14,245 per square mile) contrasts sharply with Israel’s population density of about 400 people per square kilometer (1,035 per square mile).
The majority of Gaza’s population is young, with 65% under the age of 24 and the average age for men and women is 18 years.
Sixteen years of land, air and sea blockade imposed by Israel have crippled the country’s economy and restricted the movement of its citizens in and out of the region.
Gazans need special permits to cross into Israel and Egypt. This is usually for urgent medical care but is very difficult to obtain.
This enclave is also one of the countries with the highest unemployment rate in the world, namely 45%. Access to education and medical care is also reduced after years of Israeli airstrikes on schools and hospitals.
Palestinians and activists call it the world’s largest “open prison” due to the Israeli blockade.
Muslims make up the majority of the population, and there is a minority Christian community in Gaza.
More than 60% of Gaza’s population are refugees from what is now Israel. More than 750,000 Palestinians were ethnically driven from their homes by Israeli militias in 1948 when Israel declared its independence.
Ruler of the Gaza Strip
Gaza is viewed as an occupied territory because Israel has full control over its borders, airspace and territorial waters despite having officially withdrawn its troops and settlers from the territory in 2005.
Israel captured the region along with other Palestinian territories, namely East Jerusalem and the West Bank (West Bank) in the 1967 War.
The current boundaries of the Gaza Strip were determined based on the Egyptian-Israeli armistice agreement on February 24, 1949. Until 1967, Gaza was under Egyptian control.
In 2006, Hamas won elections against the Fatah party, which runs the Palestinian Authority (PA). The group took over Gaza after months of fighting against Fatah in 2007. The PA, which signed the 1993 Oslo Accords with Israel, rules the West Bank.
Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups based in Gaza have carried out attacks against Israel before, triggering bloody Israeli attacks in the region.
Since 2005, Israel has carried out at least six major military attacks on Gaza and 2014 was the most brutal. More than 2,000 Palestinians were killed in seven weeks of Israeli attacks.
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