Gaza+Strip

12/31/08    The Gaza Strip is governed by Hamas. The territory takes its name from Gaza, its main city. The area is not recognized internationally as part of any sovereign country but is claimed by the Palestinian National Authority as part of the Palestinian territories. Israel, which governed the Gaza Strip from 1967-2005, still controls the strip's airspace , territorial waters , and offshore maritime access, as well as its side of the Gaza-Israeli border. This allowed the Israeli state to control the Gazan inflow and outflow of multiple types of resources, including food. Often, Gazans have to take in food supplied by World Food Programme. Egypt governed the Gaza Strip from 1948-1967 and today runs the southern border between the Gaza strip and the Sinai desert, a border now famous for the breach in early 2008 when a bomb destroyed the barrier near the Rafah Border Crossing and as many as half the 1.5 million population of the Gaza Strip crossed the border into Egypt seeking food and supplies. ** Hamas take-over of the Strip  ** In June 2007, the Palestinian Civil War between Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) and Fatah (Palestine Liberation Movement) intensified. Hamas routed Fatah after winning the democratic election, and by 14 June 2007, the Gaza Strip was completely overrun by Hamas, which effectively controlled the Gaza Strip and proclaimed itself to be the legitimate government of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas responded by declaring a state of emergency, dissolving the unity government and forming a new government without Hamas participation. Israeli and Egyptian security reports claimed that Hamas continued smuggling in large quantities of explosives and arms from Egypt through tunnels. Egyptian security forces uncovered 60 tunnels in 2007. In February 2008, Israeli-Palestinian fighting intensified with rockets launched at Israeli cities and Israel attacking Palestinian militants. An increase in rocket attacks led to a heavy Israeli military action on 1 March 2008, resulting in over 100 Palestinians being killed according to BBC News, as well as two Israeli soldiers Claiming specific intelligence reports, on 4 November 2008, Israel invaded the southern part of Gaza near the Rafah refugee camp, killing six people and seizing six others. It is believed that many of the tunnels that serve to import weapons into Gaza were destroyed. Hamas responded by recommencing the firing of home-made rockets. On 14 November 2008, Gaza was blockaded by Israel in response to the retaliatory rocket and mortar attacks by Hamas and other militant groups operating inside Gaza, however food, power and water can still enter from Egypt if the Egyptian authorities allow it. After a 24-hour period in which not a single Qassam rocket or mortar was fired into Israel, on 24 November 2008 the IDF facilitated the transfer of over 30 truckloads of food, basic supplies and medicine into the Gaza Strip, and it also transferred fuel to the main power plant of the area. On 25 November 2008 Israel closed its cargo crossing with Gaza due to two rockets being shot at Israel. ** Current situation  ** On 27 December 2008, Israeli F-16 strike fighters launched a series of air strikes against key targets in the Gaza Strip. Israeli authorities stated that the attack was a response to Qassam rocket attacks on southern Israel, which totalled over 3000 rocket attacks in 2008 and which intensified during the few weeks preceding the operation. Medical staff and Hamas officials said at least 364 people were killed and at least 1650 wounded when missiles hit security compounds and militant bases across Gaza. The strikes, the most intense Israeli attacks on Gaza in recent times, come after the expiration of a truce with Hamas, and in response to an upsurge of Qassam bombings that followed. In a statement, Israel's military said it targeted "Hamas terror operatives" as well as training camps and weaponry storage warehouses. In the West Bank, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas - whose Fatah faction was ousted from Gaza by Hamas in 2007 - condemned the attacks and called for restraint. But Hamas quickly vowed to carry out revenge attacks on Israel in response to the air strikes, firing Qassam rockets into Israeli territory as an immediate reply.
 * Gaza Strip Factsheet **
 * Conflict in 2008 **