The Gaza Strip is a Palestinian territory of about 365 square kilometers and 2.1 million inhabitants, making it one of the world’s most densely populated regions. The narrow area of land is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Gaza has a southern border crossing with Egypt, and the border separating Gaza and Israel is guarded by a perimeter fence.
As of 2005, the Israeli government removed all its settlements within the Gaza Strip under their unilateral disengagement plan. The following year, Hamas won legislative elections held in the Palestinian territories. After an internal conflict of power within the Palestinian political groups, Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007, while The West Bank was lead by Fatah.
From 2008 onwards, in response to rocket attacks from Palestinian militants, Israel began its blockade of Gaza, causing the movements of
goods and
people from and into the Gaza Strip to be very restricted ever since.
The population of Gaza
The Gaza Strip has quite a young population, with most inhabitants under 15 years old. Children between five and nine were the
largest population group, totaling just over 279,047. While declining over the years, the
fertility rate in Gaza is still relatively high. It was reported at 6.2 children per woman in the early 2000s and has fallen to 3.38 children per woman in 2023.
The life expectancy of Gazans was estimated at 72.97 years for men and 76.81 years for women.
The Israel-Hamas war 2023
Before October 2023, there had been
four wars between Israel and Hamas. The current conflict is already the deadliest, and the death toll is certain to rise. The new escalation of violence in the Middle East started after the militant Palestinian group
Hamas attacked Israel in the early hours of October 7, 2023. An estimated 2,200 rockets were fired by Hamas from Gaza toward Israeli targets, hitting civilian buildings and military facilities. Hamas fighters entered the Israeli territory, killing around 1,200 of Israeli citizens. In the weeks that followed, the Israeli military conducted an aerial bombardment and launched a ground offensive in Gaza. Humanitarian pauses allowed aid to get into Gaza, but fighting has continued since a weeklong cease-fire ended on December 1, 2023.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza
Even before the current military escalation between Israel and Hamas, the humanitarian situation of Palestinians in Gaza was dire, with many people struggling to afford food and shelter.
The electricity supply, which Israel mainly controls, was already limited throughout the day, and Israel and Egypt controlled the import of goods into Gaza. On October 13, 2023, the Israeli military ordered residents in northern Gaza to evacuate south. Since November 19, an estimated 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza – over 82 percent of the region’s total population – have become internally displaced refugees. Further waves of displacement are likely. Explosions at hospitals, a lack of medical supplies, and restricted access to healthcare are worsening the humanitarian situation for Palestinians in Gaza.
Information on the data situation
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs collects data on the number of fatalities and injuries. The respective data sources were named for the purpose of transparency. It must be stated that objective data collection is almost impossible during wars and other conflicts, and reports are based on estimates. At the same time, it needs to be noted that some parties to the conflict may use numbers and data selectively for their own agenda.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no
liability for the information given being complete or correct.
Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date
data than referenced in the text.
