History of Gaza

The History of Gaza spans 4,000 years during which it was ruled and populated by various dynasties, empires, and peoples. Originally a Canaanite settlement, it fell under the control of the Ancient Egyptians for roughly 350 years before being conquered by the Philistines, who made it one of the principal cities of their pentapolis in the 12th century BCE. Gaza fell under the domain of the Assyrian empire in 730 BCE, and subsequently, that of the Persian Sassanid Dynasty. Alexander the Great besieged the city for five months before finally capturing it in 332 BCE. Most of the inhabitants were killed during the assault, and the city, which became a center for Hellenistic learning and philosophy, was resettled by nearby Bedouin Arabs. The city was again besieged by the Hasmoneans in 96 BCE.

After its incorporation into the Roman Empire in 63 BCE, Gaza was rebuilt under the command of Pompey Magnus, and granted to Herod the Great thirty years later. Throughout the Roman period, Gaza maintained its prosperity, receiving grants from several different emperors. A 500-member senate governed the city, and a diverse array of Philistines, Greeks, Romans, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Jews, Egyptians, Persians and Arabs populated the city. Conversion to Christianity in the city was spearheaded and completed under Saint Porphyrius, who destroyed its eight pagan temples between 396 and 420 CE.


The Ottomans charged the Ridwan family with governance over the city in the early 16th century. In 1660, under Husayn Pasha, Gaza went through another "golden age" and was proclaimed the capital of Palestine. From the early 1800s, Gaza was culturally dominated by neighboring Egypt and Muhammad Ali of Egypt conquered it in 1832. His brief rule ended in 1840, after the Ottomans defeated his forces outside the city. In 1917, the forces of the Triple Entente captured the city after a third battle against the Ottoman forces there.

The 20th century began in Gaza with two destructive earthquakes in 1903 and 1914. The city also expanded in the first half of this century under the rule of the British Mandate in Palestine, and as part of the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan, Gaza was assigned to the Arab state. As a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, it was held and administered by Egypt, until the 1967 Six-Day War when it was occupied by Israel. Gaza was a center of political resistance in the First Intifada, and under the Oslo Accords of 1993, it was assigned to be under the direct control of the newly-established Palestinian National Authority. In 2007, Hamas emerged as the victor in Palestinian factional fighting with Fatah in the city and in the wider Gaza Strip and has since been the sole governing authority there. Israel has blockaded the Strip ever since and launched an assault in 2008-2009, which it characterized as a response to Qassam rocket attacks. The bombardment and ground assault left over 1,300 people dead in the territory, and destroyed over 4,000 buildings. (via Wikipedia)

Ancient history until mid-16th century (15th century BC-1517)

The first mention of the city of Gaza was in the 15th century BC. In the Hebrew Bible, after Samson was delivered into bondage by Delilah he died while toppling the Temple of the god Dagon there.


In the 13th century BC the area was taken over by the Philistines, whose coastal power base of Philistia approximated roughly to the modern Strip. The name Palestine is derived from "Philistia" and "Philistines," via the Greek and Latin languages. The Gaza area changed hands many times over the next 2,000 years. It fell, successively, to the Israelite King David (in 1000 BC), to the Assyrians (in 732 BC), Egyptians, Babylonians (in 586 BC), Persians (in 525 BC), and Greeks. Alexander the Great met stiff resistance there (in 332 BC). After conquering it, he sold its inhabitants into slavery. (via Wikipedia)

Ottoman and British control (1517-1948)

In 1517 Gaza fell to the Ottoman empire who ruled it from 1517-1799. Napoleon captured Gaza City in 1799. Starting in the early 1800s, Gaza was culturally dominated by neighboring Egypt. Muhammad Ali made Gaza a part of Egypt in 1832. Though Gaza was recaptured by the Ottoman Empire, a large number of its residents were Egyptians (and their descendants) who had fled political turmoil.

The region served as a battlefield during the First World War (1914-18), with the British and Ottomans fighting in the Sinai and Palestine. Gaza, which controlled the coastal route, was taken by the British in the Third Battle of Gaza on 7 November, 1917. The British government has financially supported the maintenance of a cemetery for fallen British soldiers from WWI.


Following World War I, Gaza became part of the British Mandate of Palestine under the authority of the League of Nations, which required Britain to implement the Balfour Declaration establishing in Palestine a "national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing should be done which might prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine". Jews were present in Gaza from antiquity until the 1929 Palestine riots, when Arabs forced the Jews to leave Gaza. After that the British prohibited Jews from living in the area, though some Jews returned and, in 1946, re-established kibbutz Kfar Darom in central Gaza which had been destroyed in the 1936-39 Arab revolt in Palestine.

British rule of Palestine ended with the expiration of the British Mandate and the Israeli Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948. (via Wikipedia)

Egyptian control (1948-67)

According to the terms of the 1947 United Nations partition plan, the Gaza area was to become part of a new Arab state. However, the Arabs rejected the UN plan. When, following the dissolution of the British mandate of Palestine and 1947-1948 Civil War in Palestine, Israel declared its independence in May 1948, the Egyptian army invaded the area from the south, triggering the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

The Gaza Strip as it is known today was the product of the subsequent 1949 Armistice Agreements between Egypt and Israel, often referred to as the Green Line. Egypt then occupied the Strip from 1949 (except for four months of Israeli occupation during the 1956 Suez Crisis) until 1967. The Strip's population was greatly augmented by an influx of Palestinian Arab refugees who fled from Israel during the fighting.


Towards the end of the war, the All-Palestine Government (Arabic: حكومة عموم فلسطين hukumat 'umum Filastin) was proclaimed in Gaza City on 22 September, 1948 by the Arab League. It was conceived partly as an Arab League attempt to limit the influence of Transjordan over the Palestinian issue. The government was not recognized by Transjordan or any non-Arab country. It was little more than a façade under Egyptian control, had negligible influence or funding, and subsequently moved to Cairo. Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip or Egypt were issued All-Palestine passports until 1959, when Gamal Abdul Nasser, President of Egypt, annulled the All-Palestine government by decree.

Egypt never annexed the Gaza Strip, but instead treated it as a controlled territory and administered it through a military governor. Arab refugees from the 1948 Arab–Israeli War were never offered Egyptian citizenship.

During the Sinai campaign of November 1956, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula were occupied by Israeli troops. International pressure led Israel to withdraw. (via Wikipedia)

Israeli control (1967-94)

Israel controlled the Gaza Strip again beginning in June 1967, after the Six-Day War. During the period of Israeli control, Israel created a settlement bloc, Gush Katif, in the southwest corner of the Strip near Rafah and the Egyptian border. In total Israel created 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip, comprising 20% of the total territory. Besides ideological reasons for being there, these settlements also served Israel's security concerns. The Gaza Strip remained under Israeli military occupation until 1994. During that period the military occupation was also responsible for the maintenance of civil facilities and services.

In March 1979 Israel and Egypt signed the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Among other things, the treaty provided for the withdrawal by Israel of its armed forces and civilians from the Sinai Peninsula, which Israel had captured during the Six-Day War. The final status of the Gaza Strip, and other relations between Israel and Palestinians, was not dealt with in the treaty. The treaty did settle the international border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. Egypt renounced all territorial claims to the region beyond the international border.


In May 1994, following the Palestinian-Israeli agreements known as the Oslo Accords, a phased transfer of governmental authority to the Palestinians took place. Much of the Strip (except for the settlement blocs and military areas) came under Palestinian control. The Israeli forces left Gaza City and other urban areas, leaving the new Palestinian Authority to administer and police the Strip. The Palestinian Authority, led by Yasser Arafat, chose Gaza City as its first provincial headquarters. In September 1995, Israel and the PLO signed a second peace agreement, extending the Palestinian Authority to most West Bank towns. The agreement also established an elected 88-member Palestinian National Council, which held its inaugural session in Gaza in March 1996.

The PA rule of the Gaza Strip and West Bank under leadership of Arafat suffered from serious mismanagement and corruption. Exorbitant bribes were demanded for allowing goods to pass in and out of the Gaza Strip, while heads of the Preventive Security Service apparatus profited from their involvement in the gravel import and cement and construction industries, such as the Great Arab Company for Investment and Development, the al-Motawaset Company, and the al-Sheik Zayid construction project.


The Second Intifada broke out in September 2000 with its waves of protest, civil unrest and bombings against Israeli military and civilians, many of them perpetrated by suicide bombers, and the beginning of rockets and bombings of Israeli border localities by Palestinian guerrillas from Gaza Strip, especially from Hamas and Jihad Islami movements. In February 2005, the Israeli government voted to implement a unilateral disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip. The plan began to be implemented on 15 August 2005, and was completed on 12 September 2005. Under the plan, all Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip (and four in the West Bank) and the joint Israeli-Palestinian Erez Industrial Zone were dismantled with the removal of all 9,000 Israeli settlers (most of them in the Gush Katif settlement area in the Strip's southwest) and military bases. On 12 September 2005 the Israeli cabinet formally declared an end to Israeli military rule in the Gaza Strip. To avoid any allegation that it was still in occupation of any part of the Gaza Strip, Israel also withdrew from the Philadelphi Route, which is a narrow strip adjacent to the Strip's border with Egypt, after Egypt's agreement to secure its side of the border. Under the Oslo Accords the Philadelphi Route was to remain under Israeli control to prevent the smuggling of materials (such as ammunition) and people across the border with Egypt. With Egypt agreeing to patrol its side of the border, it was hoped that the objective would be achieved. However, Israel maintained its control over the crossings in and out of Gaza. The Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza was monitored by the Israeli army through special surveillance cameras. Official documents such as passports, I.D. cards, export and import papers, and many others had to be approved by the Israeli army. (via Wikipedia)

Israel-Gaza Strip barrier


Between December 2000 and June 2001, the part of the barrier separating the Gaza Strip from Israel was reconstructed. Completely encircling the Gaza Strip, the barrier is made up of wire fencing with posts, sensors, high technology observation posts and buffer zones on lands bordering Israel, and concrete and steel walls on lands bordering Egypt. A concrete wall over eight metres high equipped with electronic sensors and underground concrete barriers to prevent tunnelling was constructed in 2005, adding to the already existent steel wall running the length of the border with Egypt. Israel established a 200-300 meter buffer zone known as the "Philadelphi Route" or Philadelphi corridor. There are three main crossing points in the barrier: the northern Erez Crossing into Israel, the southern Rafah Crossing into Egypt, and the eastern Karni Crossing used only for cargo. (via Wikipedia)

Dispute over occupation status

Under international law there are certain laws of war governing military occupation, including the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and the Fourth Geneva Convention. Israel states that Gaza is no longer occupied, inasmuch as Israel does not exercise effective control or authority over any land or institutions in the Gaza Strip. Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel Tzipi Livni stated in January, 2008: “Israel got out of Gaza. It dismantled its settlements there. No Israeli soldiers were left there after the disengagement.”


However, this has been disputed because Gaza does not belong to any sovereign state and because of Israel’s effective control of the borders of Gaza, including its long sea border. Immediately after Israel withdrew in 2005, Palestine Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas stated, "the legal status of the areas slated for evacuation has not changed." Soon after Palestinian American attorney Gregory Khalil said “Israel still controls every person, every good, literally every drop of water to enter or leave the Gaza Strip. Its troops may not be there … but it still restricts the ability for the Palestinian authority to exercise control.” Human Rights Watch also contested that this ended the occupation.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs maintains an office on “Occupied Palestinian Territory,” which concerns itself with the Gaza Strip. A July 2004 opinion of the International Court of Justice treated Gaza as part of the occupied territories. In his statement on the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict Richard Falk, United Nations Special Rapporteur on "the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories" wrote that international humanitarian law applied to Israel “in regard to the obligations of an Occupying Power and in the requirements of the laws of war." In a 2009 interview on Democracy Now Christopher Gunness, spokesperson for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) contends that Israel is an occupying power . However, Meagan Buren, Senior Adviser to the Israel Project, a Pro-Israel media group contests that characterization. (via Wikipedia)

Palestinian Authority control (1994-2007)

In accordance with the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority took over the administrative authority of the Gaza Strip (other than the settlement blocs and military areas) in 1994. After the complete Israeli withdrawal of Israeli settlers and military from the Gaza Strip on 12 September 2005, the Palestinian Authority had complete administrative authority in the Gaza Strip. Since the Israeli withdrawal the Rafah Border Crossing has been supervised by EU Border Assistance Mission Rafah under an Agreement finalized in November 2005.


Israel continues to assert control over activities that rely on transit through Israel, as well as air space over and sea access to ports in Gaza. Israel approves all immigration to and emigration from Gaza via Israel, as well as entry by foreigners via Israel, imports and exports via Israel, and collection and reimbursement of value-added tax in Israel. (via Wikipedia)

Violence in the wake of 2006 election

In the Palestinian parliamentary elections held on January 25, 2006, Hamas won a plurality of 42.9% of the total vote and 74 out of 132 total seats (56%). When Hamas assumed power the next month, the Israeli government and the key players of the international community, the United States and the EU refused to recognize its right to govern Palestine. Direct aid to the Palestinian government there was cut off, although some of that money was redirected to humanitarian organizations not affiliated with the government. The resulting political disorder and economic stagnation led to many Palestinians emigrating from the Gaza Strip.

In January 2007, fighting erupted between Hamas and Fatah. The deadliest clashes occurred in the northern Gaza Strip, where General Muhammed Gharib, a senior commander of the Fatah-dominated Preventative Security Force, died when a rocket hit his home. Gharib's two daughters and two bodyguards were also killed in the attack, which was carried out by Hamas gunmen.


At the end of January 2007, a truce was negotiated between Fatah and Hamas. However, after a few days, new fighting broke out. Fatah fighters stormed a Hamas-affiliated university in the Gaza Strip. Officers from Abbas' presidential guard battled Hamas gunmen guarding the Hamas-led Interior Ministry.

In May 2007, new fighting broke out between the factions. Interior Minister Hani Qawasmi, who had been considered a moderate civil servant acceptable to both factions, resigned due to what he termed harmful behavior by both sides.

Fighting spread in the Gaza Strip with both factions attacking vehicles and facilities of the other side. In response to constant attacks by rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, Israel launched an air strike which destroyed a building used by Hamas. Ongoing violence prompted fear that it could bring the end of the Fatah-Hamas coalition government, and possibly the end of the Palestinian authority.

Hamas spokeman Moussa Abu Marzouk placed the blame for the worsening situation in the Strip upon Israel, stating that the constant pressure of economic sanctions upon Gaza resulted in the "real explosion." Expressions of concerns were received from many Arab leaders, with many offering to try to help by doing some diplomatic work between the two factions. One journalist wrote an eyewitness account stating:

“Today I have seen people shot before my eyes, I heard the screams of terrified women and children in a burning building, and I argued with gunmen who wanted to take over my home. I have seen a lot in my years as a journalist in Gaza, but this is the worst it's been.” (via Wikipedia)

Hamas control (2007-present)

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 controlled the Gaza strip. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas responded by declaring a state of emergency, dissolving the unity government and forming a new government without Hamas participation. PNA security forces in the West Bank arrested a number of Hamas members.

Abbas's government won widespread international support. In late June 2008 Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia said that the West Bank-based Cabinet formed by Abbas was the sole legitimate Palestinian government, and Egypt moved its embassy from Gaza to the West Bank. The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip faces international, diplomatic, and economic isolation.


However, both Saudi Arabia and Egypt supported reconciliation and the forming of a new unity government, and pressed Abbas to start serious talks with Hamas. Abbas had always conditioned this on Hamas returning control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority. Hamas has been invited to and has visited a number of countries, including Russia, and in the EU countries, opposition parties and politicians called for a dialogue with Hamas and an end to the economic sanctions.

After the takeover, Israel and Egypt closed its border crossings with Gaza. Palestinian sources reported that European Union monitors fled the Rafah Border Crossing, on the Gaza-Israel border for fear of being kidnapped or harmed. Arab foreign ministers and Palestinian officials presented a united front against control of the border by Hamas.

Meanwhile, 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. (via Wikipedia)

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