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Undated:  The Gaza Strip or simply Gaza, is a self-governing Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea that borders Egypt on the southwest for 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) and Israel on the east and north along a 51 km (32 mile) border. Gaza and the West Bank are claimed by the State of Palestine.

The territories of Gaza and the West Bank are separated from each other by Israeli territory. Both fell under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority,^[12] but Gaza has since June 2007 been governed by Hamas, a Palestinian Islamic organization^[13] which came to power in free elections in 2006. It has been placed under an Israeli and U.S.-led international economic and political boycott from that time onwards.^[14]

The territory is 41 kilometers (25 mi) long, and from 6 to 12 kilometers (3.7 to 7.5 mi) wide, with a total area of 365 square kilometers (141 sq mi).^[15][16] With around 1.85 million Palestinians^[3] on some 362 square kilometers, Gaza ranks as the 3rd most densely populated polity in the world.^[17][18] An extensive Israeli buffer zone within the Strip renders much land off-limits to Gaza's Palestinians.^[19] Gaza has an annual population growth rate of 2.91% (2014 est.), the 13th highest in the world, and is often referred to as overcrowded.^[16][20] The population is expected to increase to 2.1 million in 2020. By that time, Gaza may be rendered unliveable, if present trends continue.^[21] Due to the Israeli and Egyptian border closures and the Israeli sea and air blockade, the population is not free to leave or enter the Gaza Strip, nor allowed to freely import or export goods. Sunni Muslims make up the predominant part of the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.

Despite the 2005 Israeli disengagement from Gaza,^[22] the United Nations, international human rights organisations, and the majority of governments and legal commentators consider the territory to be still occupied by Israel, supported by additional restrictions placed on Gaza by Egypt. Israel maintains direct external control over Gaza and indirect control over life within Gaza: it controls Gaza's air and maritime space, and six of Gaza's seven land crossings. It reserves the right to enter Gaza at will with its military and maintains a no-go buffer zone within the Gaza territory. Gaza is dependent on Israel for its water, electricity, telecommunications, and other utilities.^[22] The system of control imposed by Israel is described as an "indirect occupation".^[23] Some other legal scholars have disputed the idea that Israel still occupies Gaza. In addition, the extent of self-rule exercised in the Gaza Strip has led some to describe the territory as a de facto independent state.

When Hamas won a majority in the 2006 Palestinian legislative election, the opposing political party Fatah refused to join the proposed coalition, until a short-lived unity government agreement was brokered by Saudi Arabia. When this collapsed under joint Israeli and United States pressure, the Palestinian Authority instituted a non-Hamas government in the West Bank while Hamas formed a government on its own in Gaza.^[24] Further economic sanctions were imposed by Israel and the European Quartet against Hamas. A brief civil war between the two groups had broken out in Gaza when, apparently under a U.S.-backed plan, Fatah contested Hamas's administration. Hamas emerged the victor and expelled Fatah-allied officials and members of the PA's security apparatus from the Strip,^[25][26] and has remained the sole governing power in Gaza since that date.^[24]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip
-- 2017 --
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May 19: As Trump Alights in Israel, Palestinians are Descending into Darkness

President Trump plans a 22-23 May visit to Israel and Palestine in pursuit of the “ultimate deal”. But behind the scenes, rising tensions between Palestinian factions may be drawing Gaza and Israel closer to a new war.
https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/eastern-mediterranean/israelpalestine/trump-alights-israel-palestinians-are-descending-darkness
-- 2018 --
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May 15: Trump, Gaza, and the “blank check” approach to Israel

Trump is transforming America’s Israel policy into something new: completely unconditional support.
https://www.vox.com/world/2018/5/15/17355628/gaza-embassy-jerusalem-trump-policy

August 24: Trump administration yanks $200 million in economic aid from Gaza and West Bank

The move came after a State Department review examining whether the funding was in “U.S. national interests” and of value to American taxpayers. In a terse announcement, the State Department said it would redirect the $200 million to “high-priority projects elsewhere.”

“This decision takes into account the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza’s citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation,” the State Department notice said.

The move drew immediate fire from Democrats in Congress, who said it would roil an already volatile part of the world and undermine U.S. efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/08/24/trump-administration-yanks-200-million-aid-gaza-and-west-bank/1088489002/
-- 2019 --
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March 4: Trump’s Cuts To Aid For Palestinians Have Totally Disrupted Women’s Breast Cancer Treatments

More than 1,000 women who had mammograms done through a US-funded program and were flagged for follow-ups have had to seek other treatment options.

Women confronting breast cancer are being hit hard after the Trump administration stopped USAID programs benefiting Palestinians, say aid groups, doctors, health care workers, and patients.

The US effectively stopped government aid programs benefiting Palestinians in February, and humanitarian aid groups and hospital administrators in Gaza and Jerusalem say aid cuts are doing serious harm to vulnerable patients at a time when health care systems used by Palestinians are already heavily strained.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/meghara/palestinian-women-breast-cancer-trump-usaid-aid-cuts-gaza

March 25: Israel announced Monday that it began bombing Gaza again.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at a joint press conference at the White House alongside President Donald Trump, announced that his country was "responding forcefully" to a rocket fired earlier in the day from Gaza that injured seven people near Tel Aviv.

An unnamed senior Hamas official told Haaretz that the rocket may have been a mistake or a decision by an individual member of the group.

The Israeli military said the rocket was fired by Hamas and that it was directing its bombing at "Hamas targets."
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/03/25/trump-gives-thumbs-illegal-annexation-israel-starts-bombing-gaza-again

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