Explainer: Gaza - One Of The Most Densely Populated Places On Earth Scarred By War

The Gaza strip, an impoverished Palestinian enclave, is bordered by Israel in the east and north, Egypt in the south, with the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Both countries have imposed a land, air and sea blockade on the Gaza strip. It was first temporarily imposed in 2005-2006 and permanently from 2007 onwards.

It is ruled by Hamas - which Israel, the United States and others classify as a terrorist group - after 2007 and is at war with Israel for the fifth time in 15 years.

All about Gaza Strip:

Cramped Mediterranean strip

Gaza is home to over two million people living on a 362-square-kilometre (140 square miles) strip of land, making it one of the most densely populated places on the planet.

After the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli war that surrounded the creation of Israel, Gaza was placed under Egyptian administration.

Israel occupied Gaza during the 1967 Six-Day War and it was only fully returned to Palestinians in 2005, when Israel withdrew its last soldiers and thousands of settlers.

Shut-in

In 2006, Israel imposed an air, land and sea blockade on Gaza following the capture by Hamas of an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who was held prisoner for five years.

In 2007, Israel tightened the blockade after Hamas took control of Gaza from the secular Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas.

The only entrance to Gaza not controlled by Israel is Rafah on the Egyptian border.

Crushing poverty

The Gaza Strip has virtually no industry and suffers from a chronic lack of water, fuel and electricity.

Around half of the population is unemployed, according to the World Bank, and more than two-thirds are reliant on development aid.