::Gaza Strip

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Gaza Strip {{safesubst:#invoke:Separated entries|br}}
Flag of the State of Palestine, which claims the Strip
Status		Part of the State of Palestine
Largest city		Gaza City
Official languages		Arabic
Ethnic groups		Palestinians Bedouins
Demonym		Gazan
Area
-	Total	365 km2<ref name=ocha_factsheet_july_2015 /> 141 sq mi
Population
-	2014 estimate	1,816,379
-	Density	5046/km2 13,069.1/sq mi
Currency		{{safesubst:#invoke:list|unbulleted}}
Time zone		(UTC+2)
-	Summer (DST)	(UTC+3)
Calling code		+970
Internet TLD		.ps
a.	Used since 1951.
b.	Used since 1985, as in Israel replacing the Israeli lira 1967-1979 and the old Israeli shekel 1979-1985.

Gaza Strip, with Israeli-controlled borders and limited fishing zone

Gaza City skyline

Downtown Gaza, 2012

File:Kites Gaza.JPG

Kite-flying event on Gaza Beach

The Gaza Strip ({{#invoke:IPAc-en|main}};<ref name="OED-Gaza Strip">The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) ISBN 0-19-861263-X - p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza...".</ref>Arabic: قطاع غزة‎{{#invoke:Category handler|main}} Qiṭāʿ Ġazzah [qɪˈtˤɑːʕ ˈɣazza]), or simply Gaza, is a pene-exclave region of the State of Palestine on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea that borders Egypt on the southwest for {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} and Israel on the east and north along a {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} border. Gaza is part of the Palestinian territories, which also includes the West Bank and are claimed by the State of Palestine.

The territory is {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} long, and from {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} wide, with a total area of {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}.<ref name=Arnon>{{#invoke:Citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=journal }}</ref><ref name="Gaza Strip">Gaza Strip Entry at the CIA World Factbook</ref> With around 1.8 million Palestinians on some 360 square kilometers, Gaza is among the regions with the highest population density in the world. If Gaza city itself is compared, the density is similar to that of Singapore and Hong Kong,<ref>Thomas E. Copeland, Drawing a Line in the Sea: The Gaza Flotilla Incident and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Lexington Books, 2011 p.25</ref> with the difference that Hong Kong's wealth permits it to maintain a far higher standard of living.<ref>Doug Suisman,Steven Simon,Glenn Robinson,C. Ross Anthony,Michael Schoenbaum (eds.) The Arc: A Formal Structure for a Palestinian State, Rand Corporation, 2007 p.79</ref> 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.<ref name="Gaza Strip"/><ref>The Palestinians: In Search of a Just Peace - Page 52, Cheryl Rubenberg - 2003</ref> Sunni Muslims make up the predominant part of the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.

After a violent intra-Palestinian battle in 2007 followed by Hamas' takeover of Gaza and the expulsion of Fatah-allied officials and security members from Gaza, Hamas established a Hamas Government in place of the Palestinian Authority Government appointed by President Abbas.

Gaza Strip sections
Intro  Governance  Status  Economy  Geography and climate   Natural resources   Demographics  Religion and culture  Education  Health  Culture and sports  Transport and communications  History  See also  Notes and references  Bibliography  External links  

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