Map Explainer: The Gaza Strip
Recent attacks on Israel by Hamas have placed the Gaza Strip firmly in the spotlight of the global news cycle.
While conflict in that part of the world is thoroughly covered in headlines and news stories, more basic facts about Gaza receive less attention. With this infographic, we aim to fill in some of those gaps, including demographics, infrastructure, and more.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas which governs the Gaza Strip has reportedly initiated a crackdown on Salafist fighters within its ranks who are responsible for instances of unauthorized rocket fire into Israel, which has been sporadic in the last two weeks since President Trump's contentious recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital on December 6th.
On Wednesday at least three more rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip in a continuation of sporadic violence that has left the region on edge after President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel a week ago. Today's attack brings the number of rockets fired from Gaza into Israel since Trump's announcement to eight (a few more have been launched but landed in Palestinian territory), which marks the largest number fired since Operation Protective Edge in 2014.