Gaza City

Gaza,^[b] often called Gaza City, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, 76.6 kilometres (47.6 mi) southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Palestine's only port. With a population of 590,481 people as of 2017,^[5] Gaza City was the most populous city in Palestine until the Gaza war caused most of the population to be displaced.

Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,^[7] Gaza City has been dominated by different peoples and empires throughout its history. The Philistines made it a part of their pentapolis after the ancient Egyptians had ruled it for nearly 350 years. Under the Roman Empire, Gaza City experienced relative peace and its Mediterranean port flourished. In 635 AD, it became the first city in the Palestine region to be conquered by the Rashidun army and quickly developed into a centre of Islamic law. However, by the time the Crusader states were established in 1099, Gaza City was in ruins. In later centuries, Gaza City experienced several hardships—from Mongol raids to severe flooding and locust swarms, reducing it to a village by the 16th century, when it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire. During the first half of Ottoman rule, the Ridwan dynasty controlled Gaza City and the city went through an age of great commerce and peace. The municipality of Gaza City was established in 1893.

Gaza City fell to British forces during World War I, becoming a part of Mandatory Palestine. As a result of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Egypt administered the newly formed Gaza Strip territory and several improvements were undertaken in the city. Its population rose sharply after the influx of Palestinian refugees displaced by the war and the ensuing Nakba. Gaza City was occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967, and in 1993, the city was transferred to the newly created Palestinian National Authority. In the months following the 2006 election, an armed conflict broke out between the Palestinian political factions of Fatah and Hamas, resulting in the latter taking power in Gaza. The Gaza Strip was then subject to an Israeli-led, Egyptian-supported blockade.^[8] Israel eased the blockade allowing consumer goods in June 2010, and Egypt reopened the Rafah Border Crossing in 2011 to pedestrians.^[8][9] The city has been largely destroyed by Israeli airstrikes since the Gaza war began in October 2023, including a large amount of significant cultural heritage in the Old City of Gaza.

The primary economic activities of Gaza City are small-scale industries and agriculture. However, the blockade and recurring conflicts have put the economy under severe pressure.^[10] The majority of Gaza City's Palestinian inhabitants are Muslim, although there is also a Christian minority. Gaza City has a very young population, with roughly 75% under the age of 25. As of September 2025, many residents have fled or been evacuated to the Southern Gaza Strip, or killed as a result of Israel's actions in the north. Therefore, previous recorded or estimated population numbers have become outdated.^[11]

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