We’ll be covering gaza strip upsc political aspects, geographical features.Now if you try to look at the newspaper these days every day I’m 100% sure about this you’ll find one or two news relating to Gaza strip. Now Gaza strip is a location quite close to Mediterranean Sea. But why is Gaza strip in news so much in these days right? So that we need to understand and we’ll be covering gaza strip upsc political aspects, geographical features.
Table of Contents
Why Gaza Strip is in the News?
understand the recent developments that have happened in the region which makes this region very important from exams point of view. Right? So let us started today’s discussion by understanding the context. Now as you can see from the image behind me this is a daily affair in Gaza because Israeli air force it bombs and pounds these targets located in the city of Gaza. Now in this regard recently multiple air strikes have struck Gaza particularly the southern city known as Kanunis and this has killed more than 100 people. Now this air strike conducted by Israel comes as a surprise particularly when when US President Donald Trump is in the region visiting countries in Middle East like Qatar like Saudi Arabia and it was expected that he will also visit Israel but he did not decided or he decided not to visit Israel this time in his Middle Eastern visit. Now also it was expected that when US president is visiting this particular area it might lead to ceasefire deal that happens between the Hamas as well as Israel and it might lead to stopping of pounding of these targets located in Gaza city but this does not happen. Similarly it was also expected that renewal of humanitarian aid might be done so that people who are affected by the war living in Gaza they might be supported through food through medicines etc. But now even after that Israeli blockade of this region of Gaza has continued and now this has been 3 months since the Israel imposed blockade in Gaza. So that is why Gaza has been in news recently.
Political Background of Gaza Strip
So in this regard let us try to understand first where is this Gaza located. Now as you can see from this map on my right here, Gaza is located very close to Mediterranean Sea. So this is the Gaza strip I’m talking about. So you can see it borders Egypt particularly this plateau of Sinai plateau this is Sinai Peninsula sorry and on the this region it is bordering Israel right so this is located very close to Mediterranean Sea now let us look at the zoom map of Gaza you can see on the Egyptian border there’s this city called as Rafa you might have heard the word Rafa crossing this was the crossing that happened between Gaza and Egypt and people used to take this route to move to Egypt. Right? Similarly, Kanunas, we were talking about this city located here where the bombings are currently ongoing and other important cities, this Gaza city, Jabilia as well as Bethanon. These are located in Gaza. And as you can see, it shares borders with two countries Egypt as well as Israel.
- Gaza covers an area of about 140 square miles.
- It is one of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank.
- Currently, Gaza is governed by Hamas, a radical Islamist organization, while the West Bank is governed by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).
Historical Timeline of gaza strip upsc:
- 1967 Six-Day War → Israel captured Gaza.
- Israel ruled Gaza for more than 25 years.
- Oslo Accords (1990s, Norway) → Israel gradually handed control to the Palestinian Authority, with US mediation.
Thus, Gaza became one of the world most sensitive and occupied regions in modern geopolitics.
Recent Developments (2025)
Now few months back in February, US President Donald Trump proposed a radical new plan:
- The United States would take over Gaza Strip after Palestinians vacate the area.
- Neighboring countries like Jordan and Egypt would accept displaced Gazans as refugees.
- The US would then clear unexploded bombs, develop infrastructure, and turn Gaza into a “Middle Eastern Riviera.”
February 2025, US President Donald Trump announced a radical policy shift towards the Israel Palestinian conflict. He proposed that United States should indeed take over Gaza Strip. Why he has actually proposed? You can argue that Mr. Trump historically has been a builder. So he always wants to build and develop this Gaza strip also. Now this is a very controversial topic that was raised by US President Donald Trump. His proposals included that Palestinians they should first of all leave the territory of Gaza and he suggested that neighboring countries like Jordan, like Egypt and Arab states in the region, they should accept Gazan refugees and after the Palestinians vacate Gaza, US will take over Gaza and will be responsible for many things. First US will conduct unexloded or it will clear unexloded bombs and weapons in the region and after that it will develop Gaza economically making it a Riviera of Middle East region. Right? And while doing so it will create thousands of jobs and make it a model of prosperity which might lead to economic development of Gaza and ultimately will bring prosperity in the region. So this was a very radical proposal by US president saying that you vacate the region from of its natives and let us develop it economically and sell their lands to rich people. Right? So automatically this radical proposal met with a lot of opposition.
Global Reactions on this Praposal:
- Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan → Rejected the plan, citing support for an independent Palestinian state.
- European allies (Germany, Ireland, Australia) → Criticized the proposal, reaffirming support for a two-state solution.
- China and Turkey → Condemned it, calling it a violation of international law.
- Palestinian Authority (President Mahmoud Abbas) → Strongly opposed, calling it a forced deportation and violation of sovereignty.
o automatically this radical proposal met with a lot of opposition. First of all major players that have stakes in the region like Saudi Arabia rejected the proposal directly reforming its long-standing support for having an independent Palestinian state. So how will you make a Palestinian state independent when you take up parts of its territory and remove the people living in it? Similarly, European and global leaders like US close allies like Australia, like Ireland, like Germany, even rivals like China, they criticize this Trump’s plan and they have reiterated their support for a two-state solution. Two-state solution means this region will consist of two independent nations that is Israel and Palestine. Right? And this has historically also been India stand also that India also looks at this region from a two-state solution perspective. Similarly, Turkey it says that forced deportations of Palestinians it is unacceptable to them and the PLA authority which is responsible for ruling over the Palestine. The president Mahmud Abbasi urged UN to protect Palestinian rights calling Trump’s plan a violation of international law that is violation of sovereignity of state of Palestine. Now let us understand why even the close allies of US in the region like Egypt and Jordan were rejecting the US president’s plan.
Why Egypt and Jordan Opposed the Plan?
let us talk about Jordans. Now Jordan already has hosted over 2 million Palestinian refugee that is 1 in5 people in Jordan. They consist of Palestinian origin. Similarly there has been rise of Palestinian nationalist groups in uh Jordan like Muslim Brotherhood linked Islamic action front and they have threatened the monarchy that prevails in Jordan. So automatically from security point of view from societal disruption point of view Jordan does not want to take additional refugees from Palestine particularly Gaza. Similarly Egypt has also expressed concerns in a much similar valor to Jordan saying that it cracked down on the Islamist organization Muslim Brotherhood since 2013 and accepting this displaced Palestines could actually strengthen the Islamic movement and disrupt the overall Egyptian society. So that is why both of these are close allies of US and they have even rejected the plan proposed by US Trump.
Exam-Relevant Questions
Let’s see if you are able to solve this question. Exam-Relevant Questions is actually is a PYQ of 2022
1. What is the Levant?
- The region bordering the eastern Mediterranean Sea (Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria).
2. Which countries share borders with Gaza Strip?
- Egypt and Israel.
And do not forget to make sure and comment with the right answer to these practice questions.
Conclusion
if you want to download the notes that I’ve used to tell you the class, you can download it from my telegram channel.
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