Israel and the Palestinian territory of Gaza share an approximately 60 kilometer long (37 mile) boundary, which has never been established as an official international frontier. The boundary was initially delimited as an armistice line in 1949, with further adjustments made in 1950. The border resulted from areas of the former British Mandate of Palestine that were under Egyptian and Israeli control following the First Arab–Israeli War in 1948. Gaza was administered by Egypt as an occupied territory until 1967, when Israel took control of the area during another Arab–Israeli War. In 1994, Israel allowed for the creation of a Palestinian body, the Palestinian Authority (PA), to run the municipal affairs in Gaza. Israel continued to directly occupy Gaza until 2005, when the government withdrew its military and all Israeli settlers.

There is an ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine that can be traced back to the early 20th Century, before either State was established. The main sources of this conflict are the two nationalist movements that each sought to create opposing individual States in the territory of Mandatory Palestine. Israel was established as a State in 1948 immediately after the termination of the British Mandate and has come to include much of the former Mandate’s territory.

The rest of the land, which includes the discontiguous territories of Gaza and West Bank, has a more complex sovereignty regime. Known as the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Gaza and West Bank are claimed by the internationally recognized State of Palestine but are considered to be occupied by Israel. Different areas of the OPT have varying degrees of Palestinian control and government. Hamas has governed Gaza since they won the Palestinian Authority’s legislative elections in 2006. In 2007, Hamas removed the government officials of other parties from their posts in Gaza and has since been the sole de facto government of Gaza. Following Hamas’ takeover of Gaza, Israel imposed a blockade, drastically limiting the people and goods allowed to cross the border in both directions, which has worsened the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

In October 2023, a war began between Israel and Hamas. Following an attack in Israel by Hamas, the Israeli military entered Gaza and is now in direct control of much of the territory. This Brief was updated in July 2024, as the Israel–Hamas war continues.