Editing Gaza Strip (section)

==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of the State of Palestine}}
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[[File:Jabalia 23.jpg|thumb|Palestinian girls in [[Jabalia]] in 2009]]
In 2010, approximately 1.6&nbsp;million people lived in the Gaza Strip,<ref name="CIA World Factbook" /> almost 1.0&nbsp;million of them were UN-registered refugees.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/unrwa/refugees/gaza.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217211906/http://www.un.org/unrwa/refugees/gaza.html |archive-date=17 December 2007 |title=UNRWA: Palestine refugees |publisher=Un.org |access-date=1 June 2010}}</ref> The majority descend from refugees who were driven from or left their homes during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The Strip's population has continued to increase since that time, mainly due to a [[total fertility rate]] which peaked at 8.3 children per woman in 1991. This fell to 4.4 children per woman in 2013 which was still among the highest worldwide.<ref name="CIA World Factbook" /><ref name=":0"/>

In a [[List of countries by fertility rate|ranking by total fertility rate]], this places Gaza 34th of 224 regions.<ref name="CIA World Factbook" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Coghlan |first=Andy |title=The reasons why Gaza's population is so young |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25993-the-reasons-why-gazas-population-is-so-young/ |access-date=2020-12-27 |website=New Scientist |language=en-US |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125212840/https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25993-the-reasons-why-gazas-population-is-so-young/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This leads to the Gaza Strip having an unusually high proportion of children in the population, with 43.5% of the population being 14 or younger and a median age in 2014 of 18, compared to a world average of 28, and 30 in Israel. The only countries with a lower median age are countries in Africa such as Uganda where it was 15.<ref name=":0" />

===Religion===
[[File:Great Mosque of Gaza (Omari Mosque).jpg|thumb|right|View of the [[Great Mosque of Gaza]], the oldest mosque in Gaza dating to the 7th century CE, which was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes during the [[Gaza war]]]]
{{See also|Islamism in the Gaza Strip}}

[[Sunni Muslim]]s make up 99.8&nbsp;percent of the population in the Gaza Strip, with an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 (0.2&nbsp;percent) [[Arab Christians]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4514822.stm Middle East Christians: Gaza pastor] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123003622/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4514822.stm |date=23 January 2009 }} BBC News, 21 December 2005</ref><ref name="CIA World Factbook" />

{{Bar box
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From 1987 to 1991, during the [[First Intifada]], Hamas campaigned for the wearing of the [[hijab]] head-cover. In the course of this campaign, women who chose not to wear the hijab were verbally and physically harassed by Hamas activists, leading to hijabs being worn "just to avoid problems on the streets".<ref name="Ruben">{{cite book |last1=Rubenberg |first1=Cheryl A. |author1-link=Cheryl Rubenberg |title=Palestinian Women: Patriarchy and Resistance in the West Bank |date=2001 |pages=230–231 |url=https://archive.org/details/palestinianwomen0000rube/}}</ref>

Since Hamas took over in 2007, attempts have been made by Islamist activists to impose "[[Islamic dress]]" and to require women to wear the hijab.<ref name="ReferenceB">[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/world/middleeast/06gaza.html Hamas Fights Over Gaza's Islamist Identity] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119001358/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/world/middleeast/06gaza.html |date=19 January 2017 }} New York Times, 5 September 2009</ref><ref name="xinhua">{{cite web |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/03/content_12748559.htm |title=Hamas encourages Gaza women to follow Islamic code |publisher=News.xinhuanet.com |date=3 January 2010 |access-date= 21 May 2011 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110514030330/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/03/content_12748559.htm |archive-date= 14 May 2011}}</ref> The government's "Islamic Endowment Ministry" has deployed [[Virtue Committee]] members to warn citizens of the "dangers of immodest dress, card playing and dating".<ref name="bloomberg">[https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aB2RfynNbLmk Hamas Bans Women Dancers, Scooter Riders in Gaza Push] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118123632/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aB2RfynNbLmk |date=18 November 2015 }} By Daniel Williams, Bloomberg, 30 November 2009</ref> However, there are no government laws imposing dress and other moral standards, and the Hamas education ministry reversed one effort to impose Islamic dress on students.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> There has also been successful resistance{{by whom |date=May 2015}} to attempts by local Hamas officials to impose Islamic dress on women.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/oct/18/hamas-gaza-islamist-dress-code Hamas patrols beaches in Gaza to enforce conservative dress code] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210235710/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/oct/18/hamas-gaza-islamist-dress-code |date=10 February 2017 }} The Guardian (UK), 18 October 2009</ref>

According to Human Rights Watch, the Hamas-controlled government stepped up its efforts to "Islamize" Gaza in 2010, efforts it says included the "repression of civil society" and "severe violations of personal freedom."<ref name=Esveld>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jun-27-la-oe-vanesveld-gaza-20100627-story.html "In Gaza, prisoners twice over; Palestinians are being squeezed by the Israeli blockade and Hamas' 'Islamizing' actions,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511190222/http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/27/opinion/la-oe-vanesveld-gaza-20100627 |date=11 May 2011 }}  Bill Van Esveld, Bill Van Esveld is a Middle East researcher for Human Rights Watch, 27 June 2010, ''Los Angeles Times''.</ref>
[[File:Forced Displacement of Gaza Strip Residents During the Gaza-Israel War 23-25.jpg|thumb|Destroyed mosque in Gaza in 2023]]
Palestinian researcher Khaled Al-Hroub has criticized what he called the "[[Taliban]]-like steps" Hamas has taken: "The Islamization that has been forced upon the Gaza Strip—the suppression of social, cultural, and press freedoms that do not suit Hamas's view[s]—is an egregious deed that must be opposed. It is the reenactment, under a religious guise, of the experience of [other] totalitarian regimes and dictatorships."<ref>The Hamas Enterprise and the Talibanization of Gaza, Khaled Al-Hroub, Al-Ayyam (Palestinian Authority), 11 October 2010. [http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4696.htm Translation] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101024183415/http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4696.htm |date=24 October 2010 }} by the Middle East Research Institute, 22 October 2010.</ref> Hamas officials denied having any plans to impose Islamic law. One legislator stated that "[w]hat you are seeing are incidents, not policy" and that "we believe in persuasion".<ref name="bloomberg"/>

Violence against Christians has been recorded. The owner of a Christian bookshop was abducted and murdered<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/gazas-christian-bookseller-killed-396283.html |work=The Independent |location=London |title=Gaza's Christian bookseller killed |first=Eric |last=Silver |date=8 October 2007 |access-date=3 May 2010 |archive-date=21 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421202741/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/gazas-christian-bookseller-killed-396283.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and in February 2008, the [[Young Men's Christian Association]] (YMCA) library in Gaza City was bombed.<ref>{{cite news |title=Militants bomb Gaza YMCA library |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7246454.stm |access-date=17 June 2012 |newspaper=[[BBC News]] |date=15 February 2008 |archive-date=9 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209110915/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7246454.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> At least eighteen people were killed when Israel bombed the [[Church of Saint Porphyrius]], which is the oldest in Gaza, on 19 October 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Marsi |first1=Federica |title=Gaza's Christian community faces 'threat of extinction' amid Israel war |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/11/10/extinction-gaza-christians-fear-for-communitys-survival-amid-israel-war |agency=Al-Jazeera |date=10 November 2023 |access-date=21 November 2023 |archive-date=10 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110073921/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/11/10/extinction-gaza-christians-fear-for-communitys-survival-amid-israel-war |url-status=live }}</ref>

In addition to Hamas, a [[Salafist]] movement began to appear about 2005 in Gaza, characterized by "a strict lifestyle based on that of the earliest followers of Islam".<ref name=bbc-salafist>{{cite news |last1=Knell |first1=Yolande |title=Can Hamas hold back Islamic State in Gaza? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33110099 |access-date=16 September 2015 |agency=BBC News |date=12 June 2015 |archive-date=13 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913115303/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33110099 |url-status=live }}</ref> {{As of|2015}}, there are estimated to be only "hundreds or perhaps a few thousand" Salafists in Gaza.<ref name=bbc-salafist/>

===Education===
{{See also|List of universities and colleges in the State of Palestine|List of countries by literacy rate}}
[[File:Girls lining up for class - Flickr - Al Jazeera English.jpg|thumb|Schoolgirls in [[Gaza City]] lining up for class, 2009]]
[[File:Ucas1.jpg|thumb|[[University College of Applied Sciences]], the largest college in Gaza]]

Palestine had a reported 97% literacy rate (96% for females, 99% for males) in 2019 and youth literacy rate (ages 15–24) of 88% in 2020 (94% for females, 82% for males).<ref name="auto"/> According to UNRWA figures, there are 640 schools in Gaza: 383 government schools, 221 UNRWA schools and 36 private schools, serving a total of 441,452 students.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://imeu.net/news/article0017067.shtml |title=Children and education fact sheet |publisher=Imeu.net |access-date=12 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201010130/http://imeu.net/news/article0017067.shtml |archive-date=1 December 2010}}</ref>

In 2010, Al Zahara, a private school in central Gaza, introduced a special program for mental development based on math computations. The program was created in Malaysia in 1993, according to the school principal, Majed al-Bari.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52586 |title=This Math Class May Figure Out Israel |publisher=Ipsnews.net |date=24 August 2010 |access-date=12 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101010213508/http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52586 |archive-date=10 October 2010}}</ref>

In June 2011, some Gazans, upset that UNRWA did not rebuild their homes that were lost in the Second Intifada, blocked UNRWA from performing its services and shut down UNRWA's summer camps. Gaza residents closed UNRWA's emergency department, social services office and ration stores.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=397614 |title=Gaza families shut down UN summer camps |publisher=Maan News Agency |access-date=25 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513231509/http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=397614 |archive-date=13 May 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2012, there were five universities in the Gaza Strip and eight new schools were under construction.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/world/middleeast/hamas-run-schools-in-gaza-set-out-to-teach-hebrew.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/world/middleeast/hamas-run-schools-in-gaza-set-out-to-teach-hebrew.html |archive-date=2022-01-02 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=Hamas-Run Schools in Gaza Set Out to Teach Hebrew |first=Jodi |last=Rudoren |newspaper=The New York Times |date=22 May 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> By 2018, nine universities were open.

The Community College of Applied Science and Technology (CCAST) was established in 1998 in Gaza City. In 2003, the college moved into its new campus and established the Gaza Polytechnic Institute (GPI) in 2006 in southern Gaza. In 2007, the college received accreditation to award BA degrees as the [[University College of Applied Sciences]] (UCAS). In 2010, the college had a student population of 6,000, in eight departments offering over 40 majors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ucas.edu.ps/english/ucasview.aspx?pageid=47 |title=University College of Applied Sciences |publisher=Ucas.edu.ps |access-date=12 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511074016/http://www.ucas.edu.ps/english/ucasview.aspx?pageid=47 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Health===
[[File:View of the hospital from the north.jpg|thumb|The [[Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital]] and the IUG Faculty of Medicine buildings]]
In Gaza, there are hospitals and additional healthcare facilities. Because of the high number of young people the [[mortality rate]] is one of the lowest in the world, at 0.315% per year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2066rank.html |title=The World Factbook |publisher=Cia.gov |access-date=2014-02-21 |archive-date=28 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228071330/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2066rank.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> The infant mortality rate is ranked 105th highest out of 224 countries and territories, at 16.55 deaths per 1,000 births.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2091rank.html |title=Country Comparison: Infant mortality rate |publisher=CIA |access-date=1 June 2016 |archive-date=7 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207062332/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2091rank.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Gaza Strip places 24th out of 135 countries according to [[Human Poverty Index]]. According to the World Health Organization, in 2022 the average life expectancy for males was 72.5 years and 75 years for females, about the same as Egypt, Lebanon or Jordan, but lower than in Israel.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Guterres |first=António |author-link=António Guterres |date=2023-05-17 |title=Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan |url=https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA76/A76_15-en.pdf |access-date=2024-04-19 |website=[[World Health Organization]]}}</ref>

A study carried out by [[Johns Hopkins University]] (US) and [[Al-Quds University]] (in [[Abu Dis]]) for [[Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere|CARE International]] in late 2002 revealed very high levels of dietary deficiency among the Palestinian population. The study found that 17.5% of children aged 6–59 months suffered from chronic [[malnutrition]]. 53% of women of reproductive age and 44% of children were found to be [[anemia|anemic]]. Insecurity in obtaining sufficient food as of 2016 affects roughly 70% of Gaza households, as the number of people requiring assistance from UN agencies has risen from 72,000 in 2000, to 800,000 in 2014.<ref>[http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773119 '200 Gazans injured in separate incidents on first day of Eid al-Adha,'] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920020729/http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773119 |date=20 September 2016 }} [[Ma'an News Agency]] 13 September 2016.</ref>
[[File:Cardiff Solidarity for Palestine protest, 25 November 2023 142309 (redacted).jpg|thumb|Photos of healthcare workers in Gaza killed during the [[Gaza war]], 25 November 2023]]
After the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip health conditions in Gaza Strip faced new challenges. [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) expressed its concerns about the consequences of the Palestinian internal political fragmentation; the socioeconomic decline; military actions; and the physical, psychological and economic isolation on the health of the population in Gaza.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/hac/crises/international/wbgs/sitrep_25sept2007/en/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014080431/http://www.who.int/hac/crises/international/wbgs/sitrep_25sept2007/en/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 October 2007 |title=WHO &#124; WHO statement on the situation in the Gaza Strip |publisher=Who.int |date=25 September 2007 |access-date=1 June 2010}}</ref> In a 2012 study of the occupied territories, the WHO reported that roughly 50% of the young children and infants under two years old and 39.1% of pregnant women receiving antenatal services care in Gaza suffer from iron-deficiency anemia. The organization also observed chronic malnutrition in children under five "is not improving and may be deteriorating."<ref>{{cite book |title=Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem and the occupied Syrian Golan |date=11 May 2012 |publisher=World Health Organization |page=2 |url=http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Full_Report_3973.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806000042/http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Full_Report_3973.pdf |archive-date=2012-08-06 |url-status=live |access-date=21 July 2014}}</ref>

According to Palestinian leaders in the Gaza Strip, the majority of medical aid delivered are "past their expiration date." Mounir el-Barash, the director of donations in Gaza's health department, claims 30% of aid sent to Gaza is used.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=182120 |title=Report: Gaza medical aid is expired |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post &#124; Jpost.com |publisher=Jpost.com |access-date=12 December 2010 |archive-date=24 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724010118/http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=182120 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{failed verification|date=May 2018}}

Gazans who desire medical care in Israeli hospitals must apply for a medical visa permit. In 2007, State of Israel granted 7,176 permits and denied 1,627.<ref>Berg, Raffi. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7375439.stm Israel's dilemma over sick Gazans] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080505073942/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7375439.stm |date=5 May 2008 }}. [[BBC News]], 30 April 2008</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_PSE.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601033156/http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_PSE.html |url-status=dead |title=Human Development Reports<!-- Bot generated title --> |archive-date=1 June 2010}}</ref>

In 2012, two hospitals funded by Turkey and Saudi Arabia were under construction.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/world/middleeast/in-gaza-even-a-wealthy-man-cannot-silence-the-bombs.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/world/middleeast/in-gaza-even-a-wealthy-man-cannot-silence-the-bombs.html |archive-date=2022-01-02 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=As Bombs Fell in Gaza, a Rich Cactus Lover Could Cultivate Only Patience |first=Jodi |last=Rudoren |newspaper=The New York Times |date=25 November 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

As a result of fighting in Gaza during the [[Gaza war]], many of Gaza's hospitals have sustained serious damage.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-06 |title=Six months of war leave Al-Shifa hospital in ruins, WHO mission reports |url=https://www.who.int/news/item/06-04-2024-six-months-of-war-leave-al-shifa-hospital-in-ruins--who-mission-reports |access-date=2024-04-19 |website=[[World Health Organization]] |language=en}}</ref> During the war, a polio vaccination campaign successfully immunized over 187,000 children under ten in central Gaza—exceeding initial targets—with the support of local and international health organizations, amidst humanitarian pauses to ensure coverage across insecure areas.<ref>[https://www.who.int/news/item/04-09-2024-first-phase-of-polio-campaign-concludes-successfully-in-gaza "First phase of polio campaign concludes successfully in Gaza."] ''World Health Organization''.  4 September 2024.  4 November 2024.</ref>