The Gaza Strip has been under intense Israeli bombardment for the past five days in the wake of a deadly attack by the armed group Hamas, and human rights groups are calling it collective punishment of the Palestinian enclave’s 2.3 million residents.
Gaza is teetering on the verge of a humanitarian crisis with hospitals overwhelmed with casualties during a complete blockade after Israel intensified its 16-year long siege of the territory.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed as Israel promised to avenge the deaths of at least 1,200 of its citizens in Saturday’s attacks.
With 2.3 million people living on 365sq km (141sq miles) of land, the Gaza Strip is considered one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Its population density of 5,500 people per square kilometre (14,245 per square mile) lies in stark contrast to Israel’s at about 400 people per square kilometre (1,035 per square mile).
An overwhelming majority of Gaza’s population is young with 65 percent being under the age of 24 and the median age for men and women being 18 years.
Sixteen years of an Israeli land, air and sea blockade has crippled its economy and tightly restricted the movement of its people in and out of the enclave.
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