The Gaza Strip, home to 2.1 million people, has been under a land, sea and air blockade imposed by Israel for 15 years.
Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement announced a truce that ended 3 days of Israeli bombardment of Gaza, which resulted in the death of no less than 44 Palestinians, including 15 children, and the injury of no less than 350 Palestinian civilians.
Since the start of the Israeli bombing last Friday, Israel has carried out heavy bombardment throughout Gaza, wiping out buildings and bombing refugee camps.
Islamic Jihad responded by firing rockets at Israel.
According to Israeli media, most of them were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, and no serious injuries were reported.
In the following series of maps, Al Jazeera takes you on a journey through the five governorates of Gaza, highlighting key locations, including hospitals, schools, universities, UN compounds, refugee camps, crossings and critical infrastructure facilities.
15 years of Israeli blockade
The population of Gaza is about 2.1 million people.
They live in 5 governorates: northern Gaza, Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, Khan Yunis and Rafah.
The sector is bordered by Israel from the north and Egypt borders from the southwest on the Mediterranean coast, with an area of about 365 square kilometers.
With a length of only 41 km, the distance can be traveled from Rafah in the far south of the Strip to Beit Hanoun in the far north in less than an hour by car.
Since 2008, Israel has waged 4 wars on the Palestinian territories, killing thousands of people, most of them civilians.
During the fourth attack on Gaza in May 2021, according to United Nations data, at least 261 people were killed, including 67 children, and more than 2,200 were injured.
The 11-day attack damaged at least 51 educational facilities, including 46 schools and kindergartens, a training center of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and parts of the Islamic University in Gaza.
The Israeli raids also destroyed at least 6 hospitals and 11 primary health care centers, including the only laboratory for "Covid-19" infections in Gaza.
Gaza 15 years of living under siege (Al-Jazeera)
northern Gaza
Northern Gaza shares a 10-kilometer border with Israel.
The Gaza Strip is surrounded by a heavily fortified perimeter consisting of a concrete wall and a double wire fence.
Anyone approaching within one kilometer of this wall risks being shot by the Israeli army, which patrols the northern and eastern borders of the Strip.
The Beit Hanoun crossing, known to Israelis as Erez and run by the Israeli army, is Gaza's only northern crossing into Israel.
From there, Palestinians with special permits - usually for urgent medical treatment - are allowed to leave the Strip for Jerusalem or the West Bank.
Gaza is only about 100 kilometers from Jerusalem, but due to tight security, the journey can take several hours.
Since 2007, Israel has imposed a sea and air blockade on the Gaza Strip.
The northern Gaza region is home to the largest refugee camp in the Strip, the Jabalia refugee camp, which covers an area of 1.4 square kilometres, has a population of 114,000 and is one of the most densely populated places on earth.
Northern Gaza (Al-Jazeera)
Gaza City
Gaza City is the Strip's largest and most populous city, with a population of over 700,000.
Among its most famous neighborhoods are Al-Rimal, Al-Shujaia, and Tal Al-Hawa.
Al-Shifa Hospital is located in the heart of Al-Remal neighborhood.
It is the largest medical facility in the Gaza Strip.
The hospital is surrounded by several United Nations compounds, including UNRWA, the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, and the United Nations Development Programme.
The best universities in the sector are located in the city, namely the Islamic University, Al-Azhar University, and Al-Aqsa University, which are separated by only a few hundred meters, in the Rimal neighborhood.
Beach camp is located along Gaza's Mediterranean coast and is the third largest of the eight camps in the Strip.
Gaza City (Al Jazeera)
Dair Al Balah
It is the sector's largest agricultural production area.
It is also home to 4 refugee camps;
Nuseirat, Bureij, Maghazi and Deir al-Balah.
The only operating power plant in the Gaza Strip is located along the Deir al-Balah border with Gaza City.
Over the past ten years, the sector has suffered from chronic electricity shortages, severely affecting its ability to provide basic services including health, water and sanitation, manufacturing and agriculture.
According to the United Nations, only 5% of the Strip's water is safe to drink, and 68% of its residents suffer from food insecurity.
Deir al-Balah (the island)
Khan Younes
About 400,000 people live in Khan Yunis.
At its center is the refugee camp, which is home to about 87,000 people.
In 2005, approximately 8,000 Israeli settlers and soldiers living in 21 settlements around Gaza were transferred to the occupied West Bank following then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's decision to unilaterally disengage from the Gaza Strip.
Most of these settlements were in Khan Yunis.
Israel claimed that its occupation of Gaza since 1967 had ended, as it withdrew its forces and settlers from the Strip, but international law views Gaza as occupied territory because Israel fully controls Gaza's borders, airspace, and territorial waters.
Khan Yunis (Al-Jazeera)
Rafah
Rafah is the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip, with a population of more than 250,000 people.
The region is famous for the famous crossing - which bears its name - with Egypt.
Both Israel and Egypt have kept their borders largely closed and are responsible for further deteriorating the already weak economic and humanitarian situation.
According to the United Nations, in 2020 the Rafah and Erez crossings were opened for only 125 days.
It is noteworthy that Palestinians wishing to leave the Strip must apply for a limited number of permits.
This process could take weeks or months, depending on the border situation.
The largest open prison in the world
Those able to cross the Rafah crossing must make the 6- to 8-hour journey through the Sinai desert, passing several Egyptian checkpoints on their way to Cairo, some 400 kilometers away.
The second crossing of Rafah into Egypt is the Salah al-Din Gate, which is used to transport goods.
The third crossing from Rafah is the Kerem Shalom crossing, which is controlled by Israel.
There are no operating airports in Gaza after Israel bombed and demolished Yasser Arafat International Airport in 2001, only 3 years after it opened.
Once again, Gaza became the scene of widespread destruction and immense human suffering, and remains the place often described as "the largest open-air prison in the world".
Rafah (the island)