Gaza | IMEU

The Gaza Strip is a narrow strip of Palestinian territory along the Mediterranean Sea. Just 25 miles long and six miles wide, the tiny coastal enclave is one of the most densely populated places on earth and is home to approximately 1.7 million people. Three quarters of Gaza’s population are refugees who were expelled from the land that became Israel in 1948, and their descendants. A December 2011 Oxfam report showed that 80% of families in Gaza live in poverty, a figure that reflects Israel’s ongoing blockade and closure of the Strip’s borders.

Fact Sheets

IMEU

Quick Facts: The Palestinian Nakba (“Catastrophe”)

The Palestinian “Nakba” (“catastrophe” in Arabic) refers to the mass expulsion of Palestinian Arabs from British Mandate Palestine during Israel’s creation (1947-49). The Nakba was not an unintended result of war. It was a deliberate and systematic act necessary for the creation of a Jewish majority state in historic Palestine, which was overwhelmingly Arab prior to 1948.

on April 5, 2023

Photo Essays

Mohammed Zaanoun, IMEU

Join the al-Lahham Family for Iftar in Gaza

Ramadan is a sacred time of year for devout Muslims. The holy month began days after the Israeli military killed 62 protesters in Gaza’s Great Return March. Despite the sorrow over the killings, and despite the ongoing suffering Palestinians in Gaza experience due to the Israeli-imposed blockade, four hours daily of electricity, lack of drinking water, and chronic unemployment — families in Gaza still mark Ramadan with devotion, and with dignity.

on June 14, 2018

Noura Erakat, The Washington Post

Palestinians Have No Choice but to Continue the Struggle

Over the past month and a half, thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have taken part in a series of weekly protests called the Great Return March, culminating Tuesday with Nakba Day, when Palestinians mark their mass expulsion during Israel’s establishment in 1948.

on May 16, 2018

David M. Halbfinger, Isabel Kershner and Declan Walsh, New York Times

Israel Kills Dozens at Gaza Border as U.S. Embassy Opens in Jerusalem

More than 2,700 Palestinian demonstrators were injured on Monday — at least 1,350 by gunfire — along the border fence with Gaza, the Health Ministry reported. The mass protests began on March 30 and had already left dozens dead.

on May 15, 2018

Ahmed Abu Ratima, New York Times

I Helped Start the Gaza Protests. I Don’t Regret It.

The seed that grew into Gaza’s Great Return March was planted Dec. 9, just a few days after President Trump announced he would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Palestinians long have held onto the dream of Jerusalem as our own capital, or at least as a shared capital in a country that offers equal rights to everyone.

on May 14, 2018

Fadi Abu Shammalah, The New York Times

Why I March in Gaza

Early in the morning on March 30, my 7-year-old son, Ali, saw me preparing to leave the house. This was unusual for our Friday routine. “Where are you going, Dad?” “To the border. To participate in the Great Return March.”

on April 28, 2018

Nidal al-Mughrabi, Reuters

Israeli Troops Kill Four More Palestinians in Border Protest

Israeli troops shot dead four Palestinians on the Gaza-Israel border on Friday, bringing to 35 the death toll in recent weeks among Palestinian protesters demanding the right to return to their former homeland.

on April 20, 2018

Katie Kilkenny, Patrick Shanley, Hollywood Reporter

Natalie Portman Decides Against Israel Honor in Apparent Protest

Natalie Portman has decided against receiving an honor in Israel and canceled her trip to accept the prize, according to the organization honoring the actress. The Genesis Prize, which honors notable individuals "who inspire others through their dedication to the Jewish community and Jewish values," has canceled its annual ceremony in Israel in June following the actress' apparent decision to not take part in the event.

on April 19, 2018

Ayman Odeh, New York Times

Israel Celebrates Its Independence, We Mourn Our Loss

Seventy years ago, the world changed around my family. The establishment of the state of Israel represented self-determination for Jews, but a catastrophe — “nakba” in Arabic — for Palestinians. In the area around the Mediterranean city of Haifa, where my family has lived for six generations, only 2,000 Palestinians of a population of 70,000 remained.

on April 18, 2018