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Gaza Past And Present – Trouble, Trouble, Trouble

Gaza Past And Present – Trouble, Trouble, Trouble

Last updated on: May 21, 2024 at 4:27 pm by Alice H. Murray

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Gaza Past And Present – Trouble, Trouble, Trouble 2024-05-21T16:27:41-04:00 Alice H. Murray

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Figure of man holding a Palestinian flag with smoke enveloping the scene

From biblical times, there’s been trouble, trouble, trouble in Gaza [Image by hosny salah from Pixabay]

The Gaza Strip appears front and center in almost every newscast these days. Disturbing images of death and destruction fill the screen. Despite its prominent role in current events, Gaza is not an area about which many are well versed. What does digging into the facts reveal? Gaza past and present – trouble, trouble, trouble.

The Basics

A narrow strip of land, the Gaza Strip lies between Israel and Egypt along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It shares a 32-mile border with Israel which lies to its east and north, and a 7-mile border with Egypt which lies to its southwest.

Roughly the size of Washington, D.C., the Gaza Strip has a total area of 141 square miles. It is 25 miles long and ranges from 3.7 to 7.5 miles wide. With a population of over 2 million and such a small size, Gaza has one of the world’s highest population densities.

Refugees or descendants of refugees make up a huge portion of Gaza’s population, with half of them under the age of 18. Arabic serves as the official language, with 99.8% of those in Gaza being Sunni Muslim. Arab Christians account for the remaining 0.2%.

The Gaza Strip is divided into five governorates—North Gaza, Gaza, Deir al-Balah, Khan Yunis, and Rafah—with Gaza City serving as the capital of the entire area. Rafah, one of Gaza’s largest cities, sits near the border with Egypt.

The Current Trouble

Even prior to the Israel-Hamas war, high levels of unemployment and impoverishment plagued Gaza’s economy. In fact, Gaza’s unemployment rate was one of the highest in the world with more than 75% of the population dependent on humanitarian aid.

Older man standing behind massive kettle distributing food to kids in Gaza

Humanitarian aid provides sustenance to a majority of Gazans [Image by yousef masoud from Pixabay]

Small family businesses, like making textiles and souvenirs, generally comprise industry in the area with Israel and Egypt being the main trade partners. Agriculture provided three-quarters of the jobs for employed workers. The Israel-Hamas War, of course, severely impacted business relationships and the ability to raise crops.

The situation in Gaza today goes far beyond the label of “trouble.” The destructive and deadly war rages on with no end in sight after more than seven months. According to the health ministry in Gaza, the death toll from the conflict tops 35,000. A large majority of the population has been displaced, but few residents have been able to leave Gaza. Many have fled the ongoing Israeli bombardment by heading to Rafah but face displacement again with an Israeli ground offensive. With food scarce, the UN warns of looming famine.

View of widespread destruction in Gaza from Israel-Hamas war

The Israel-Hamas war has resulted in great destruction in Gaza [Image by hosny salah from Pixabay]

Created From Trouble

For Gaza, trouble is nothing new. The Gaza Strip arose out of conflict, being created following the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948. Located in the southwestern part of the former British Mandate of Palestine, the area has seen control over it change hands over the years.

Along with the larger West Bank, Gaza is one of the two Palestinian territories. The lack of universal recognition of a Palestinian state fuels dissatisfaction and unrest in Gaza, with resulting extensive political turmoil.

Gaza In The Biblical Past

The city of Gaza, meaning “strong” is one of history’s oldest cities. The Bible first mentions it in Genesis 10:15-19 as a border city in Canaan. When the Israelites fled from Egypt under Moses, Gaza was part the Promised Land.

The Bible associates Gaza with the Philistines. Indeed, Gaza was one of their five chief cities. God gave Gaza to the tribe of Judah, but the Israelites’ failure to heed God’s instructions led to trouble. They did not drive out these Canaanite occupants as directed, so Gaza and its Philistine inhabitants became a long-standing thorn in the Israelites’ sides.

A familiar biblical character, Samson, encountered nothing but trouble in Gaza. First, the Israelite spent the night with a prostitute in that Philistine city. Learning of his presence, the townspeople plotted to kill him and lay in wait. Samson then escaped only due to his God-given great strength which allowed him to tear out the doors of the city gate and the posts holding them. His subsequent relationship with Delilah led to his undoing. The Philistines captured him, gouged his eyes out, and took him to Gaza where he died pulling down the pillars of a pagan temple.

Trouble Prophesied

In the Old Testament, the city of Gaza was connected with judgment. Because of the terrible sins committed by the Philistines, four of God’s prophets, Jeremiah, Amos, Zephaniah, and Zechariah, prophesied coming judgment on Gaza. And that judgment would not be pleasant. Zechariah, for example, spoke in terms of Gaza writhing in agony and losing its king. Indeed, the Assyrians as well as Alexander the Great both conquered and destroyed Gaza.

Image of statue of Alexander the great with a memorial on the left side

Alexander the Great caused trouble for Gaza by conquering it. [Image by fszalai from Pixabay}

Trouble Summarized

Trouble filled the city of Gaza’s past. The Israelites appeared from the wilderness and claimed their Promised Land which encompassed Gaza. Sin abounded in the city leading to prophesies of gloom and doom later fulfilled by the victories of invading armies. The Gaza Strip, as the area surrounding Gaza is now known, arose out of conflict, an Arab-Israeli war with subsequent unrest due to a lack of international recognition of a Palestinian state. And the trouble has soared with the onset of the Israel-Hamas war bringing a staggering death toll and wreaking destruction. And now, a famine looms. The best way to describe the situation? Gaza past and present – trouble, trouble, trouble.

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About Alice H Murray

After 35 years as a Florida adoption attorney, Alice H. Murray now pursues a different path as Operations Manager for End Game Press. With a passion for writing, she is constantly creating with words. Her work includes contributions to several Short And Sweet books, The Upper Room, Chicken Soup For The Soul, Abba’s Lessons (from CrossRiver Media), and the Northwest Florida Literary Review. Alice is a regular contributor to GO!, a quarterly Christian magazine in the Florida Panhandle, and she has three devotions a month published online by Dynamic Women in Missions. Her devotions have also appeared in compilation devotionals such as Ordinary People Extraordinary God (July 2023) and Guideposts’ Pray A Word A Day, Vol. 2 (June 2023) and pray a word for Hope (September 2023). Alice’s first book, The Secret of Chimneys, an annotated Agatha Christie mystery, was released in April 2023 with a second such book, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, to be released in April 2025. On a weekly basis, Alice posts on her blog about current events with a humorous point of view at aliceinwonderingland.wordpress.com. You can read more about the author here.

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