Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip has been put under a strict blockade, by land, air, and sea. Having total surface area of 362 square kilometers, the transportation system in the strip is in poor condition with only of main roads, of regional roads, and of local roads. In the late
Ottoman era,
Pierre Jacotin named the place
Majumas on his map from 1799. In 1883, the
PEF's
Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) noted that
el Mineh was probably the ancient
Maiuma. In 2011, eight Roman columns believed to be the remains of a church were swept ashore during a storm. In 2013, the Palestinian Naval Police found ancient artifacts that included poles and baked clay.
Since 1994 In 2002, Israeli forces attacked the Palestinian Naval Police facilities in the port, after Naval Police commanders were implicated in the
Karine A affair, an attempt to secretly bring in 50 tons of weapons by boat into Gaza. In 2007, following
Hamas' takeover of Gaza,
Israel imposed a
blockade of the Gaza Strip, including a naval blockade. Several attempts to break the Israeli blockade have been made. Israel has prevented most ships from docking at the Port of Gaza, but did allow two boats, carrying activists and some supplies, to reach the port in 2008. As at 2010, the port was restricted to smaller Palestinian fishing boats.
Gaza war The port and more than 90% of docked vessels were destroyed by Israel during the
Gaza war; the damage included targeted aerial strikes on fishing vessels and maritime artillery impacts. == Gaza Seaport plans ==