A city of southwest Asia in the Gaza Strip, a narrow coastal area along the Mediterranean Sea adjoining Israel and Egypt. The territory was part of the British mandate for Palestine (1917-1948), passed to Egypt in 1949, and was occupied by Israel in 1967. Palestinian autonomy was promised in the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, and limited autonomy was granted in a 1993 Israeli-Palestinian accord. The city of Gaza was one of the five major Philistine city-kingdoms. Population: 479,000.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
