The Gaza Strip is an inviable territorial entity. An enclave carved out of Palestine’s southern coastal plain in 1948 and then overwhelmed by refugees, it never possessed the economic or political resources to maintain itself without constant external support. If that was true in 1948, it is certainly true now, given the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza since Hamas’s October 7th attack. The magnitude of devastation, casualties, and suffering in Gaza would require decades of recovery. And yet, somehow, the existence of the “strip” in its known confines is considered sacred, a cornerstone for any future regional settlement. Like in previous decades and conflict, no political vision wonders how the region can look like if the isolation of Gaza is removed.

This talk presents the modern history of the Gaza borderland before the creation of the “Strip” in 1948. During the late Ottoman and British mandate period, this borderland acquired the roles of a caravan trade hub, a Mediterranean port, an imperial frontier, and a regional capital. By recounting this history and reintroducing Gaza’s time-honored connections to its agricultural, maritime, and desert environments, the talk asks to broaden our political imagination as to Gaza’s potential role in the region, beyond the strip, as a political and economic center.