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It's been more than two months since Israel declared war on the Palestinian militant group Hamas in retaliation for its shock 7 October attack and invaded the Gaza Strip. Destruction is enveloping Gaza as the latest escalation in a decades-old conflict reaches unprecedented extremes. Even before the current conflict, Gaza has long rested in the shadow of violence and hardship. Advertisement Some 2.2 million people called the tiny enclave – just 365 square kilometres or less than half the size of Canberra – home, making it one of the most densely populated places in the world. Blockaded by Israel and Egypt since 2007 after Hamas seized control of the territory, two-thirds of its inhabitants were living in poverty and 80 per cent relied on international aid.