The Gaza Strip is an area on the border with Egypt up against the Mediterranean Sea that is one of the most densely packed places on Earth. Technically part of the Palestinian Authority, it has been governed since 2007 by the militant group Hamas. Which rejects the existence of Israel, recently agreed to form a unity government with the other main Palestinian political faction, Fatah. The new Palestinian Unity Government recognizes the state of Israel. But the outbreak of current hostilities pitting Hamas against Israel has left the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority on the sidelines. The attacks quickly escalated. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have fired rockets with a reach that Israel had not previously seen, with air raid sirens going off as far away as Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa. Many of the missiles have landed in desert areas or been intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.