Although the Gaza Strip is not a state, military coups have constituted a part of its modern history and have left their mark on the daily lives of its inhabitants. Turkey's failed military coup July 15 did not pass unnoticed in Gaza; it stirred the memory of Gaza’s residents and divided them between supporters and opponents.

This was not the only coup that caught Gazans’ interest. The Gaza Strip also bore the brunt of the coup in Egypt on July 3, 2013, that led to the ouster of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. Egyptian authorities immediately took measures against Gaza, as Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. These measures included closing the Rafah land crossing for long stretches of time and destroying thousands of tunnels between the Egyptian and Palestinian borders.

The Hemaya Center for Human Rights had published in September 2013 a statement saying that “destroying the tunnels without offering a legitimate substitute is an actual participation in tightening the siege [on Gaza], prolonging it and increasing its pressure on the Palestinians, not to mention crippling the life of the inhabitants.”

Ever since, the crisis has escalated in unprecedented ways: unemployment has surged to more than 65% and Gaza’s economy is on the verge of collapse, according to World Bank reports, amid the halted reconstruction process and the extreme overpopulation in a surface area of 365 square kilometers (141 square miles) with roughly 5,000 persons per square kilometer (roughly 13,000 persons per square mile).