Getting Around Gaza
Travel within Gaza is not comparable to visiting an ordinary city. The transport infrastructure has suffered widespread destruction, and moving between areas is a hazardous logistical challenge rather than a routine commute. Anyone planning to travel here should understand that the practical options are extremely limited, and conditions change constantly.
Is There a Rail, Metro or Tram Network?
No. There is no rail, metro or tram network to use in Gaza. Visitors should not plan on any form of scheduled public transit of this kind.
Buses and Public Transport
Standard public transport services are completely non-operational. This is the result of severe fuel blockades, destroyed roadways and damaged vehicles. There is no functioning bus network that a visitor can rely on to get around.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Taxi fleets are also completely non-operational, and there is no ride-hailing service to fall back on. Rental car agencies are likewise not functioning. In short, none of the usual paid transport options a visitor might expect in a city are available.
How People Actually Move
Because commercial fuel is entirely absent, movement relies heavily on makeshift and non-motorized methods. In practice this means:
- Walking — residents and aid workers primarily get around by walking long distances.
- Animal-drawn carts — donkey and horse carts have become the primary mode of moving both people and essential supplies.
- Restricted motorized vehicles — motorized travel is highly restricted and almost exclusively reserved for humanitarian aid convoys, emergency medical vehicles, and a limited number of local drivers who adapt by running modified diesel engines on recycled cooking oil.
Even where a vehicle is available, it faces immense challenges: streets are heavily cratered by explosions and blocked by massive mounds of urban rubble.
Walkability
Walking is, by necessity, the main way people move around. That does not make it easy or safe. Long distances are common, and the routes themselves may be damaged or blocked. Movement between different governorates is unpredictable and frequently severed by active military operations, checkpoints and localized evacuation orders. Travelers and humanitarian personnel must navigate constantly changing safety conditions, which makes thorough route planning essential before any movement.
Arriving by Air
Gaza has no functioning airport. The former Yasser Arafat International Airport has been shut down, and its runway was destroyed. Visitors therefore cannot fly directly into Gaza.
The nearest airports, none of which offer a straightforward route into Gaza, are:
- El Arish International Airport in Egypt — the closest, but it has no commercial flights.
- Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv — the closest airport with commercial service, but entry to Gaza from Israel is heavily restricted.
- Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan and King Hussein International Airport in Jordan — the closest non-Israeli commercial airports.
- Cairo International Airport in Egypt — the closest Egyptian-controlled airport with non-charter commercial service.
- Taba International Airport — closer than Cairo, but served only by charter flights.
Note that because of the Israel-Hamas war, it is not possible to enter Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing. The main point of entry by land is the Erez crossing in the north, on the border with Israel. Reaching Erez is easiest by taxi, and it is also possible to travel by Dan BaDarom bus #20 from Ashkelon to the checkpoint.
Entry Requirements and Practical Realities
Getting into Gaza is both difficult and unwise. Would-be visitors are required to apply in advance for Israeli permission to enter. The application is usually submitted through your embassy in Israel. In theory it takes between five and ten days; in practice it can take months, and unless you are a fully accredited journalist or an aid or human rights worker, you are unlikely to receive permission to enter from Israel.
You will need a permit from the Israeli Army, or a GPO (press) card. With a permit, you must coordinate with the Israeli Army, specifying when you plan to enter and leave. Journalists with a Government Press Office card can come and go as they please. Only vehicles with prior coordination — such as a handful of UN cars — are allowed to drive in, and only after a thorough search that may take months. It is very helpful to travel with someone who has made the crossing before.
At Erez you approach an Israeli soldier in a pillbox, who may ask you to open your bags and whether you have weapons. After checks, you wait outside an electronic gate, then enter the terminal to receive an Israeli exit stamp. You then pass through a long concrete tunnel and cross a no-man's-land of at least 1,000 metres. Porters, trolleys, wheelchairs or tuk-tuks may be available here — take them if you can. If you take the tuk-tuk, keep your hands inside the vehicle at all times.
Beyond the tunnel you reach a checkpoint, where a few taxi drivers wait. Take a taxi to the Palestinian checkpoint further down the road; the going rate is ₪3 per person. You will be searched for unlawful items. Note that alcohol and non-halal food are prohibited by the Hamas government; if you fail inspection, your items may at best be confiscated and at worst you may be arrested. Once through, you can take another taxi or, more likely, be picked up by your local contact.
Exit is harder still. After being deposited at the Hamas checkpoint, go to the white caravan to get your exit clearance, then take a taxi (₪3 per person) to the forward checkpoint. A man will take your passport and call ahead to tell the Israelis you are coming — do not ignore this step. Take the tuk-tuk if possible, or walk the kilometre-plus to Israel. You will pass through a hall for bag inspection, turnstiles, and a body scanner, then a departures hall where your bag will be selected for a hand search. Exit from Gaza could take from 30 minutes to several hours, and the checkpoint closes at 14:00, or even earlier. If you are stuck between Hamas and Israel, phone your embassy for assistance, but do not try to re-enter Gaza.
Arriving by Boat
Do not attempt it. The port of Gaza is non-operational, and Gazan waters, seaports and the coastline are patrolled by the Israeli Navy. Boats attempting to reach the Gaza shoreline are stopped and turned back. Only boats with prior permission are allowed in, and boats coming from Gaza may venture only six nautical miles into the sea; any vessel crossing that line is fired on. A 2010 flotilla attempting to reach Gaza by sea was intercepted by Israeli warships, with ten people killed, and the ships never reached Gaza.
Summary for Visitors
There is no airport, no rail or metro, no working bus network, no taxi fleet and no ride-hailing in Gaza. Movement depends on walking, animal-drawn carts, and a very small number of specially permitted or adapted vehicles, all navigating cratered and rubble-blocked streets. Entry itself requires advance Israeli permission that most visitors will not receive, and exit can be slow and unpredictable. Plan routes carefully, expect conditions to change without warning, and treat every movement as something to be arranged in advance rather than improvised.