After World War I, Gaza became part of the British Mandate for Palestine. The Mandate text set the rules for British rule. It addressed a Jewish national home. It also addressed the civil and religious rights of the land’s other residents.
1948 to 1967: Egyptian administration
Egypt governed Gaza after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Gaza did not become an independent Palestinian state at that time. Britannica’s Gaza Strip entry gives the basic sequence.
1967 to 1994: Israeli administration
Israel captured Gaza from Egypt during the 1967 war. It then began to govern the territory. The State Department’s Office of the Historian explains the war and the land Israel captured.
1994 to 2007: limited Palestinian self-rule
The Oslo agreements gave the new Palestinian Authority set duties in parts of Gaza. Some covered civil government. Others covered security. This was limited self-rule, not a final decision on sovereignty. Israel kept control of key outside access points. In 2005, it removed its settlers and permanent military forces from inside Gaza.
Since 2007: Hamas rule
Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian election for the legislature. The next year, it took Gaza from Fatah by force. Hamas then ruled Gaza. The Palestinian Authority ruled parts of the West Bank. No national Palestinian election for the legislature has followed. The Congressional Research Service summarizes both the Palestinians and Hamas.
Hamas remains Gaza’s de facto ruler. Here, de facto means that Hamas holds power in practice. It lacks broad recognition as a sovereign government. Palestinian civilians are not responsible for Hamas’s choices. The population and the armed group that rules it are not the same.