The Gaza Strip is a territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea and is bordered by Egypt on the its southwest, and by Israel to the East and North. Its population is approximately 1.7 million people, the majority of which are Sunni Muslim. Its current northern and eastern boundaries were stipulated by the Israel-Egypt Armistice Agreement signed on the 24th February 1949. Since 2007 Hamas has functioned as its de facto ruler.