This gazelle inhabits a range of habitats: hills, mountains, arid plains, and margins of cultivated land. Mountain Gazelles often occur in steep terrain, but avoid rocky areas, and can withstand severe climatic conditions (Mendelssohn et al. 1995).

Gazella gazella currently occurs in Israel and the Palestinian Territories from the Golan Heights, through Central Israel, the Jordan Valley and northern Negev (Hadas et al. 2015). A few still occur in Jordan, in the Jordan Valley especially near the Jordan and Yarmouk rivers (Amr 2012). In Turkey a small population was reported for the first time in Kirihan district, Hatay province, close to the border with Syria (Kankiliç et al. 2012). There have been no records in Syria since the 1970s (Kingswood et al. 2001), although they may survive on Jabal Hermon and perhaps in upper Galilee (Masseti 2004). In Lebanon, the species was believed to have become extinct after 1945, but three were seen in 1998 in the Barouk Mountains (Kingswood and Khairallah 2001). Gazelles formerly occurred in Sinai (Egypt) but the last records are from 1932 (Saleh 2001). The taxonomic affinity of these gazelles (G. cora or G. gazella) is unconfirmed.

The species is legally protected in all countries but enforcement is not always effective. They occur in small protected areas in Israel: En Gedi (14 km²); Ya’ar Yehudia (62 km²); Mezukai Herev (23 km²).