Historian in Gaza

The Gaza I knew, and whose length and breadth Ive travelled, has ceased to exist.Jean-Pierre Filiu, acclaimed historian of Gaza, is intimately familiar with the lands people and places; he speaks the local dialect. But nothing prepared him for what he encountered there in December 2024. This is his unforgettable, unbearably intimate account of one month in a place shattered by Israels all-out war.When the historian returned to Gaza,he arrived under circumstances unimaginably different from his many past visits since 1980:only a limited number of convoyswere allowed into the Strip, and he was one of the few humanitarians able to enter, this time by night. He remained inside for 33 days, and emerged determined to bear witness to the devastationto the Gazans fighting simply to live, every single day.Filius haunting portrait of a land betrayed is a grim work of war reportage, documented with the acuity of a historian; and a lyrical narrative of human suffering, and human dignity.