In a new book, a historian presents an intimate account of Gaza during Israel’s prolonged attacks

I would spend a month inside the “humanitarian zone”, as Israel has named a few dozen square kilometres in the centre and south of Gaza. This “zone” primarily comprises the Al-Mawasi coastal strip, along which over a million displaced persons are literally crammed in a sea of tents. Inland, it also includes parts of the cities of Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, the latter far more ravaged than the former. From the south of AlMawasi, where I would be staying, I now had an unobstructed view of the shelling, from both land and sea, that was still targeting the last apartment blocks still standing in Rafah, down to the Egyptian border.

“There is no safe place left in the Gaza Strip”, as humanitarian organisations have been hammering home for many months, a message that becomes crystal clear in the heart of the besieged enclave. The insistent hum of Israeli drones is only one element in the soundscape of constant attack. Children in Gaza make bets as to who will be first to identify an F-16 fighter jet or Apache helicopter flying over, even if it means bluffing. They’re unbeatable when it comes to artillery impacts, machine-gun fire and strikes by the lightweight...

Read more