A Historian in Gaza

Nothing could prepare historian Jean-Pierre Filiu for what he encountered in Gaza.

Noted historian of Gaza, Jean-Pierre Filiu, spent a month there between December and January 2025. This is his up-close, immersive documentary of reality inside the Palestinian enclave.

Filiu is a historian who specialises in Gazan history, and has travelled there regularly since 1980. He also knows the Arabic dialect spoken there. In December 2024, he once again crossed into Gaza, albeit under unimaginably different circumstances- at the time, only two convoys per week were allowed through the border crossings. In January 2025, Filiu returned.

Writing in a lyrical but frank tone, he reveals a portrait of grim reality, delivering a book that is in part war reportage, and in part a narrative of human suffering. People living in Gaza must fight to find fresh water, eat proper meals, move from one city to another, and struggle to obtain medical care if wounded. These quotidian experiences are described in a manner that forces us to confront what is happening in Gaza every single day.

‘Jean-Pierre Filiu is not just an authority on Gaza, he was there during the genocide … A Historian in Gaza is a methodical, sober account of Israel’s campaign to visit hell upon the people of Gaza and eliminate all aspects of its civil society. An important, essential book.‘
-Joe Sacco, cartoonist and journalist and the author of Palestine, Footnotes in Gaza, and The Once and Future Riot

‘This superb book is written by a historian who has experienced many wars and who has been going to Gaza since 1982 … The shock and revulsion at what he witnessed there, where death now can come at any time, comes through on every page. Written with empathy and deep knowledge of the place and its people, Filiu puts the reader right at the centre of Gaza’s horrific reality. I was moved to the bone reading his account, which is like no other I’ve read on Gaza.‘
-Raja Shehadeh, Palestinian lawyer, human rights activist, and author of What Does Israel Fear from Palestine?

‘Never has the role of historian been more urgent. Filiu’s courage, profound insight and first-hand experience make his book a singular contribution to our understanding of the Gaza genocide and its global impact.’
Mark LeVine, author of Impossible Peace Israel/Palestine since 1989

Author Biography

Jean-Pierre Filiu (Author) Jean-Pierre Filiu is Professor of Middle East Studies at Sciences Po in Paris, and has held visiting professorships at Columbia University and Georgetown University. He is the author of Gaza- a history, From Deep State to Islamic State, The Arab Revolution, and The Middle East- a political history.

Cynthia Schoch (Translator) Cynthia Schoch is a widely experienced translator. Cynthia lives in France, and, with her friend Trista Selous, has jointly translated several other books, including Jihad and Death and The Crisis of Culture, both by Olivier Roy.