Overview

‘Superb. A visceral, heartbreaking, and powerful account — with personal testimonies and deep research — of the October 7 Hamas invasion, massacres, and atrocities committed that day. Essential reading for anyone who wants to know what exactly happened.’ Simon Sebag Montefiore The gripping, true story of how leading Israeli journalist Amir Tibon, along with his wife and their two young children, were rescued on 7 October 2023 by Tibon’s father — an incredible tale of survival that also reveals the tensions and failures that led to Hamas’s attacks that day. On that fateful day, Tibon and his wife were awakened by mortar rounds exploding near their home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, a progressive Israeli settlement along the Gaza border. Soon, they were holding their two young daughters in the family’s reinforced safe room, urging them not to cry while they all listened to the gunfire from Hamas attackers outside their windows. With his mobile phone battery running low, Amir texted his father: ‘They’re here.’ Some 45 miles to the north, on the shores of Tel Aviv, Amir’s parents saw the news at the same time as they received Amir’s note. Immediately, they jumped in their car and raced toward Nahal Oz, armed only with a pistol — but intent on saving their family at all costs. In The Gates of Gaza, Tibon tells his family’s harrowing story, describing their terrifying ordeal — and the bravery that led to their rescue — alongside the histories of the place they call home and the systems of power that have kept them and their neighbours in Gaza in harm’s way for decades. With sensitivity, and drawing on Israeli and Palestinian sources, Tibon offers an unsparing but ultimately hopeful view of this seemingly intractable conflict and its global reverberations.

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9781914484698

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Reviews

Praise for The Last Palestinian: ‘The Last Palestinian is a gripping story, compellingly told. It is required reading for anybody who wants to understand the crisis of the Palestinian national movement and the failure of the peace process.’ -- Walter Russell Mead, Distinguished Scholar at Hudson Institute and author of <em>Special Providence</em> Praise for The Last Palestinian: ‘This is a serious political biography of a man whose life embodies the hopes, challenges, struggles, and failures of the Palestinian national struggle. An important account for anyone wishing to understand the history, evolution, and politics of Palestinian peacemaking.’ -- Robert Danin, Council on Foreign Relations and Harvard Kennedy School, former Head of the Office of the Quartet Representative, Jerusalem Praise for The Last Palestinian: ‘This important and fair-minded book adds an important, and badly needed, element to the puzzle of contemporary Palestinian domestic politics. It should be read carefully by everyone who wants to understand the current status of Israeli-Palestinian dynamics and the broader political landscape in the Middle East.’ -- Hussein Ibish, senior resident scholar, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, DC Praise for The Last Palestinian: ‘The Last Palestinian is an essential read, for it tells the story of a complex personality — opposed to violence, doggedly in favour of the two-state solution, intent to lead but with a shrinking following — in pursuit of a vision of an independent Palestine that has thus far eluded him. The authors have assembled a textured picture of the man, his strengths and shortcomings, who at age eighty-two continues to lead the Palestinians, albeit in a more authoritarian direction and toward a goal of independence that appears more remote than ever.’ -- Daniel Kurtzer, Princeton University, former US ambassador to Egypt and Israel Praise for The Last Palestinian: ‘This is the well-told tale — sad, but immensely consequential — of how Mahmoud Abbas declined from peacemaker to autocrat and took the hopes of Palestinians down with him. Everyone interested in Middle East peace needs to know this story.’ -- Elliott Abrams, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, and former US Deputy National Security Advisor

‘More than an account of horror, Amir Tibon’s riveting book is a story of courage. Tibon’s extraordinary family and community offer a glimpse into Israel's resilience, and help explain why it may be premature to despair over the hope for peace.’ -- Yossi Klein Halevi, senior fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute, and author of <em>Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor</em> ‘Amir Tibon has captured the horror and hope of October 7 in this compelling story of Hamas’ murderous rampage across southern Israel, of his family’s agonising experience in their safe room while terrorists roamed outside, and of the heroism of his father, Noam, who came to their rescue. The Gates of Gaza would be an engrossing read if it were fiction; the fact that it is a true story is simply extraordinary.’ -- Daniel Kurtzer, former US Ambassador to Israel and Egypt ‘A riveting minute by minute account of one of Israel’s darkest days, Amir Tibon’s telling of his family’s horrific ordeal — hiding for hours while terrorists overtook his kibbutz — is captivating. His father’s heroic mission to rescue them, woven together with the storied and bloodied history of the kibbutz, makes for a remarkable read.’ -- Bianna Golodryga, Anchor and Senior Global Affairs Analyst, CNN ‘Amir Tibon survived the October 7th Hamas attack on his kibbutz thanks to his father, who jumped in a car, drove south from Tel Aviv — dodging rockets and bullets — and pulled off a daring rescue of Amir and his young family. As a newspaper journalist, Amir brings a reporter’s eye to this vivid, truthful, and at times emotional account — not only of the fear and terror of that day, but also of life along the Israeli border with Gaza, and of the struggle between the Jews and Palestinians. The Gates of Gaza is both sweeping and deeply personal; it is grand and granular, historic and suspenseful, compassionate and wise.’ -- Lesley Stahl, correspondent, 60 Minutes ‘In The Gates of Gaza, Amir Tibon recounts both his own story of rescue on October 7, as well as the complicated history of the Israeli–Gaza border region that he calls home. He is a chronicler, an observer, and a participant in this story, which he tells with real emotional power.’ -- Anne Applebaum, author of <i>Red Famine</i> Praise for The Last Palestinian: ‘The Last Palestinian is a gripping story, compellingly told. It is required reading for anybody who wants to understand the crisis of the Palestinian national movement and the failure of the peace process.’ -- Walter Russell Mead, Distinguished Scholar at Hudson Institute and author of <em>Special Providence</em> Praise for The Last Palestinian: ‘This is a serious political biography of a man whose life embodies the hopes, challenges, struggles, and failures of the Palestinian national struggle. An important account for anyone wishing to understand the history, evolution, and politics of Palestinian peacemaking.’ -- Robert Danin, Council on Foreign Relations and Harvard Kennedy School, former Head of the Office of the Quartet Representative, Jerusalem Praise for The Last Palestinian: ‘This important and fair-minded book adds an important, and badly needed, element to the puzzle of contemporary Palestinian domestic politics. It should be read carefully by everyone who wants to understand the current status of Israeli–Palestinian dynamics and the broader political landscape in the Middle East.’ -- Hussein Ibish, senior resident scholar, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, DC Praise for The Last Palestinian: ‘The Last Palestinian is an essential read, for it tells the story of a complex personality — opposed to violence, doggedly in favour of the two-state solution, intent to lead but with a shrinking following — in pursuit of a vision of an independent Palestine that has thus far eluded him. The authors have assembled a textured picture of the man, his strengths and shortcomings, who at age eighty-two continues to lead the Palestinians, albeit in a more authoritarian direction and toward a goal of independence that appears more remote than ever.’ -- Daniel Kurtzer, Princeton University, former US ambassador to Egypt and Israel Praise for The Last Palestinian: ‘This is the well-told tale — sad, but immensely consequential — of how Mahmoud Abbas declined from peacemaker to autocrat and took the hopes of Palestinians down with him. Everyone interested in Middle East peace needs to know this story.’ -- Elliott Abrams, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, and former US Deputy National Security Advisor

Praise for The Last Palestinian: ‘The Last Palestinian is a gripping story, compellingly told. It is required reading for anybody who wants to understand the crisis of the Palestinian national movement and the failure of the peace process.’ -- Walter Russell Mead, Distinguished Scholar at Hudson Institute and author of <em>Special Providence</em> Praise for The Last Palestinian: ‘This is a serious political biography of a man whose life embodies the hopes, challenges, struggles, and failures of the Palestinian national struggle. An important account for anyone wishing to understand the history, evolution, and politics of Palestinian peacemaking.’ -- Robert Danin, Council on Foreign Relations and Harvard Kennedy School, former Head of the Office of the Quartet Representative, Jerusalem Praise for The Last Palestinian: ‘This important and fair-minded book adds an important, and badly needed, element to the puzzle of contemporary Palestinian domestic politics. It should be read carefully by everyone who wants to understand the current status of Israeli–Palestinian dynamics and the broader political landscape in the Middle East.’ -- Hussein Ibish, senior resident scholar, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, DC Praise for The Last Palestinian: ‘The Last Palestinian is an essential read, for it tells the story of a complex personality — opposed to violence, doggedly in favour of the two-state solution, intent to lead but with a shrinking following — in pursuit of a vision of an independent Palestine that has thus far eluded him. The authors have assembled a textured picture of the man, his strengths and shortcomings, who at age eighty-two continues to lead the Palestinians, albeit in a more authoritarian direction and toward a goal of independence that appears more remote than ever.’ -- Daniel Kurtzer, Princeton University, former US ambassador to Egypt and Israel Praise for The Last Palestinian: ‘This is the well-told tale — sad, but immensely consequential — of how Mahmoud Abbas declined from peacemaker to autocrat and took the hopes of Palestinians down with him. Everyone interested in Middle East peace needs to know this story.’ -- Elliott Abrams, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, and former US Deputy National Security Advisor

Author Information

Amir Tibon is an award-winning diplomatic correspondent for Haaretz, Israel’s paper of record, and the author of The Last Palestinian: the rise and reign of Mahmoud Abbas (co-authored with Grant Rumley), the first-ever biography of the leader of the Palestinian Authority. From 2017–2020, Tibon was based in Washington, DC, as a foreign correspondent for Haaretz, and he also has served as a senior editor for the newspaper’s English edition. He, his wife, and their two young daughters are former residents of Kibbutz Nahal Oz but are currently living as internal refugees in northern Israel.

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