The Gates of Gaza

‘There is a readership that recognises the validity of conflicting perspectives; that doesn’t want complex events distilled into easy parables of moral righteousness. That audience, despairing of the way so much Middle East coverage is drained of historical context and nuance, will find some solace in The Gates of Gaza.’

-- Rafael Behr * The Guardian *

‘The Gates of Gaza flawlessly weaves history and adventure together so the reader — although we know there was a successful outcome — is still gripped with fear for the Tibon family, trapped for 10 hours in the safe room of their kibbutz home. It is the stuff of nightmares.’

-- Jenni Frazer * Jewish News *

‘This is an important book. To say [The Gates of Gaza] is gripping is an understatement; it reads like a thriller … My heart was in my mouth … This personal and very painful book should disabuse anyone of the notion that there are easy answers for the Jewish state.’

-- Jennifer Lipman * The Jewish Chronicle *

‘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, author of The World: a family history of humanity

‘Tibon describes how he hid silently in a dark room with his wife and two young daughters for 10 hours while Hamas militants attacked his community … The details of his family’s ordeal are excruciating. I held my breath as I worried about Tibon’s younger daughter — at 11/2, basically the same age as my son — being able to keep quiet as gunfire resounded through the kibbutz.’

-- Max Strasser * The New York Times Book Review *

‘Extraordinary … multifaceted … a gripping account.’

* Jewish Renaissance *

‘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 Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor

‘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

‘Eloquently sums up the personal, national and historical tragedies endured by the Israeli people on the darkest day since the country’s founding … Tibon also methodically lays out the sequence of political and strategic events that brought the country to that nightmare point, as well as the gruelling war that has lasted nearly a year.’

-- Ruth Marks Eglash * Jewish Insider *

‘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 Red Famine

‘Powerfully tells the heart-stopping story of one family on one kibbutz — his own — interweaving it with the larger history that brought them to that morning in October.’

-- Yehudah Mirsky * UnHerd *

‘It’s a harrowing, claustrophobic account of fear and of bravery.’

-- Kenneth Harper * Slugger O’Toole *

‘Tibon … spent the day trapped with his wife and two young daughters in the safe room of their house in Kibbutz Nahal Oz while their neighbours were shot and their houses set on fire … But despite the genuinely heroic story Tibon describes of his father surviving ambushes and gunfights to reach them, my focus kept shifting to the drama of the little girls — Galia, 3 and a half, and Carmel, almost 2 — sitting in the darkness of the safe room.’

* The Atlantic *

‘[The Gates of Gaza] reads like a thriller, a page-turner full of danger and bravery but nonetheless a true story, which also paints the bigger picture.’

* The Irish Times *

‘Propulsive and poignant … Seamlessly blending a history of Gaza with the harrowing events of October 7, Tibon highlights how, for more than 100 years, the Strip has destabilised the region and warped both Israeli and Palestinian society … Tibon adds important and meticulous detail, providing the definitive account of the ordeal in Nahal Oz, where the terrorists would murder 3 percent of the community and take another 2 percent as hostages.’

* Commentary Magazine *

‘Eloquent … scathing … A wide-ranging survey of Israeli history expressed through the drama of a single day and the claustrophobic politics of a small country … [Tibon] reports events with admirable calm, where his own peril is concerned, and cool fury directed at the failures of his country’s leaders … Given what Tibon personally endured — the friends killed and kidnapped by Hamas — he shows an impressive capacity for analytical detachment … There is a readership that recognises the validity of conflicting perspectives; that doesn't want complex events distilled into easy parables of moral righteousness. That audience, despairing of the way so much Middle East coverage is drained of historical context and nuance, will find some solace in The Gates of Gaza.’

-- Rafael Behr * The Guardi