Jean-Pierre Filiu’s Gaza: A History (second edition), expertly translated by Tom King, is a sweeping historical account of one of the most contested and resilient regions in the world. Filiu, a French historian and former diplomat, brings together archival research, interviews and previously unpublished documents to reconstruct the history of Gaza from antiquity to the present. This exploration is especially valuable in resisting anachronistic interpretations that impose modern national identities onto ancient peoples. Filiu does not merely recount events; he interrogates the philosophical and political dimensions of Gaza’s predicament. He frames the region as a paradigmatic case of territorial liminality — an entity in flux, shaped by external forces yet maintaining a resilient agency of its own. In his analysis, Gaza is not an anomaly but a microcosm of global struggles over statelessness.
The book is structured into five sections across 16 chapters, tracing different phases of Gaza’s history. Gaza Before the Strip explores its ancient and medieval past as a key trading hub and intellectual centre, noting its connection to Egypt, Arabia and the Levant. Gaza was spared the wave of Jewish terrorism that shook Palestine at the end of World War II, involving the Haganah, the extremist Irgun, and the Stern Gang (Lehi). 1947–1967: The Generation of Mourning examines the Nakba and subsequent displacement. 1967–1987: The Generation of Dispossession covers Israel’s occupation and evolving Palestinian resistance. 1987–2007: The Generation of the Intifadas analyses the uprisings and Hamas’s rise. Finally, The Generation of Impasse addresses Gaza’s ongoing political paralysis and humanitarian crises.
Filiu acknowledges the difficulties in writing Gaza’s history, particularly the destruction and displacement of local archives due to successive conflicts. Additionally, political factions such as Hamas and Fatah have constructed competing narratives of Gaza’s past, complicating efforts to present an impartial historical account. The book traces Gaza’s origins to the ancient Philistines, seafaring people who settled in Philistia, from which the name Palestine is derived. As a key trade hub, Gaza connected Egypt, Arabia and the Levant, playing a significant role in regional commerce. The city was also a site of resistance, notably against Alexander the Great’s siege in 332 BCE.
With the rise of Islam, Gaza became part of the Umayyad military district of Palestine, later experiencing political shifts under the Abbasids and Ottomans. Despite losing political prominence, Gaza remained a centre of Islamic scholarship. It was the birthplace of Imam Shafi’i (767 CE), the founder of one of Sunni Islam’s major legal schools. Under British administration, Gaza became a focal point of Palestinian nationalism. The 1948 Nakba turned it into a refugee enclave, first under Egyptian control and later under Israeli occupation. Filiu provides a detailed account of Israeli policies and how they have shaped Gaza’s contemporary struggles.
Dr Shubhda Chaudhary is a foreign policy analyst
Gaza: A History
By Jean-Pierre Filiu
Translated by Tom King
Pan Macmillan
pp. 563; Rs 999
