Gaza has long been a focal point of conflict and resilience, marked by its strategic significance as a cultural and political crossroads. Yet, amidst the cycles of violence, Gaza’s people reveal profound strength and humanity, offering lessons on perseverance and solidarity that resonate far beyond its borders.

“It seems to me both just and proper here to testify to the character of the people of Gaza. Although in war they display no more valour than the people of Coele-Syria in general, they are far superior as regards acting in unison and keeping their faith; and to put it shortly show a courage which is irresistible.”

These were the words of Polybius, a Greek historian of the period of ancient Greek and eastern Mediterranean history, recounting how, in 201 BC, King Antiochus captured Gaza. Polybius went on to declare that: “they were the only people in Syria who dared to withstand him and exhausted every resource in doing so….they left no possible means of resistance untried…..” when referring to Alexander the Great, who, in October of 332 BC, had placed Gaza under siege.

What was so attractive about Gaza? Gaza has always been a great geographical crossroad for religion, culture, commerce, and politics. To name just one example, Al-Shifa hospital—which used to be the largest hospital in Gaza City before it was destroyed by Israeli forces on 1 April 2024—was named after Abu Ali Husayn ibn Sina’s (better known in Europe as Avicenna) The Book of Healing, (Kitab al-Shifa in Arabic). Ibn Sina was arguably the most influential philosopher (and physician) of the pre-modern era, whose book focused on the moral, psychological, and spiritual healing of the soul.

The violent birth of the state of Israel in the year 1948 led to a major displacement of the indigenous Palestinian population who were expelled from their homes by Zionist military—or fled for fear of violence by the Israeli armed—forces. Out of the 750,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled, around 160,000 – 190,000 fled to the Gaza Strip. Since 1948, the Israeli government’s strategies of suppressing Palestinian resistance reveal a conscious scheme of reducing the Palestinian population.

After years of increasing tension and brutal border conflicts between Arabs and Israelis, war broke out again in 1967, whereupon Israel occupied Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. In 1970 Israel built the first Israeli settlement in the Strip. More conflicts between Israel and its Arab neighbours broke out in 1973 and the 1982.

Since the early 1990s, the Palestinian people in Gaza have been subjected to prolonged and severe structural restrictions on their movement. Moreover, Israel imposed tight restrictions on trade in goods which in effect amounted to a blockade on the densely populated 365 km² Gaza Strip. Furthermore, Israel did not allow the construction and operation of air or seaports and restricted the importation of critical production inputs and technology. Thus began what Sara Roy refers to as Israel’s systematic “de-development” of Gaza—a conscious and deliberate strategy to keep Gaza’s population in poverty and dependent on Israel.

In 2005, Israel withdrew its settlements from Gaza but retained control over its airspace and all land and sea borders, except for the 12 km border with Egypt. When Hamas won the majority of seats in the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections, a power struggle between the main factions ensued resulting in a Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and the takeover of the Gaza Strip by Hamas. For many years, under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu, various Israeli governments practiced a divide and rule approach, even propping up Hamas to bring PA President Mahmoud Abbas to his knees. In 2007, with the support of Egypt, Israel implemented a siege on Gaza. Since then, Gaza experienced destructive wars in 2008-9, 2012, 2014 and 2021, during which period the blockade—although eased at times—was never lifted.

I had been in Gaza for fieldwork as part of a British Academy funded project (2007-2009) as well as for a Heinrich Böll Stiftung fellowship. In 2014, as I walked through the rubble in Beit Hanoun, which had then suffered damage to most of its housing stock, I spoke with some of the 30,000 residents who were in need of accommodation. As I entered what was left of the three-story home of an extended family, I greeted the children first, and then the adults. One of the children had learning challenges. The little girl turned to me and said: “I still hear the bombs.” As a mother of three I imagined for a moment what it would feel like to be there with my family, in a state of complete devastation. The grandmother noticed my emotional state. She gently took her arm around me and whispered: “Your tears my dear sister are moving but you have an important job to do: take your pen, get out of Gaza and write about this injustice: and never stop writing.” I left Gaza a few days after that encounter but I never left those words behind me: Perhaps it is in these moments, in these conditions of adversity, that we encounter our moral mentors.

Physical access to Gaza after that fieldtrip became extremely challenging—impossible actually. Then on 30 March 2018 tens of thousands of Palestinians marched peacefully at Gaza’s perimeter fence with Israel. For Israel this was its feared nightmare scenario of large-scale Gazan non-violent demonstrations. For Gazans this was a collective expression of (symbolically) reconnecting with the land of their heritage. In 2019, I teamed up with a few colleagues in the context of a Welcome Trust funded project to refocus my attention on Gaza and the spatio-politics of health, death, and life. During that period we meticulously documented the effect of infrastructure demolition on health in Gaza, especially in relation to access to health services, nutrition, and water while at the same time critically observing Gazans’ alternative forms of resilience in the midst of so much visible and invisible violence imposed on their daily lives. The Gazan artists our field researcher interviewed at the time expressed how Israel’s slow violence in Gaza appears to be dismissed by the international community. But the people of the Gaza Strip continued to live—get married, become recent graduates, visit families—without free access to the outside world. Yet we did observe that years of protracted humanitarian crisis had all but exhausted Gazans’ resilience. And among the chaos and despair these artists remained hopeful. In a follow-on project we then examined how violence affects Gaza’s young generation in terms of their increasing vulnerability to mental health challenges, and how existing resilience networks could serve as a vehicle for better strategic intervention in mental health.

Then a Hamas surprise attack on Israel’s border area with Gaza—7 October2023—happened. 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on that day remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Over 43,061 Palestinian and 1,200 Israeli civilians have been killed, and hostilities are ongoing. Violence in the West Bank has surged. This war on Gaza has manifested itself in many brutal forms, including the weaponisation of starvation and sexual violence.

Gaza academics and university administrators called upon their international colleagues: “ … to support our steadfast attempts to defend and preserve our universities for the sake of the future of our people, and our ability to remain on our Palestinian land in Gaza. We built these universities from tents. And from tents, with the support of our friends, we will rebuild them once again.”

Gaza and its beautiful people only seem to gain international visibility in time of war and destruction. Yet, Gaza and Gazans have much to teach the rest of humanity about courage, faith, and kindness at a time when these core human values are so much in need of.

Michelle Pace is Professor in Global Studies at Roskilde University, Denmark. A political scientist by training, her research focuses on the intersection between European Studies, Middle East Studies, Critical Migration Studies, Democratization Studies, and Conflict Studies. 

This article is published under a Creative Commons License and may be republished with attribution.