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By: Jonathan Schanzer
One year into the war thrust upon Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 slaughter, several books are now hitting the market. None have been more anticipated than the one by Haaretz journalist Amir Tibon.
Tibon, a talented journalist who spent several years in Washington writing for Israel’s newspaper of record, experienced 10/7 in ways few others did. He was pinned down with his wife and two daughters in the safe room of his home in Nahal Oz, a kibbutz adjacent to the Gaza Strip. Hamas fighters prowled the area for victims that day, killing 1,200 and kidnapping 245.
Thankfully, Tibon’s story has a happy ending: He and his family were saved by the author’s father, Noam Tibon, a retired general in the Israel Defense Forces, along with a handful of brave active-duty soldiers who valiantly confronted the well-armed terrorists who swarmed southern Israel on that fateful day.
Tibon’s gripping account of 10/7 draws upon his memory, as well as accounts from his neighbors and friends from Nahal Oz. They all endured a hell they will not soon forget. Sadly, some are still living that hell as they mourn murdered family and friends or anxiously wait to learn the fate of loved ones still held by Hamas in Gaza. Tibon’s telling of their stories is both chilling and authoritative.
The Gates of Gaza, however, is about more than the Hamas assault. The author expertly weaves in the history of the kibbutz, the history of Hamas violence, and even the current politics of Israel.
As it happened, Nahal Oz was set to celebrate its 70th anniversary on the night of Oct. 7. First established in 1953, Nahal Oz was built by fervent Zionists who endured back-breaking agricultural work to build a community on Israel’s borderlands. Their success was a strategic imperative. It signaled to the Arab world that Israel would not cower, even amid attacks from fedayeen (irregular fighters) from Gaza. Indeed, the military order to create the kibbutz was issued by none other than Moshe Dayan, whose iconic eyepatch and mischievous smile only amplified the country’s fascination with his cunning on the battlefield.
Over time, the community flourished. But with the Hamas terrorist group entrenched across the border, it was a rollercoaster. A watershed was the spring of 2001. As Tibon notes, that was when “Hamas had found a way to overcome the obstacle of the border fence.” Subsequent waves of crude but dangerous projectiles necessitated the building of “safe rooms” in homes throughout Nahal Oz. (Tibon’s safe room, made of thick concrete, a strong a door, and a steel plate to cover the window, was what enabled Tibon and his family to survive on Oct. 7.)
The year 2007 was another milestone for Nahal Oz and the surrounding communities. That was when Hamas conquered the Gaza Strip by force, overthrowing the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. From there, security deteriorated rapidly. Hamas became the sovereign, enabling the group to devote significant resources to its war machine. The group’s prolific rocketing of Israel, however, was outmatched by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, which successfully intercepted its first projectile in April 2011. Since then, Iron Dome has protected large swaths of Israel from 90 percent of Hamas attacks, if not more.
For Nahal Oz and the other southern communities, however, Iron Dome does little. They are too close to Gaza to intercept the short-range rockets and mortars that Hamas launches at them. Some residents couldn’t handle the constant threat and elected to leave.
But the Israeli people are remarkably tenacious. The southern communities built back better, enticing people like Tibon to build a life in Nahal Oz, even in the wake of the 51-day war with Hamas in 2014.
Tibon’s account of the last decade—after he moved to Nahal Oz—is rather blunt in his assessment of Israel’s political leadership. The author excoriates Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing Israel in multiple ways (hence the word “betrayal” in the book’s subtitle).
The prime minister cut a deal with Qatar, which enabled the conniving, terror-supporting Gulf state to deliver an estimated $30 million per month to Hamas-controlled Gaza in a misbegotten effort to sustain “calm.” This obviously backfired horribly, and it should never have happened.
The 10/7 attacks took place on Netanyahu’s watch. This intelligence and military failure ultimately falls upon the head of state, even if many others should accept responsibility and blame. Tibon also rightly notes that Netanyahu’s pursuit of an overhaul of the Israeli legal system ignited a domestic firestorm that undeniably led Hamas to believe the country was divided and weak.
Finally, Netanyahu was too slow to respond to thousands of Israelis in the wake of the Hamas assault. It was ultimately the country’s nonprofits and volunteers who helped people like Amir Tibon resettle in the wake of Oct. 7.
Tibon, however, also hammers the prime minister for failing to reach a hostage deal with Hamas. This is a common refrain among the prime minister’s critics. And the suffering of the hostages cannot be ignored. But it must be recognized that Hamas (and its patrons in Tehran) have repeatedly refused to meet Israel’s legitimate terms. Meanwhile, Netanyahu is working to protect an estimated 10 million citizens against Iran, Hezbollah, the Houthis, militias in Iraq and Syria, and beyond.
Fittingly, the title “The Gates of Gaza” stems from the biblical story of Samson. The Jewish warrior lifted the heavy gates of the Philistine city of Gaza after his enemies tried to trap him there. One year after the war in the Middle East began, the Israelis are still trying to fight their way out. The gates of Gaza are no less burdensome today.
The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal, Survival, and Hope in Israel’s Borderlands
by Amir Tibon
Little, Brown and Company, 352 pp., $30
Jonathan Schanzer, a former terrorism finance analyst at the United States Department of the Treasury, is senior vice president for research at the nonpartisan think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
