The gripping true story of how leading Israeli journalist Amir Tibon, along with his wife and their two young children, were rescued from Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7, 2023 by Tibon’s own father—an incredible tale of survival that also reveals the deep tensions and systemic failures that led to Hamas’s attacks that day.On the morning of Saturday, October 7, Amir 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 their children not to cry while they listened to the gunfire from Hamas attackers outside their windows. With his cell 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 that they received Amir's note. Still dripping from an early-morning swim, 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, Amir Tibon tells his family's harrowing story in full for the first time, describing their terrifying ordeal—and the bravery that ultimately led to their rescue—alongside the histories of the place they call home and the systems of power that have kept them and their neighbors in Gaza in harm’s way for decades, with no end in sight. This dynamic of purposeful hostility between Israel and its Palestinian neighbors will need to be fundamentally dismantled, he shows, if the region is to have any hope of peace. With deep sensitivity and drawing on Israeli and Palestinian sources as well as original interviews with the police officers and soldiers who fought alongside his parents on 10/7, Tibon offers an unsparing but ultimately hopeful view of this seemingly intractable conflict and its global reverberations.

​

Rights sold:

Israel: Yediot Books; France: Christian Bourgois (in a pre-empt); Germany: Suhrkamp (in a pre-empt); UK: Scribe; US: Little, Brown (world English)

Reviews:

“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

“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 agonizing 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 U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Egypt

“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, author of Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor

“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

"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

"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

“In a deep, breathless autobiography, Amir Tibon traces the disaster and its roots.” —Le Point (France)

“A fascinating historical, political and geopolitical perspective of this small piece of land where so many dramas unfold… Sensitive and embodied, but never sensationalist or sententious… More powerful, and ultimately more useful for understanding the situation than most of the books published on this first anniversary of 7 October.” —Télérama (France)

“A book of great humanity.” —La Semaine (France)

“A book of survival, but also a story and a history, singular and collective.” —L’Obs (France)

“Extremely precise.” —TV5 Monde (France)