From a leading scholar of Palestine-Israel, a brief, essential history of the besieged strip of land, revealing the roots of the current crisis.
 

The Gaza Strip is one of the most widely-reported on regions in the world—yet misinformation about its history and its people abound. In this vital book, historian Anne Irfan explains Gaza’s outsized political significance through six pivotal moments in its modern history, beginning with Israel’s expulsion of the Palestinian people upon its establishment in 1948, when the Gaza region was truncated to the “strip” we know today. As she takes us through Israel’s occupation of Gaza, the Palestinian national struggle and formation of the PLO, the first intifada, the creation of the Palestinian Authority and the rise of Hamas, she tackles widespread historical ignorance and untangles contradicting narratives.

Drawing on a decade of research, Irfan weaves in the voices of everyday Palestinians, from farmers and teachers to poets and activists. Written with remarkable clarity and compassion, A Short History of the Gaza Strip is an indispensable read for anyone seeking to understand Palestine today.

Details

ISBN13: 9781398552906
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 304
Edition: Export/Airside
Publication Date: 26 Aug 2025
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
Publication City, Country: London, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 21.6(H)x13.5(L)x1.9(W)
Weight (gm):

Author Biography

Anne Irfan is a multiple award-winning historian and lecturer in Interdisciplinary Race, Gender and Postcolonial Studies at University College London, where her work focuses on Palestine-Israel. She is a leading expert on Palestinian refugee rights and in 2023 published the academic book Refuge and Resistance: Palestinians and the International Refugee System. She was previously lecturer at the University of Oxford's Refugee Studies Centre and has also taught at the London School of Economics.

Reviews

‘A timely, short, highly informative history that is sure to dispel many of the misconceptions and misinformation circulating and currently widespread about Gaza. It will remind readers of what the area was like and what was lost in the course of Israel's aggression, as well as recognizing Gaza's resilience. It could also help bring to the mind of readers the Gaza that was’ -- Raja Shehadeh, author of What Does Israel Fear From Palestine?
‘In lean and unsparing prose, Anne Irfan exposes the history of occupation and oppression that explains the tragedy of Gaza from 1948 to the present day. A brilliant book that will inform debate and make clear to policy makers how Gaza’s future must in no way resemble its recent past’ -- Eugene Rogan, author of The Arabs: A History
‘In this stunning book, Anne Irfan contextualizes the violence unfolding in Gaza today without losing sight of the humanity of Palestinians. She describes the horrors of history with a nuanced kindness and reminds us that these events are not all that matter – because the Palestinian people that experienced them matter too’ -- Nadya Hajj, author of Networked Refugees
‘Beautifully written, erudite, humane: an essential guide to understanding the way the Israeli settler colonial project in and around Gaza has evolved into a brutal genocide’ -- Eyal Weizman, author of Hollow Land: The Architecture of Israel's Occupation
‘With Gaza in ruins and its people bombed, starved and displaced, accounting for Israel’s genocidal campaign and its impact on Palestinians is an urgent necessity. In this accessible analytical narrative, Anne Irfan convincingly shows how the destruction condenses the confrontation between the long-term Israeli ambition to deport Gaza’s Palestinian inhabitants – mostly descended from Nakba refugees – and their obdurate determination to remain in their homeland. A Short History of the Gaza Strip is a much-needed historical contextualization’ -- A. Dirk Moses, author of The Problems of Genocide
‘An incredible, informative and powerful book. It tells us that you can’t understand the current destruction of Gaza without going back to the beginning and then does exactly that, in such a readable and devastating way’ -- Rachel Shabi, author of Off-White: The Truth About Antisemitism