{"product_id":"pizza-before-we-die-an-eyewitness-account-in-gaza-9781834050324","title":"Pizza Before We Die: An Eyewitness Account in Gaza","description":"\u003cp\u003eA heart-wrenching personal account of the ongoing devastation in Gaza by an ordinary citizen who bears witness to the undoing of his community and homeland.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe human tragedy unfolding in Gaza has been made all the more tragic by the widespread denial and apathy expressed by much of the rest of the world. Here is an urgent first-hand account of life and death in Gaza, written not by a war correspondent, but an ordinary citizen whose life was upended when the genocide began.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the midst of the chaos, Hassan began posting about his daily experiences on Reddit. Three activists, moved by his words, started collecting his posts without a clear plan – only the conviction that his story needed to be seen and that somehow, it might help raise funds for him. By chance, those posts found their way to award-winning author Yasuko Thanh, who helped Hassan frame them for a book.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHassan’s missives are a vivid, heartbreaking account of war and its toll – on families, on children, on innocent civilians. These are stories of hunger, survival, and death. These are stories that demand to be heard. And yet, stories like these are not being told: mainstream media has largely remained silent. Foreign journalists are barred from Gaza. Local journalists are being killed. In this vacuum, Hassan’s voice manages to break through out of the darkness and into the light.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePizza Before We Die \u003c\/i\u003eis literary journalism at its rawest and most urgent – clear-eyed, unflinching, and deeply humane. Hassan captures the unspeakable horror of the tragedy in Gaza with restraint and precision, never sensationalising, always bearing witness. It is a work of raw power and emotion, and a reminder that in the midst of chaos and tragedy, our shared humanity remains intact.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYasuko Thanh, who edited this book, has also written the foreword.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA portion of proceeds from the sale of \u003ci\u003ePizza Before We Die\u003c\/i\u003e will be donated to Doctors Without Borders \/ Médecins Sans Frontières.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781834050324\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 144\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 01 Aug 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Arsenal Pulp Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: Vancouver, Canada\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 20.3(H)x15.2(L)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHassan Kanafani \u003c\/b\u003e(a pseudonym) (he\/him) is from Gaza. He is a graduate from the Faculty of Engineering at Al-Azhar University in Gaza in 2020.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eYasuko Thanh\u003c\/b\u003e (she\/her) is a writer and a creative writing instructor at the University of Victoria in Victoria, BC. She is the author of the novels \u003ci\u003eMysterious Fragrance of the Yellow Mountains\u003c\/i\u003e (winner of the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize), \u003ci\u003eTo the Bridge\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Falling Maria\u003c\/i\u003e (forthcoming in 2027), and the memoir \u003ci\u003eMistakes to Run With\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This astonishing account demands readers look directly at the horrors in Gaza without blinking.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cem\u003ePizza Before We Die\u003c\/em\u003e is a raw work of witness from the ground level of a genocide. Hassan Kanafani writes in the most unvarnished and yet precise way about the reality of what it means to have one's home reduced to rubble. The smallest, most intricate detail of daily survival bleeds into the most overarching view of atrocity. In its deep dignity and commitment to life, this collection of snapshots is both intimate and powerful.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e--Omar El Akkad, author of \u003cem\u003eOne Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"In \u003cem\u003ePizza Before We Die\u003c\/em\u003e, Hassan Kanafani writes the stories of his people under occupation and genocide from a seaside tent community in Gaza while the world seems to have turned away. With lyrical clarity, the author shifts between intimate moments and the vast scale of destruction enacted by Israel, describing both crimes against humanity in Gaza and the extraordinary spirit and dignity of the Palestinian people amidst unspeakable violence and immense suffering. Deeply humane and urgently necessary, Hassan has kept his promise to survive and tell these stories, and now, dear reader, these stories and lives are also our responsibility to carry.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cstrong\u003eCarrianne Leung, author of \u003cem\u003eThat Time I Loved You\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Within these pages you will find moments of horror from Gaza frozen into words. They will kindle a necessary rage at the inhumanity inherent in Israel and Zionism. A vital and necessary read in the best tradition of Refaat Alareer.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cstrong\u003eAamir Hussain, author of \u003cem\u003eUnder the Full and Crescent Moon\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"In \u003cem\u003ePizza Before We Die\u003c\/em\u003e, Hassan Kanafani records the atrocities of genocide alongside the relentless search for basic day-to-day necessities that every Palestinian in Gaza faces--conditions by design stripped bare. This is both an account of the facts and a psychological portrait of endurance that acknowledges the costs such endurance exacts. What emerges is not a headline or a viral moment, but a life lived under catastrophe.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cstrong\u003eGarth Martens, author of \u003cem\u003eWho Else in the Dark Headed There\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Kanafani offers a heart-scalding, intimate and beautifully written account of the life of suffering and endurance he and his family experience there, while well-fed men in suits count the profits of war and promote the rationalizations of colonialism and genocide.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cstrong\u003erabble.ca\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hassan Kanafani","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49180372402393,"sku":"9781834050324","price":29.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781834050324.jpg?v=1788354534","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/pizza-before-we-die-an-eyewitness-account-in-gaza-9781834050324","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}