Gates of Gaza: a Story of Betrayal, Survival, and Hope in Israel’s Bordertowns

The gripping, true story of how leading Israeli journalist Amir Tibon, along with his wife and their two young children, were rescued on 7 October 2023 by Tibon’s father – an incredible tale of survival that also reveals the deep tensions and systemic failures that led to Hamas’s attacks that day.

On that fateful day, 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 them not to cry while they all listened to the gunfire from Hamas attackers outside their windows. With his mobile phone battery running low, Amir texted his father- ‘The girls are behaving really well, but I’m worried they’ll lose patience soon and Hamas will hear us.’

Some 45 miles north, Amir’s parents had just cut short an early-morning swim along the shores of Tel Aviv. Now, they jumped in their Jeep and sped 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 this harrowing story in full for the first time. He describes his family’s 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 neighbours in Gaza in harm’s way for decades.

Woven throughout is Tibon’s own expertise as a longtime international correspondent, as well as more than thirty original interviews- with residents of his kibbutz, with the Israeli soldiers who helped to wrest it from the hands of Hamas, and with experts on Gaza, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the failed peace process. More than one family’s odyssey, The Gates of Gaza is the intimate story of a tight-knit community and the broader saga of war, occupation, and hostility between two national movements – a conflict that has not yet extinguished the enduring hope for peace.



‘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, and author of Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor

‘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 agonising 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 US Ambassador to Israel and Egypt

‘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

Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
Imprint: Scribe Australia
Publication date: 01/10/2024