Fearful in Gaza

One family’s fight to survive, and remember, in a land that won’t let go of hope.

Abdalhadi Alijla's unflinching work moves beyond headlines to examine the lived reality of ordinary Gazans—not as statistics, but as human beings navigating a world where fear has become the only constant.

Through a mosaic of personal testimonies, social analysis, and quiet observation, Fearful in Gazatraces how decades of blockade, conflict, and isolation have reshaped the very fabric of daily life. Parents calculating the safest route to a bakery. Children who have learned to distinguish between the sounds of different drones. Young people weighing dreams against checkpoints. Alijla, a Gazan scholar, does not write from a distance. He writes from within—bearing witness to a society where fear is not an emotion but an architecture: political, economic, psychological. And yet, amid the rubble, he finds flickers of resilience, dark humor, and the stubborn refusal to stop hoping.

This is Alijla at his most essential: a meditation on survival, dignity, and the human cost of unresolved conflict. Fearful in Gaza asks not whether fear can be defeated, but how people find the strength to wake up anyway.

This edition presents the complete, unabridged text in a beautifully designed format made to last.

• A rare, ground-level portrait of Gaza by a scholar who has lived its reality

• Essential reading for understanding the psychological and social toll of protracted conflict

• Timely, humane, and devastating—for readers of Palestinian voices and critical journalism

Available in multiple formats:

• Paperback & Hardcover: Beautifully designed print editions presenting the complete, unabridged text made to last.

• Ebook: DRM-free EPUB compatible with Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, and all major e-readers.

• Audiobook: Professionally narrated, complete and unabridged, available on all major audiobook platforms.

A beautifully crafted edition for your shelf or the perfect gift for anyone who refuses to reduce a people to a headline.

About the author

Abdalhadi Alijla, PhD, is a Palestinian-Swedish political scientist, author, and advocate for social justice. He is the author of Trust in Divided Societies, co-editor of Rebel Governance in the Middle East, and a senior fellow at the Arab Reform Initiative. A scholar of governance and democracy, he has worked across Europe and the Middle East. In 2025, Alijla lost his mother and over fifty relatives during the genocide in Gaza. Fearful in Gaza is his reckoning, his tribute, and his call to remember.