Guardian journalist Hazem Balousha describes living in, and reporting from, Gaza, under heavy bombardment until a ceasefire began on Friday, while historian Rashid Khalidi discusses the history of the Palestinian struggle for statehood
Anushka Asthana talks to Hazem Balousha, a Guardian correspondent who lives in Gaza. He describes living in, and reporting from, the strip, which was under heavy bombardment from last Monday until the agreement of a ceasefire, beginning early on Friday morning. The latest conflict started after Israel attempted to evict Palestinian residents from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in east Jerusalem and Israeli police stormed the Jerusalem compound which is home to al-Aqsa mosque after days of worsening clashes. Hamas issued an ultimatum for Israel to withdraw forces and as soon as that passed started firing rockets from Gaza into Israel. Hazem discusses the impact the bombardment has had on him, his family and other Gaza residents, and examines what would need to change for life to improve for them all.
Anushka also talks to Rashid Khalidi, a Palestinian American professor of modern Arab studies at Columbia university in New York and the author of the Hundred Years’ War on Palestine about the history of the Palestinian struggle for statehood.
