A prominent Palestinian advocate has praised a new book launched last week investigating the history, human consequences and international failures over Israel’s three-year genocide in Gaza and beyond.

“At a time when truth, justice, and accountability matter more than ever, documenting these events and preserving the stories of those affected is essential,” said Maher Nazzal, chair of the Palestine Forum of New Zealand.

Speaking at the launch of Gaza: Anatomy of a Genocide, Nazzal thanked New Zealand author Peter Macky for his research and work in producing the timely book.

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“We remember. We bear witness. We demand justice,” Nazzal said.

Macky’s Gaza examines the destruction of Gaza and the political and historical forces behind it.

The book traces the conflict through the history of Palestinian dispossession, occupation and blockade, before examining the genocidal events following 7 October 2023.

It investigates the destruction of civilian infrastructure, the treatment of prisoners, the killing of journalists and humanitarian workers, and the role of political leaders and international institutions.

Historical conditions
Macky argues that Gaza’s devastation could not be understood as an isolated episode. His account examines the historical conditions, military decisions and international responses that shaped the catastrophe.

The book also addresses the legal and political controversy surrounding the term genocide, drawing on international law, human rights reporting and the evidence discussed throughout the work.

Macky, who has published several books, describes this as the work he is most proud of.

His engagement with Palestine and Israel extends over many years and includes his earlier book Six Days in the Holy Land published in 2009.

Gaza: Anatomy of a Genocide is published by Steele Roberts Aotearoa. It carries an endorsement from Michael Neill, emeritus professor of English at the University of Auckland, who also spoke at the launch.

“I admire this book enormously — its energy, its intelligence, its meticulous research, and its careful concern for history. I know of nothing like it,” Neill wrote.

The book invites readers to confront difficult questions about the destruction of civilian society, the meaning of accountability and the responsibilities of governments and individuals when confronted with mass suffering.

Truth ‘under the rubble’
Ironically, the book has been launched in the same week as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory, Francesca Albanese, launched her devastating Truth under the rubble: media in the time of genocide report critiquing mainstream media’s role in “normalising” the genocide.

She adopted the term “mediacide” to describe the sanitising process.