11 Days in Gaza

A raw and intimate account of eleven unthinkable days during Israel’s 2009 ground operation into Gaza, through the eyes of a young paratrooper reservist facing the moral complexities and human cost of modern warfare.

In December 2008, law student Gadi Ezra received an urgent call from the Israel Defense Forces. Within hours, he was torn from his peaceful Tel Aviv life into the chaos of war, joining his reserve paratrooper unit for what would become Operation Cast Lead—Israel’s largest military operation in Gaza since the 1967 Six-Day War.

11 Days in Gaza is a searing, unflinching memoir that captures the reality of modern combat through the eyes of a young soldier navigating the contradictions of war. From camouflaging under sniper fire to the intimate moments of brewing coffee on a Gazan rooftop, Ezras narrative weaves together the mundane and the terrifying, the heroic and the heartbreaking.

With vivid detail and brutal honesty, Ezra explores the bonds forged between brothers-in-arms, the moral ambiguities of targeted killings, and the profound impact of war on both soldiers and civilians. This is not a story of glory or heroism—its an authentic portrait of young men thrust into impossible situations, trying to maintain their humanity while carrying out their mission.

Part war diary, part moral contemplation, 11 Days in Gaza offers a rare Israeli perspective on one of the worlds most intractable conflicts, revealing the human faces behind the headlines and the lasting scars that war leaves on all who experience it.