Death in Gaza

I caught this about a third of the way through on HBO one night. I used to wonder just what caused some kids to grow up to strap a bomb to themselves and try and take as many innocent Israelis with them as possible. Now I know.

I spent a great deal of time absorbed in the films sheer, gritty horror of the bleak desperation that is the Palestinian world. Sometimes I couldn't believe what I saw and heard; my mouth was literally agape about half the time. It was the most shocking, horrifying, and saddening display of pure, brutal inhumanity ever recorded on camera, in my opinion. It lays plain the reality that evil begets evil and shows that evil is a cycle that will continue to consume innocent lives on both sides unless truth and compassion finally win out, if such a thing is even possible anymore.

Many of you think might think that nothing can justify the evils Palestinian suicide bombers visit on innocent Israelis. You're right. Nothing can justify it. But those young men and women with the bombs strapped on had lives too. And when they're raised in an environment of utter poverty, taught nothing but propaganda in their 'schools' and society, see their friends killed right in front of them by 'the Israeli pigs', forced to attend great, joyous ceremonies around the bodies of 'martyrs' (including young boys who did nothing wrong and got shot for it), and are befriended by young Arab martyrs who grew up exactly the same way, it's no wonder Hamas and Hezbollah has such a large supply of human bombs to throw at Israel.

The supreme irony here is that the two young Palestinian boys who were the focus of a lot of the film decided to become journalists instead of martyrs due to the friendship they felt for the films director, James Miller. He was shot in the neck by an arab-Israeli trooper in an APC at night near the end of the film crews time in Gaza; he died almost instantly. The crew had yelled that they were British journalists to the crew of the APC, but it didn't matter; the shots come anyways.

Had the films director not died, we would have seen the Israeli's side of the story. Unfortunately, the film claimed its title in innocent blood striving for answers to a cycle of never-ending violence in the Middle East.

'Death in Gaza' is about just that: death. The death of innocence, the death of truth, the death of hope for the residents of the Palestinian territories surrounding Israel.

If you wonder why the Middle East is such a mess, see this film. Then you'll know the answer.

I am an American of Palestinian descent, and this film broke my heart. Unfortunately, the filmmaker only got to tell one side of the story before he died. The way some of the Palestinian adults (note not ALL of them -- for example, one boy's mother is shown begging him to stop his martyr talk) radicalize their children is shocking and upsetting. However, had Miller lived, he probably would have show some Israeli adults doing the same.

No matter which side you're on, this is a very sad and thought-provoking documentary. Anyone who's interested in the conflict in the Middle East should definitely watch it and see the level of desperation that the people there have reached.

Your comments on James Miller's death at the end of filming "Death In Gaza" were extremely distasteful. A dedicated filmmaker was murdered; needlessly shot in the throat by Israeli units. Israeli units with night-vision equipment who were capable of seeing the white flag the film crew were waving. James Miller was killed in cold blood & no one has been held responsible, which is a clear indication of what Israel & the IDF think about Justice. The murder of James Miller was recognised in the UK media but not the countless murders of innocent Palestinians by Israel's brutal occupation. Day after day, after day. When Israel is a nation with no actual right to exist; I am neither Palestinian or Arab, I have never left the UK, but from thousands of miles away I can see the blaring injustice of a nation with the population of London, Armed to the back teeth with the single unified purpose of destroying the original, Muslim, inhabitants. Palestinians are in need of justice, not criticism. Naturally I agree all terrorism is wrong, but that includes state terrorism. The world wouldn't stand for Naziism, or Apertheid; we should not stand for Zionism. Love & Light2d

I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 and while it is not in the category for best documentary in the Oscars anymore, and it probably would have won, it definitely comes second to this film. Death in Gaza exposes the true horror that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has caused to both the Palestinians and the Israelis. The story by James Miller and Saira Shah show us how everyday Palestinians live. They never give any biased opinions on whether the Israelis are to blame for the current state the Palestinians live in, yet they show in a true journalistic fashion Palestinian life and culture in its fullest form. The movie is a documentation of children in Palestine and the struggles and dangers they face on an every day basis. It shows how they are pushed by cultural ideologies to believe that being a martyr is somehow more glorious than living a peaceful life. In the movie the children are the focal point of the movie. From an American standpoint it is a real eye-opener at the way they live, what they are taught at school, how they create bombs out of cans, and the way they are recruited by radical groups in Palestine to perform acts of terror against the Israelis. We are shown the other side to a conflict we only usually receive an Israeli voice for. The fact that director James Miller died creating this movie only adds to this dramatic documentary that made me think about what can we do to make this world a better place?

Some of the comments on this board regarding Death In Gaza are truly astounding. I'm refering to the users who describe the Palestinians in this film as "barbaric" and Israel as a "peaceful nation." We must have seen different documentaries because I didn't see it this way at all. I saw local Palestinian militia defending themselves against illegal occupiers and I saw Palestinian children throwing rocks at huge Isreali tanks (paid for by US dollars). The user who describes Israel as a "peaceful nation" must believe those tanks shoot flowers and stuffed teddy bears. If Israel is so peaceful why do they need a multi billion dollar army? To defend themselves against kids with rocks and an occasional suicide bomber? Wake up. This was an amazing film and kudos to HBO for airing it, although judging by a number of the comments on this board, the point was completely lost on many people.