I was recently released from reserve duty in Gaza, after serving 100 days in the IDF. Since the world can’t see firsthand the things I saw there, I feel I have to share.

https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-785234

For years, well before October 7th, we’ve heard about how terrible life is for the poor, oppressed Gazans. How anti-Israel activists and media outlets claim the Gaza Strip can be compared to an open-air prison. This became the standard, accepted narrative about life in Gaza, promulgated by Al Jazeera and international human rights groups. But now, having experienced it myself, I can confidently tell you that we were lied to.
Gaza City was modern and developed
Gaza has been depicted as a backwards, "densely populated" area that’s been under Israeli "siege" for years. There's no bigger lie than this. Pre-war Gaza was a modern, beautiful, developed city – with large, furnished houses, wide avenues, public areas, a promenade, and parks. It looked much better than any other Arab city “from the river to the sea.” Gaza City reminds me more of Tel Aviv than the awful slums that some people try to make it out to be.
And, of course, Gaza is far from being the "most densely populated area in the world."

If this is how a city looks after two decades of "siege," then I want to be sieged. The houses in Gaza were full of goods and food from across the Middle East, the houses had modern furniture, appliances, and pretty much any up-to-date consumer product and electronics you can imagine.
There are also high-end mansions that could easily have been in Los Angeles or Beverly Hills. There was no lack of wealth in Gaza. Despite the prosperity we saw in Gaza city, it was hiding something you won't see in any Western city. Every neighbourhood we visited had staged and ready-to-operate Hamas combat zones – weapons, tunnelling, explosives, rocket launch zones, all inside normal family homes