War Narratives for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip after 7th of October 2023

In the Palestinian context following October 7, 2023, one of the most striking observations has been the instrumental role of narratives in shaping political actions and frameworks, particularly when intertwined with direct action. These narratives were deeply enmeshed with the Israeli military apparatus, effectively clearing the path for its incursion into Gaza and providing the ideological for the atrocities and genocide that ensued. This situation necessitated an awareness among Palestinians regarding the power of narrative in achieving three essential goals: first, defending their identity and existence; second, garnering international solidarity; and third, translating narrative into concrete action capable of halting the ongoing war.

The power of a narrative, moreover, is inherently linked to its narrator. Audiences have become accustomed to official narratives propagated by Palestinian parties, institutions, and media channels. However, regardless of how seemingly credible, authentic, or persuasive these narratives may appear to some audiences, they are inevitably subject to challenge by counter-narratives fortified by military power. This often results in varying degrees of “disproportionality” or outright contestation. Therefore, there emerges a profound need for narratives forged directly by Palestinian victims in Gaza themselves.

This paper endeavors to examine these "war narratives" through the stories of Palestinian victims, employing in-depth interviews with various individuals who lived through the war—ranging from children and women to professionals—and analyzing their testimonies.

I will use Michele Koven’s (2002) approach to analyzing speaker roles to examine narratives told by self-identified Palestinians. I built on Koven’s framework for analyzing speaker role inhabitance in narratives of personal experience. this method gives tools for interlocutory speaker role as additional ways of coding how a narrator relates to an audience.