For almost twenty years, Hamas ruled Gaza and prepared for a battle that it knew it could not win. But the group made a cold calculation: its path to victory rested on sacrificing the lives and livelihoods of the 2.2 million people of Gaza.

In this gripping account of Hamas and its motivations, Gazan writer Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib charts the rise of the group and its repressive rule as it turned the enclave into a staging ground for combat. He reflects on his and his family’s experiences, and on how Hamas’s destructive leadership has set back the hopes and prospects of his people.

Hamas and Its Two Million Hostages provides crucial insights into the state of Hamas following its devastating war with Israel, including an assessment of the future of the group and how to ensure it can no longer control the people of Gaza.

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib is a Gazan writer and advocate, founder of Realign for Palestine and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council based in Washington, DC. He writes analysis and commentary for publications such as The Atlantic and Foreign Policy and appears regularly in US and international media. He can be found at @afalkhatib.