Before Gaza became synonymous with conflict, it was a place where merchants sold wine from local vineyards, pilgrims crossed continents, fishermen set out before dawn, and generations of families lived between sea and desert. RFI explores its deep history.  

Sitting on the coastal corridor linking Egypt, the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula and the Mediterranean, the port city has always been a strategic crossroads.

Like many places around the Mediterranean, Gaza’s identity wasn’t built by a single people or culture. It was shaped by generations of arrivals, departures and exchanges. 

As the Mid-East Junction podcast returns from a six-year hiatus, we’ll trace the city’s history from the age of the Philistines until the creation of Israel in 1948. 

In this first episode of season 3, a Gazan archaeologist, a historian, and a professor of contemporary Arab people shed light on Gaza’s little-known yet fascinating ancient history. 

Mid-East Junction is produced by RFI’s English-language service. This episode was mixed by Vincent Pora.