Gaza Strip pushes viewers head-on into the tumult of the Israeli-occupied Gaza, examining the lives and views of ordinary Palestinians.

The documentary, which was shot during the first four months of 2001 in a period that covers the election of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and extends to the first major armed incursion into "Area A" by the Israeli military, sees the world through the eyes of young people. Its protagonist is Mohammed Hejazi, a 13-year-old paperboy in Gaza City, one of the young "stone-throwers" who risk their lives throwing rocks at Israeli tanks across the barbwire fences.

The film offers glimpses into Mohammed’s inner world: his sense of hopelessness, his sorrow at the IDF killing of his best friend and his conception of death. As the newspapers arrive announcing Ariel Sharon's victory in the Israeli elections, Mohammed offers up tirades against Arafat and Sharon.

As the camera floats through the Gaza Strip, viewers encounter signs of the occupation everywhere — from crowds of  Palestinians making their way along the beach on foot, to scenes of donkey carts and tractor trailers when the Israeli soldiers close the roads. The Palestinians interviewed as they pass by the area reveal a common internal conflict between anger at the Israeli occupation and the desire to live in peace.

Gaza Strip also documents an extremely controversial incident in February, which fell largely through the cracks of international scrutiny, when the Israeli Defense Forces used an unidentified, powerful gas during a firefight, hospitalizing over 200 Palestinians with severe recurrent convulsions.

The film culminates in a nighttime raid in April, when Israeli bulldozers stormed into the Khan Younis refugee camp under the cover of tank and helicopter fire and destroyed the homes of 450 Palestinians - the first of many such armed incursions into "Area A" by the IDF.

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To learn more, or to purhcase, the film, visit Gaza Strip's official site.