13 October 2025: Downstream IRL: Gaza: the Story of a Genocide (with Aaron Bastani)

Two years on from October 7th, while the devastation of Gaza continues and the starvation of the remaining population intensifies, the world seems to only just be waking up to the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.

This Novara Media Downstream IRL foregrounds key Palestinian voices for an evening of urgent conversation and readings. Marking the publication of Verso’s Gaza: The Story of a Genocide – a powerful collection of personal testimony, poetry, photography, art, and frontline reportage – Aaron Bastani will be sitting down with a panel of the book’s contributors.

This will include: journalist and human rights activist Yara Eid, co-founder of We Are Not Numbers and Palestine Deep Dive host Ahmed Alnaouq & Al-Shabaka Board President and expert in Palestinian & Israeli politics Tareq Baconi.

They will discuss the history of Palestinian resistance, the brutality of Israeli settler colonialism and the reality of Israeli prisons; the unbearable devastation of loss and starvation and the importance of the BDS movement. Their voices bear witness to the vast and ongoing destruction inflicted on the Palestinian people—their lives, their land, and their future.

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The event will be hosted by British-Palestinian political economist and Novara Media contributor Kieran Andrieu. Kieran is currently aboard the Global Sumud Freedom Flotilla – the largest humanitarian flotilla ever organised to challenge the siege on Gaza. Despite drone strikes, delays and Israeli government attempts to smear the boats’ crew as ‘terrorists’, the flotilla is now just a few days away from Gaza.

Before the panel, Kieran will be sharing his experiences with us, joined by a special guest to be announced. Expect big questions, bold analysis, and the kind of conversation you simply won’t find anywhere else.

Doors will open at 6.30pm and the event will begin at 7.30pm. A selection of books will be available for sale in the bar.

All royalties from the book will be donated to UNRWA, which has long been a lifeline for two million refugees in Gaza. At the time of writing, Israel continues to block UNRWA from delivering urgently needed humanitarian aid.

Novara Media will be donating 50% of any profits raised from the event to Medical Aid for Palestinians. The remaining funds will support Novara Media’s independent, truthful journalism. It is only thanks to our supporters that we exist at all and can continue to provide these events.