The Gaza Chef

Mahmud Almadhoun ran a soup kitchen in the North of the Gaza Strip, feeding hundreds of families every day in the midst of war and famine. In November 2024, he is killed by a projectile from the sky as he is leaving his home. In our new investigative podcast The Gaza Chef, DIE ZEIT’s Yassin Musharbash attempts to reconstruct why Mahmud Almadhoun had to die. Was he in contact with terrorists? Was it a case of mistaken identity, a mistake of some sort? The investigations leads us to a hospital said to be a Hamas stronghold, shows us the inner workings of a target room of the Israeli army – and also tries to answer the question of how journalists can investigate even if they can’t be on the scene.  The podcast team can be reached at [email protected]. CREDITS  Reporting, Script and Presentation: Yassin Musharbash. Editor: Tim Howard  Story-telling consultant: Britta Stuff  Producer: Pia Rauschenberger and Markus Gläser  Title theme: Joscha Grunewald, based on an idea by Yassin Musharbash.  Sound design: Tim Howard, with material by Joscha Grunewald, Tim Howard and Blue Dot Sessions.  Additional sound design: Christian Küker, Pool Artists.  Recording, editing and post-production: Markus Gläser of Die Zeit and Christian Küker, Pool Artists.  The Fact-checking: Luisa Hommerich Additional research and translations: Suha Ma’ay‘a and Firas Halasseh

As a young man, Mahmud’s life had no real direction. But when the horror of war and a humanitarian crisis hit the Gaza Strip, he unexpectedly finds his mission: cooking food for the hungry.  But as the conflict intensifies, the scale of Mahmud’s project expands to include a hospital the IDF alleges tob e a Hamas stronghold. His brother Hani supports the operation from the U.S. by collecting donations. From thousands of miles away he tries everything he can keep his younger brother safe.  But after Mahmud’s death, Hani wonders: Did I inadvertantly deliver my brother?  The podcast team can be reached at [email protected]. CREDITS  Reporting, Script and Presentation: Yassin Musharbash. Editor: Tim Howard  Story-telling consultant: Britta Stuff  Producer: Pia Rauschenberger and Markus Gläser  Title theme: Joscha Grunewald, based on an idea by Yassin Musharbash.  Sound design: Tim Howard, with material by Joscha Grunewald, Tim Howard and Blue Dot Sessions.  Additional sound design: Christian Küker, Pool Artists.  Recording, editing and post-production: Markus Gläser of Die Zeit and Christian Küker, Pool Artists.  The Fact-checking: Luisa Hommerich Additional research and translations: Suha Ma’ay‘a and Firas Halasseh

Who decided that Mahmud should die? A surprising piece of evidence from a person on the ground leads us tot he IDF’s tearget rooms. In these places, the Israeli army decides which buildings or people that they believe are assets of Hamas will be attacked next. But just how reliable is the intelligence? How much collateral damage is deemed acceptable?  Tal Mimran, who used to work in target rooms as a legal advisor, describes the inner mechanics of these places – and presents us with a new possibility of why Mahmud was killed.  The podcast team can be reached at [email protected] CREDITS  Reporting, Script and Presentation: Yassin Musharbash. Editor: Tim Howard  Story-telling consultant: Britta Stuff  Producer: Pia Rauschenberger and Markus Gläser  Title theme: Joscha Grunewald, based on an idea by Yassin Musharbash.  Sound design: Tim Howard, with material by Joscha Grunewald, Tim Howard and Blue Dot Sessions.  Additional sound design: Christian Küker, Pool Artists.  Recording, editing and post-production: Markus Gläser of Die Zeit and Christian Küker, Pool Artists.  The Fact-checking: Luisa Hommerich Additional research and translations: Suha Ma’ay‘a and Firas Halasseh

An explosive exposé by Israeli Journalist Yuval Abraham shows that the IDF is using AI-assisted systems in order to find military targets in Gaza.  We explore what bearings this might have had on Mahmud’s death. How do these AI-supported systems work? And is it concievable that one of them suggested Chef Mahmud as a target?  The podcast team can be reached at [email protected]