Oliver Pocher: Comedian reports from the Gaza border area

“I flew to Tel Aviv today,” announced Oliver Pocher (47), surprising his followers. The comedian has opened up an unusual mission: he personally wants to get an idea of ​​the situation in the Middle East and talk to Palestinians like Israelis about the current situation.

“I’ll take a look at it personally,” he explains in one of the video recordings, even if the poor sound quality does not make everything understandable. His route leads him through the West Bank, according to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Bethlehem – as well as to the border to the Gaza Strip.

Pocher immediately shares the first impressions with his Instagram followers. “Here we are just looking towards Ramallah in the Palestinian area,” he writes about a picture that also shows him himself. An update follows just a few hours later: “A look at Gaza city and the Gaza strip. A lot is completely destroyed, smoke can be seen. Drones, bombs and artillery strikes can be heard again and again.”

The reality of the war area quickly becomes noticeable for the comedian. Armed soldiers in petrol stations are not unusual here, he reports to his followers. Pocher also experiences a nightly bomb alarm – unfortunately also nothing unusual.

Pocher then also reports near the border to the Gaza strip. “You can’t get any closer,” he says, announcing a special conversation: “Here I talk to a 79-year-old hostage of Hamas and survivors of the attacks of October 7, 2023.” Pocher visits the Kibbutz Nir Oz, where the terrorists of Hamas killed dozens of people and caused severe destruction.

“Hearing rockets and bombs, making suffering tangible on both sides,” he reflects on his experience in the border area. “I am grateful to be able to take my own picture here on site.” For his followers, Pocher promises to share his experiences in the coming week. “Of course we are careful,” he assures.

A few weeks ago, Pocher had mockingly commented on his colleague Enissa Amani (43). The comedian sailed with an auxiliary fleet towards Gaza – Greta Thunberg (22) was also there. Pocher’s reaction to Instagram at the time: “Good trip! Happy one way too.”

More than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the Gaza War, including many women and children. Israel is increasingly criticized internationally because of its hard warfare. The trigger of the mission was the attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023. The massacre with almost 1,200 deaths is the largest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust.