At Koto Laboratory, an experiential learning studio operated by Orangepage Inc. in Tokyo's Suginami Ward, participants gathered to cook and taste recipes from The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey, a cookbook translated into Japanese by the cooking and lifestyle magazine publisher.

Following a well-received first event in July, the second session was held in October, coinciding with the two-year mark since Israel's invasion of Gaza, which suffered extensive damage during the conflict, with about 80 percent of buildings estimated to have been destroyed or damaged.

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Inside the packed venue, Arab confectionery and cooking expert Aki Komatsu, who studied in Syria and Egypt, prepared traditional Gazan dishes using ingredients that are not easy to come by in Japan.

The menu included fogaiyya, or lemony chard, chickpea and rice stew, made with komatsuna Japanese mustard spinach as a substitute for chard, a leafy vegetable that is difficult to obtain in Japan.

Israel has faced international criticism for what rights groups including the United Nations and the International Criminal Court have concluded is the use of hunger as a weapon of war, blocking relief supplies and leaving civilians starving. Some attendees said they felt uneasy about eating food from Gaza while residents there still face shortages.

But after listening to an explanation from one of the translators of the book, Hikaru Fujii, associate professor of American literature at the University of Tokyo, and watching the appetizing dishes come together, participants were captivated.

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