British Palestinian comedian Sami Abu Wardeh, whose new show Sami Abu Wardeh Hates You has opened at the Edinburgh fringe, discusses why he sees comedy as a vital way to sustain hope while the war in Gaza continues. A former NHS doctor of 15 years, he left medicine last year to pursue comedy full time, arguing that humour offers audiences a sense of togetherness rather than despair, in contrast to the grief-focused tone of many solidarity events.

Abu Wardeh is part of a growing movement of Palestinian performers, including the Palestine Comedy Club, founded in 2022 by Alaa Shehada, which is staging several shows at this year's fringe, among them The Bridge and Hanna Shammas Takes it to Heart. His own comedy shifted markedly after the war broke out and, in June, an independent UN inquiry concluded Israel was continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. He describes learning to channel anger on stage rather than avoid the subject, saying that staying silent about Palestine would leave him feeling like "a husk of a human being".