[2][3] The project originated in the personal mentorship by Euro-Med Monitor's Pam Bailey of a depressed Gazan youth, identified as Ahmed Alnaouq, who had lost a brother and close friends in an Israeli airstrike.

[8] A year later, Mondoweiss reported, the project had grown to involve more than 75 writers from Gaza, and mentors included Miko Peled, Alice Rothchild, and Ben Norton.

[7] The following year, WANN launched a Hebrew-language website called We Beyond the Fence to provide Israelis with access Palestinian articles, poems and personal essays about life in Gaza.

[14] WANN distinguishes itself by encouraging its writers to focus on the everyday lives and challenges of people rather than the narratives of war and conflict that dominate mainstream news cycles.

[14] In contrast to the political calls to armed resistance in Gaza, WANN's writers draw inspiration from non-violent advocates such as Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi.