Plestia Alaqad is a Palestinian journalist and the author of The Eyes of Gaza. Her very name is a tribute to her homeland, given to her by her father as a nod to the first tribes of Palestine.
Just as her name echoes history, her reporting has become an unfiltered window into Palestine’s present. As one of the leading voices on the ground, she has shown the world the genocide in Gaza in real-time.
Now, through writing, she continues her mission. She preserves the realities of genocide in her book, The Eyes of Gaza. The diary memoir is set for release on April 17th.
The book offers an intimate account of survival, grief, and resistance. In this interview, Plestia speaks about her journey, her writing process, and what she hopes the world takes away from her story.
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The Decision to Write The Eyes of Gaza
“I spent 45 days in Gaza, waiting for my turn to be targeted. I truly believed I would be killed—it felt inevitable,” Plestia says. “The only thing that kept me sane during that time was being in the field, connecting with people, and writing down my emotions and daily experiences in my diary.”
Plestia was in the heart of the genocide, recording as shells fell around her house and smoke enveloped its windows. From October 7, 2023, to December 25, 2024, Israel has killed at least 217 journalists and media workers in Gaza.
She was one of the few who survived, and this is why she felt the need to write The Eyes of Gaza. The title reflects not only how the world has come to see the genocide through her lens but also the weight of what she has witnessed—etched into her own gaze.
“I want future generations to understand what it was like for a 21-year-old to live through a genocide,” she explains. Her story is both deeply personal and undeniably historical.
A Story Told in Her Own Voice
“The book is written in my own voice and style, so when readers go through it, they’ll feel as if I’m narrating it to them. What makes this book so special, in my opinion, is how raw and honest it is. Readers will feel as though they’re in Gaza with me, moving from a hospital to a house to different places, experiencing everything firsthand.”
Firsthand narratives like Plestia’s are rare when it comes to the reality of what’s happening in Palestine.
Writing as Both Release and Pain
“Writing it was a form of release, but reading them was heavy and triggering.”
For Plestia, writing was a way to make sense of the chaos, but revisiting those memories was another form of pain. Some details had faded from her memory, suppressed by trauma, and reading them again brought it all to the surface.
The Eyes of Gaza isn’t just a recounting of events. It’s a raw emotional journey, capturing the fear and resilience that shaped each day.
The Message Behind The Eyes of Gaza
“The Eyes of Gaza is definitely my way of resisting and telling the world that we refuse to be silenced,” Plestia asserts. “I made sure to call everything by its true name in the book—meaning a genocide is called a genocide, not a ‘conflict’ as many media outlets refer to it.”
Plestia ensures that the reality of Gaza’s suffering is preserved by refusing to soften the truth. The genocide is violent, and it must be named as such. There is no room for dilution of reality.
Beyond the Headlines: Gaza’s Humanity
“If there’s one thing I wish people knew beyond the headlines, it’s that Palestinians are just normal human beings. We’re not superheroes, and we weren’t born to die. We didn’t choose this life.”
She urges readers to see beyond statistics. “What the world sees as destruction on their screens is our home. That rubble isn’t just debris—it’s our memories, our childhoods, our dreams. Behind every number is a person, a story, a life that was full of love, laughter, and hope before it was taken away.”
In her videos, Plestia made sure to capture moments of life persisting amid destruction. She chose to spotlight the toys lying amidst the rubble and a family celebrating a birthday as smoke billowed behind. Through her lens, she humanized Gaza’s people beyond the headlines.
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A Personal and Collective Story
“This book is written in a diary format, so it’s deeply personal and focuses on my emotions and experiences as I lived through the genocide. It’s not just about telling Gaza’s story—it’s about how I felt in each moment, the fear, the grief, the hope, and the resilience.”
Plestia’s pain intertwined with the pain of those around her. “At the same time, it’s also about the people I met along the way. Their stories, their pain, and their strength became part of my own journey. So while the book allowed me to process my own emotions, it was just as much about documenting the lives and struggles of those around me.”
Through The Eyes of Gaza, Plestia gives voice to those who couldn’t speak for themselves.
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Plestia’s Global Recognition and Influence
Plestia’s fearless reporting has earned her widespread recognition. One Young World named her Journalist of the Year for 2024. Major global media outlets, including The New York Times, BBC, and The Guardian have also featured her coverage.
Her voice has cut through the noise of censorship, with over 4.2 million followers on Instagram. She allowed people to witness the genocide through her eyes. In doing so, she made sure the world did not look away from Gaza’s suffering.
The Power of a Personal Account
Anne Frank’s diary is one of the most significant personal accounts of war, giving a human face to history. Now, Plestia’s diary, The Eyes of Gaza, serves as a raw, firsthand account of Gaza’s reality, documenting what the world cannot afford to forget.
She leaves us with one final thought, a sentence she hopes will stay with readers long after they turn the last page.
“We don’t celebrate death, but death is all around us, and we need a way to convert it back into life.”
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