Description
By (author) Alaqad, Plestia
Short /annotation:
A diary–memoir from a twenty-one-year-old Palestinian journalist, recalling her first-hand experience during the first forty-five days of the 2023–25 invasion of Gaza.
:
‘[A] joyful, tragic account of life in Gaza’ – Miriam Margolyes
‘Left me both devastated and inspired’ – Macklemore
‘Transforms pain into poetry’ – Rupi Kaur
In early October 2023, Plestia Alaqad was a recent graduate with dreams of becoming a journalist. By the end of that November, she would be internationally known as the ”Eyes of Gaza”, moving millions with her social media posts depicting daily life in Gaza amid Israel’s deadly invasion and bombardment.
Written as a series of diary extracts, The Eyes of Gaza relates the horrors of Plestia’s experiences, while showcasing the indomitable spirit of the men, women and children of her community. From the heart of the turmoil, surrounded by falling bombs and widespread devastation, she captures their emotions; their gentle acts of quiet, necessary heroism; and the moments of unexpected tenderness and vulnerability amid the chaos.
Through the raw honesty and vulnerability of a normal twenty-one-year-old woman navigating a human tragedy, The Eyes of Gaza is a potent reminder of the horrors of violence and a powerful testament to the human spirit.
Review quote:
The
raw truth of The Eyes of Gaza hurts. But what”s the point of anything if we can”t face the truth? Palestinians are just like us; they feel as we feel. Please read this
joyful, tragic account of life in Gaza. And celebrate Plestia Alaqad”s
courage and skill and stop the killing
Review quote:
How do you get over a genocide? The question Plestia asks is rhetorical, yet it lingers long after the page is turned, heavy with grief and impossible to answer. Plestia is more than a journalist;
she is a witness, a storyteller and an unrelenting seeker of truth. With a camera in one hand and a pen in the other, she has dedicated her life to ensuring the world does not look away. Through her lens,
she captures not only the devastation of genocide in Gaza, but also the weight of a lifetime lived under Israeli occupation. Her writing is deeply personal, at times reading like a journal entry or a letter from a friend. She
weaves hope and pain so seamlessly that it often hurts to read, each word a testament to both resilience and loss.
Plestia’s ink serves as the veins of Gaza, giving life to stories that might otherwise be erased. With striking imagery and intimate detail, her reporting is more than documentation, it is resistance. Her words
left me both devastated and inspired – moved by the strength found in community, the unwavering spirit of her people and the urgent need for collective liberation
Review quote:
The Eyes of Gaza
transforms pain into poetry, offering readers a
n unfiltered glimpse into the depths of loss, hope and survival
Review quote:
Plestia Alaqad became our eyes in Gaza and has forever taken a huge piece of our hearts. In this series of diary entries, she welcomes us to live through the genocide again but, this time, with greater intimacy. It
reveals a tender and infallible optimism that siege and systematic war have failed to crush. The Eyes of Gaza gives us
a glimpse of how the most noble of people not only survived a genocide but are more resolute than ever that their future is freedom and that the future is Palestine
Review quote:
During the first months of the war, I was working, sleeping and eating in the Operating Room. Days would pass before I would step outside.
Plestia became our messenger from the outside world. Hers is
a unique story, a uniqu
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