Gaza is now the deadliest place in the world for journalists. At least 278 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israel since Oct. 7, 2023, according to an independent analysis by Al Jazeera in August. That number has likely grown since.
And yet, the need for Palestinian journalists has never been more important. Plestia Alaqad was just 21 years old when she began documenting Israel’s assault on Gaza, and she is now the author of The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience, a new book revealing her diary entries in the days, weeks, and months that followed Oct. 7.
“I never thought that I would actually write and document about a genocide that I’m living,” she tells Mehdi.
She reflects on her time as a reporter in Gaza, explaining, “Journalists are starving while reporting on the starvation. Journalists are also a target, getting killed while reporting everything that’s happening… Yet they wake up every day and try to tell the truth to the world.”
And while Alaqad has physically escaped the genocide, she talks to Mehdi about a vulnerability that still persists: “I don’t ever feel safe. But it’s not this type of safety that Israel will kill me. It’s this type of safety knowing that I’m not in my homeland… the challenging part is ever since you leave Gaza, you understand that this world isn’t yours, that you never belong.”
She concludes, “Sometimes I feel Gaza was protecting us from the evil world.”
Paid subscribers can watch the full interview above to also hear Alaqad read a poem from her diary in the days after Oct. 7th, and discuss the failures of Western media’s coverage of Palestine.
Free subscribers can watch a three-minute preview. Consider upgrading to a paid subscription today to never worry about a paywall again.
You can click here to buy a copy of The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience. And if you’ve read the book, feel free to drop a review in the comments below!
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