The young Palestinian journalist, named one of the 100 most influential women of 2024, is determined to share the resilience of her people amid unimaginable loss.
GAZA — On January 19, 2025, a second ceasefire was declared, ending the deadliest Israeli offensive in recent memory. For Plestia Alaqad, a young Palestinian journalist, this fragile pause in violence brings both relief and heartbreak. Though grateful that the killing has stopped, she remains unable to return to Gaza, her beloved home still scarred by devastation.
“I don’t think there is a word to describe what it feels like when a genocide ends,” she reflects from her temporary home in Melbourne, Australia. “I just hope for a better future for Palestine and the Palestinians because we deserve it. I feel grateful that so much killing has stopped. But I wonder: why do we live in a world where such genocide was allowed?”
Despite the distance from her homeland, Alaqad’s voice resonates globally. Named one of the 100 most influential women of 2024, she is determined to ensure the world doesn’t forget Gaza’s stories.
Today, Alaqad is one of Gaza’s youngest journalists, a survivor of the genocide, and a fearless reporter dedicated to telling her people’s stories.
The 23-year-old has overcome the fear of speaking out against Israel, confronting hasbara – a propaganda strategy used by Israel to discredit those who criticise the Zionist state. Through her powerful posts on social media, she reveals not only the harsh reality of living under Israel’s occupation but also the resilience and humanity that endure among Palestinians.
“In Gaza, we don’t see ourselves as numbers,” Alaqad told TRT World. “We know each other by our names, by our stories, by our deep connection as a community.”
Having lived through four military offensives before the devastating escalation of October 2023, Alaqad’s connection to her homeland runs deep. Despite the horrors she has witnessed, her storytelling preserves the social fabric that binds Gaza together.
“I love how small Gaza is, where almost everyone knows each other,” she says. “The supermarket employee is not just a supermarket employee, and the teacher is not just a teacher, they are part of your life.”
A storyteller from the start
Alaqad’s passion for storytelling began in sixth grade, inspired by her Arabic teacher, Rawan, who was also a journalist. By seventh grade, she was filling notebooks with writings and poems in Arabic and English.
After graduating with a degree in New Media and Journalism from the Eastern Mediterranean University in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, she returned to Gaza at 21 with a mission: to challenge stereotypes and share the authentic stories of her homeland.
She did not want Gaza to be reduced to an image of destruction. She wanted to show the true essence of her community. “I decided to return to Gaza so that people could see my land through my eyes,” she recalls.
Unfortunately, her return coincided with unprecedented violence of ethnic cleansing. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, since October 7, 2023, Israeli military operations have killed at least 48,200 Palestinians and injured at least 111,660. And Alaqad witnessed it all.
“Three days after October 7, the bombing was so intense that there was a series of attacks on my building,” she recalls. “I recorded a video and it went viral. Since then, I have not stopped filming and showing the world what is happening in Gaza”.
Her raw, personal stories of life under Israel’s siege resonated globally. Her Instagram following skyrocketed from 3,000 followers to more than 4 million. In recognition of her impact, she was named one of the 100 most influential women of 2024.
“I want the world to know our names and our stories,” she explains. “Even during genocide, forced displacement and ethnic cleansing, the people of Gaza were always kind.”
When journalists are targeted
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists report, 167 journalists have been killed and 71 injured since October 7, with at least 11 journalists and two media workers directly targeted by Israeli forces. The CPJ classified their deaths as murders.
During the brief November 2023 truce, Alaqad made the difficult decision to leave Gaza due to the escalating dangers for journalists on the ground.
The tragic case of journalist Wael Dahdouh highlights the devastating impact of the occupation. On October 25, an Israeli airstrike claimed the lives of his wife, 15-year-old son Mahmoud, 7-year-old daughter Sham, and 1-year-old grandson Adam. Then, on January 7, 2024, his eldest son Hamza, also a journalist, was killed while attempting to interview displaced civilians.
“What scared me the most was seeing the journalists’ families being attacked and killed,” Alaqad said.
Forced escape
Alaqad first entered Egypt with her mother, sister and grandmother through the Rafah border crossing during the first ceasefire, which lasted just a week. They were then able to move to Australia thanks to her uncle’s citizenship. “I thought I would be back in two or three weeks,” she said. “We didn’t expect the offensive to last so long. Now I wonder when I will be able to go back.”
She was awarded the Shireen Abu Akleh Memorial Scholarship, named in honour of the Palestinian American journalist killed by the Israeli army in 2022. The grant has allowed her to pursue a master’s degree in media at the American University of Beirut, which she began in August 2024.
After documenting the genocide from Gaza, Alaqad has found new ways to advocate for Palestinian rights. Her experiences form the basis for her upcoming book The Eyes of Gaza, set to be released on April 17 by Pan Macmillan.
“This book allows me to show Gaza through my eyes and share the stories of my Palestinian people,” she explains. She began writing it on October 7, 2023, when the Israeli offensive broke out, it blends poetry and narratives of the massacres she witnessed under Israel’s bombardment.
C. TRT World
