The Eyes of Gaza: The powerful, must-read diary of life in Palestine

by Plestia Alaqad

In early October 2023, Palestinian Plestia Alaqad was a recent graduate with dreams of becoming a successful journalist. By the end of November, her social media posts depicting daily life in Gaza, amid Israel's deadly invasion and bombardment, would profoundly move millions of people. She would be internationally known as the "Eyes of Gaza."

Written as a series of diary extracts, The Eyes of Gaza relates the horrors of her experiences while showcasing the indomitable spirit of the men, women and children who share her communities. From the epicentre of turmoil, while bombs rain around her and devastation grips her people, she is witness to 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 21-year-old woman trying to make her way through a human tragedy, The Eyes of Gaza is a potent reminder of the horrors of violence and a powerful testament to the human spirit. It recounts a harrowing experience, but it is not a heart-breaking lamentation. Rather, it is a deeply intimate love letter to a girl's demolished before her eyes, yes, but forever present in her heart.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, History, Biography, Audiobook, Politics, Middle East

171 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2025

Reviews

[talia ♡]

may 2025 finally be the year we see a free palestine 🙌 🇵🇸

[Sarah ♡ (let’s interact!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The blend of hope and pain, in equal measure, woven through Plestia Alaqad’s writing here makes for both a painful and an inspiring read. I had to force myself to take breaks, even though this book is relatively short. The sheer horror and gravity of the genocide that is happening in real-time.

She started documenting the greatest horrors she would ever face from day 1, October 7th 2023, in a journal and decided to publish this for the world to read.
I already follow her Instagram page, known to the world as The Eyes Of Gaza, which currently has over 4 million followers. This shows raw footage, and daily life in Gaza, amidst Israel’s deadly invasion and bombardment.

I implore everyone to read books written by Palestinians, so you can read firsthand their experiences. Also, you will feel in awe of their resilience and sense of community ✊. It is not an easy read if you are a human being with any levels of empathy, but a necessary one.

5 Stars ✨🍉🇵🇸🖤

[h i n d]

"I stopped posting on Instagram from my journal because I was planning on publishing a book after this gen0c/de ends, I've always wanted to publish a book, I wanted to publish a poetry book, similar to Rupi Kaur's books, she inspires me a lot"

(from Plestia's insta 29 oct 2023)
I'm heartbroken but mostly raging at this world

[Lilyya ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

reading 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑦𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐺𝑎𝑧𝑎 isn’t for the faint-hearted or the detached. Not after months of witnessing the unspeakable—pixel by pixel, breath by breath—through Plestia’s lens on social media since the very beginning of the genocide. and still, nothing prepares you for this: for her diary, her unfiltered sorrow, the trembling spaces between survival and collapse.

here, the journalist steps aside, and the woman remains. inviting us into the rawest parts of her experience: her fears, her grief, her exhaustion. It’s personal, unfiltered, devastating.

It was a deeply moving read. i come from a place where every Israeli transgression against Palestinians has religiously been condemned, where resistance is not only supported, but sacred. I’ve grown up with the names, the stories, the legacy of grief and courage. I’ve always carried the awareness of the occupation. a closeness to the cause.

but awareness is not the same as intimacy.

and reading her words—line after line, page after page—was something else entirely. It felt like standing at the edge of an open wound. because some stories must be read not just with our eyes, but with everything that aches inside us. but it reminded me, once again, that bearing witness is a responsibility. and this book does exactly that.

[Ditte · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It would seem that the eyes and ears of the world aren’t interested in Palestinian life, only in Palestinian death."

The Eyes of Gaza is a heartbreaking and harrowing account of the genocide in Gaza told through Plestia Alaqad's diary entries as she experienced the events firsthand.

This book is a hard but necessary read. It had me in tears nearly throughout and my heart aching from sorrow, helplessness, and frustration.

Plestia was only 21 years old when the genocide started and she had to watch her people and country being killed. While trying to comprehend the death and destruction amidst the chaos of fear and uncertainty, she still decided to document events on social media for the world to see. She's simultaneously a young woman, journalist, daughter, sister, friend, Palestinian, and a victim of genocide though she expresses her frustrations with how Palestinians are often only seen as the latter; as victims or numbers rather than individual human beings who all have lives, hopes, and dreams. Using her own diary entries and recounting stories from and about the people she interacted with, it's impossible for any reader to think of the many deaths in Gaza merely as numbers.

Plestia's reporting on Palestine in late 2023 meant I already knew of her but reading this book allowed for a more insightful and nuanced understanding of her and what she's gone through. Reading her account of what she experienced, how in a few days she went from worrying about what to wear to being unable to sleep due to all the death she'd seen, how big a toll reporting on the genocide took on her mental and physical health on top of having to live it, and yet how she never stopped was such a testament to her bravery and resilience.

These qualities seem to be shared by the Palestinian people as a whole - their resilience, resistance, and refusal to give up or give in is as admirable as it is sad that it constantly has to be put to the test. The continuous stories of Palestinians coming together to support each other in any way possible, even when they've lost their homes or family members and are in fear of their own lives, speaks to the love and community they feel for their people and their country.

Throughout the book, Plestia's sorrow, fear, fatigue, and frustration with not only the genocide itself but also the international reaction or lack thereof is clear. It's hard to read this book without feeling helpless and sad and reckoning with your own privilege as well as the lack of adequate action by those with power in the international community.

The Eyes of Gaza is a visceral and raw book about a currently ongoing genocide. It's both an on-the-ground account and a plea for justice and for the world to wake up and act! It's a hard but necessary read that underscores the humanity of all Palestinians and the need for a free Palestine!

"For Palestinians, the war is never over—ceasefire is merely the space between tragedies. And in that space, we carry with us the unbearable weight of memories that cannot be undone."

//

"It’s a different type of pain, to see your homeland, once covered with olive and lemon trees, lush, fruitful pastures and the remnants of ancient, beautiful humanity, reduced to rubble, populated by camps and tents. I can’t always gather the strength to film what I see, because my eyes don’t want to believe that what they see is true. So instead, I just walk through the camp, between the tents, watching people’s eyes and trying to memorize their faces, so that somebody will have known them before the end."


Thank you to Pan Macmillan for the ARC

[Brittany (whatbritreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think writing a typical review of this one would be impossible, because I can’t critique a person's diary who has lived through such a harrowing time.

What I will say is that this was so difficult to read, but so necessary. It’s absolutely heartbreaking, but Plestia writes with an essence of hopefulness too which is so admirable. It really gives you a first person perspective on what’s happening and is continuing to happen in Gaza that we can’t even comprehend.

I can’t imagine how difficult this was to write, let alone be vulnerable enough to share with the world. Highly recommend.

Free Palestine.

[layan ليان · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Just a note before we begin—about two months ago, Plestia graciously reposted my review. It was an honor I’ll never forget.
I’m sharing this not for attention, but as a reminder: words are never just words. Never simple. Never small. They carry weight, they carry truth, and sometimes—they carry the whole world :)*
___

Growing up, I never thought I’d witness the journalists I saw on TV — the ones standing in Gaza, speaking from Gaza, of Gaza — become names we mourn on a screen. I never imagined I’d see them die in real-time, their voices cut short. But that’s what’s been happening. Over 200 journalists killed. So, when I held this book in my hands — a story about a journalist from Gaza, living through all of it — I knew I’d hold onto it forever.

There’s something about reading The Eyes of Gaza that hit different. It’s not just tragedy on paper. It’s breath. It’s memory. It’s resistance. It’s tea in the morning with my teta and sedo — those few times a year I got to see them. We’d sit together, talk about life, and somehow, Gaza always came up. My teta had visited Gaza numerous of times when she was younger. She told me if she weren’t from El Khalil, she would’ve chosen Gaza. She said it with such love in her eyes, as if Gaza wasn’t just a place, but a person — someone sacred.

That’s exactly how Plestia writes Her — with a capital H.
Gaza isn’t just a city in this book. She’s alive. She’s resilient. She’s full of pain, but also full of this quiet strength that feels like home 🫀

“And yes, there is death and there is destruction… But that’s not what I see when I look at Her. I see only the unity and resilience of Her people.”

And then there are the quotes that cut so deep you don’t know what to do with them except sit in silence:

“We, Palestinians, all have keys to houses that no longer exist.”

When I read that, I showed it to my teta. I thought she’d cry — but it was me. I was the one sobbing.


“How much trauma does it take to start thinking that bombs are like rain? And how much trauma does it take to consider that funny?”

Sometimes, I feel like people forget that the people of Gaza are not numb. They just don’t have the space to fall apart every day. This book doesn’t let you look away — but it also doesn’t shove pain in your face. It reminds you, in the quietest, heaviest way, what it means to be Palestinian. To love your people while the world watches them die. To keep holding keys, telling stories, brewing tea, and surviving — all in the same breath.

There was a moment in the book that completely broke me. (Bear with me guys haha)

“So I do something embarrassing, and ask a taxi driver if he can drive me to Yara’s for free. He agrees on one condition: ‘When I get killed,’ he says, ‘post a nice picture of me online, and ask people to pray for me.’
Everyone in Gaza knows that they’ll eventually die, and that it’s only a matter of time. I smile at the taxi driver and assent.”

I was reading this part when a close friend of mine from Khanyunis messaged me after being silent for nearly a week or two. Her words still ring in my head: “If I die, remember me. Don’t forget me in your prayers and your dua.”

It wasn’t the first time she’d said something like that to me — not the first time death slipped quietly into our conversations — but I still didn’t know how to respond. What do you say to someone who’s preparing you for their disappearance, just in case?

I couldn’t hold my tears. That scene in the book and that message from her — they came together like grief knocking twice. Once through the page, and once through the screen.

___

I don’t know how to sum this review up — and maybe I’m not supposed to. Maybe no one really can. How do you wrap up a reflection on a book that speaks of a tragedy that hasn’t ended? That still unfolds with every passing day?

But I’ll leave it here: Gaza holds a piece of my heart.
I know I could’ve written this review without getting personal, without bringing in my own memories and pain. But I didn’t want to. I wanted this to be a reminder — for anyone who reads it now, or someday later — that Gaza is still suffering. That Palestine is still bleeding.

Two of the dearest people to me are from Gaza. One of them is my former math teacher. She lost her entire family in one of the worst massacres in Jabalia, in northern Gaza. Every day, I check on her. Every day, I wonder how I can possibly help. I don’t always have the answers, but what I do know is this: Palestine will always be in my very heart and mind.

Gaza is bleeding. The West Bank is hurting. Al-Naqab, Al-Rahat — each carries its own weight of grief. But we are all tied to one land, one wound, and one truth.

إلى بلستيا، اللي كتبت رغم الألم والفقدان، وتركت النا كتاب لا يُقرأ، بل يعاش ويُبكى.

To Plestia, who wrote regardless of the pain and loss —
and left us a book not meant to be read, but wept.

فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ
“So patience is most fitting. And Allah is the one sought for help.”

____

PRE READ 🪽🫀

Rarely does a book capture my attention before it’s even published, but The Eyes of Gaza is already stirring something deep within me. Knowing that this work comes from someone who has survived the unimaginable -war and genocide- makes it all the more powerful. This will preserve memories, document the pain, and hope that refuses to die even in the face of darkness.

To read this, is to witness the souls of Gaza.
صوتك وصل لكل قلب، بلستيا، الله يوفقكِ و يهنيكِ.

[amie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t really know how to ‘review’ a book like this, so I’ll just say absolutely read it & Free Palestine 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

[imogen · Rating 5 out of 5]

plestia’s strength and bravery shared through her raw testimony of the ongoing genocide in gaza is truly commendable. an essential read for everyone.

[Siobhaan]

Free Palestine 🇵🇸

[magali she|her · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a humbling reading experience ...

"The world can't pretend that there are two sides any more. There is no humanity, no equity, no semblance of justice. It's a calculated, deliberate and ruthless ethnic cleansing, and nobody seems to care enough." (62)

There is so much privilege in the fact that I could read this collection of thoughts, reflections, and feelings from the comfort of my home - and this cannot be emphasized enough. Reading about the atrocities commited by the occupation forces, however, is the least one can do, and could never be compared to actually experiencing and living through these bombings and losses. Plestia's writing is honest and vulnerable, easy to read and flows so well despite the heavy subject matter. May Palestine be free one day, and may the world finally wake up and stop the financial and moral support of this genocide. 🍉🍉🍉

[Anysa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly beautiful book! But if you hate Israel already, I must tell you that your hate is going transcend beyond the galaxy!!!

[Najihah · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I finished reading this book with rage, sorrow, hope and a mix of it all. The Eyes of Gaza was written by a young Palestinian journalist who shared her harrowing experiences living through an ongoing genocide in Gaza following 7 October.

"In an interview, someone asks me what the Genocide has taught me. And I respond pretty aggressively, claiming that I knew a lot about life and that I didn’t need a Genocide to teach me anything else. We eventually laugh about it, move on and that part of the interview never airs. But looking back on it, I think I was bitter because I hate the idea that I needed 33,000 (at last count) people to die in order to learn a lesson. It was a rude question to ask me."

[Motivaima · Rating 5 out of 5]

“It would seem that the eyes and the ears of the world aren’t interested in Palestinian life, only in Palestinian death”

This was not an easy read, but it’s a book EVERYONE should read! Free Palestine🍉

[Ayşe | عائشہ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally, I don't know how to review a book like this when all my life I've read fiction/fantasy and non-fiction only when it comes to self-help or Islamic books. We're living through an era where an entire area and its people are being wiped off the map and all we can do is scroll through Instagram or X, watching how casually this genocide is unfolding. It breaks my heart that I'm not reading the diary of a WW survivor, but a book by an author who living through all of this and we, the readers, are experiencing second-hand trauma while living in this very era.

"But I enjoy watching sunsets and sunrise, and I do both today. And nobody can take that away frome me, not until they kill me. Not even Israel"

Plestia Alaqad shares her diary from October 7, 2023—what she experienced during that horrible timd. Reading her emotions and seeing everything through her eyes is far more heartbreaking. It's like I'm standing in Plestia's place seeing and experiencing it all myself.

The author is a journalist, but heartbreakingly, I see Plestia describing everything in this book as a survivor. She encounters so many devastating stories and she herself was on the verge of death the entire time she was in Gaza. Every story is deeply emotional, but Bilsan’s story hit me right in the heart.

"She has dreams of being a teacher, but right now she's stuck at the hospital, limbless and with scars all over her beautiful face. What did she do? What did she do to deserve that? Despite her tragic circumstances, there's still joy in Bilsan."

Plestia mentions her teta (grandma) several times in the book someone who was just 2 years old at the time of the Nakba and is still experiencing all of this today. I found that very heartfelt and sad. As a Pakistani, almost 50% of households have grandparents who had to flee their homes in India, leaving behind memories and even loved ones in horrible circumstances. But after 1947, they settled here still grieving, but at least no longer fearing for their lives or homes. That's why it's so cruel to see teta and many others like her still going through this. In the book, Plestia mentions that her teta doesn't talk much and I can hardly imagine what she must be carrying inside.

Usually, I don't read books like this but in my opinion, as human beings, it's our responsibility to appreciate courageous people like Plestia and share their work with the rest of the world. As Plestia herself beautifully puts it:

"You might be wondering what to do to not feel survivor's guilt or sorry for yourself. The answer is that we should keep speaking up for Palestine, even if that doesn't change the world. We must not allow the world, as cruel as it might seem, to change our hearts. It's important that at the end of the day, when you look at yourself in the mirror, you see a person who stands up for what's right in this world."

If I start mentioning everything I liked then this whole book would need to be quoted here.

[Samz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Eyes of Gaza by Plestia Alaqad.
•
“I'm excited that I'll get the chance to have my voice heard as a Palestinian. It's rare that we get a platform to talk about our own home; usually, others speak on our behalf.”
•
Devastating. Hopeful. Heart shattering. Incomprehensible.
A tough read, for sure: but incredible necessary. There are some books I believe everybody should read and this is one of them. This book absolutely shattered my soul, I will never forget it.

This is a memoir, a journal of resistance, a desperate cry for justice: a diary of resilience.

Plestia is a journalist, fighting to divulge the truth. She is a daughter, trying to protect her mother. She is a sister, a friend, a niece, a cousin. She is a best friend, a coworker. She is a young girl in her mid twenties who is reliving decades old ethnic cleansing in her own home. She is a HUMAN BEING. The raw accounts within the diary entries shattered my soul; and furthermore what tore me apart was the realisation of how resilient and desensitised she has become to it all. She often makes little remarks/quips, but how much trauma does one person need to endure to be able to find light in such darkness?

The moments that brought a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes the most were those in juxtaposition to our own lives. Plestia is 23 years old. This book held up a mirror to my own privilege and reflected it back to me. At 23, I was in university without a care in the world except for rehearsals and coursework. At 23, Plestia was fighting to reveal the truth to the world, she was displaced, she was rationing food, no place was safe; not even a hospital.

I will write my full review soon, but I beg you: please read this book. Out April 17th.

I was sent this book as an early proof copy from Macmillan, but my review is my own thoughts.
•
“How many times is a person supposed to start from zero just because they’re PaIestinian, living in Gaza? And how many houses can a PaIestinian build and work on and turn into a home, only to have an IsraeIi decide to bomb it? Just because they can.”

[Jo Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sat for 3 hours wondering how I could even consider rating The Eyes Of Gaza. Then I thought, how can I not? I’ve sat for another hour wondering how I could write a review that would do the book any justice, and the truth is I can’t. Nothing I could say could be more impactful than Plestia’s diary. So, I would implore everyone to read it.

I keep coming back to two simple facts, Plestia is the same age as my daughter, Plestia and my daughter both wear necklaces gifted to them by their grandmothers, both necklaces outline their homeland. My daughter has never had to journal her way through a genocide.

At the end of the book, we are in early 2024 in the diary, a ceasefire has been agreed. Way over a year later, just as I was about to stop the recording a news flash popped up on my screen, children collecting water are among the latest victims of an air strike. Is there a bigger word than devastating?

[Rachel Louise Atkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t really know how to review something like this as it was so personal and raw. I still can’t believe some of the stuff I was reading about are actually happening right now in this world. This is a diary that Plestia kept following 7 October and her journey into becoming a press journalist during the ongoing Palestinian genocide. It is a tough but necessary glimpse into how such a normal person’s life can be turned completely upside down and the scale of the destruction that is being witnessed by millions of people. I loved her poetry and some of her musings on life were really special, despite the pain she is going through. Really recommend reading this and we will not rest until Palestine is free.

[emma (emwithabook) · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must read for anyone who considers themselves human

plestia was the eyes of gaza for us and thanks to her -and all the palestinian journalists- the world outside of palestine got to see this genocide that's still happening today. even after the "ceasefires". we all know a ceasefire for israel is a mere suggestion and background noise

the intimacy of writing a diary that no one else was gonna read at first and her allowing herself to write all the emotions (and opinions!) that she didn't want to show on the outside was cathartic and heartbreaking

i loved seeing plestia's humor in some of her entries! mohamed 2, the man whose name was probably also mohamed because everyone in gaza is named mohamed, the donkey, her brother's lack of privacy, her being a directioner when she was younger

this book is palestinian resilience, resistance and history, things israel tries to destroy daily. i hope they know what this book entails will never disappear from this world or the next

[K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Content warnings: genocide, death, death of a loved one, death of a child, explosions, gun violence, blood, discussion of amputations, Islamophobia, colonisation, occupation

God, my heart. This is essential reading. It broke my heart multiple times, and I don't know what to say about it other than to give you several quotes from the book that I highlighted while reading:

- "Nobody in Gaza is alive through anything other than sheer luck."

- "I myself buy a bracelet kit for my cousins, Bara'a and Reena. Since the beginning of the Genocide, they've been obsessed with making bracelets for everyone. I wish I could say that it was for fun, but they've been branding each bracelet with a name, in case its intended owner gets killed."

- "Sometimes I wish that I'd just die, for the sake of resting in peace, and sometimes I wish to live, to one day see Palestine become free."

- "In Gaza, you are never just a number. Even though we lose more people than our hearts can handle, every single one is remembered, and loved, and mourned. Because that's what you'd want to happen for you, and that's the least that a human deserves."

- "I've always thought of journalism as a noble profession, but I never knew that being a Palestinian journalist is a crime. When I see news of a journalist being killed, or a journalist's family being targeted, I wonder if my family will be next."

- "Wars do not end when the bombs stop falling."

[زينة · Rating 5 out of 5]

قرأت قبل شهرين رواية تتجدث عن تصور سوداوي للعالم قي ٢٠٢٤ وكيف سيأكل فيه القوي الضعيف وتنصهر فيه الطبقة المتوسطة، كيف تنعدم الثقة بين الأفراد وتتحول حياة الإنسان اليومية إلى بحث عن الطعام والشراب والمأوى وكيف تنسحب الآدمية من تفاصيل حياته تدريجيًا، كانت هذه الرواية موضع مناقشتنا في نادي تكوين للكتاب، فكان من تعليقات الكثير من المشاركين أنهم لم يتمكنوا من إتمام الرواية أو أتموها بصعوبة لأنها كانت "سوداوية" و "قاسية" جدًا، لكنني كنت أرد بأن هذه العبارات كا��ت لتكون مناسبة إذا قلناها قبب السابع من أكتوبر لعام ٢٠٢٣. كل المشاهد تبدو عاديةً ومفتعلة وغير مقنعة مقارنةً بما حدث -وما زال يحدث- في غزة الحبيبة. وهذا ما حدث عند قراءتي لهذا الكتاب. ففيه تحكي بلستيا قصصًا تشبه كثيرًا قصص ويوميات البطلة في تلك الرواية، لكن الفرق أن بلستيا حقيقية، أن غزة حقيقية، وأن هذه المأساة حقيقية، قديمة ومستمرة ومتزايدة. توقفت أثناء استماعي للكتاب مرارًا في محاولة تمالك نفسي وبلع غصتي، شكرًا بلستيا على توثيق يومياتك وعلى مشاركتها معنا ومع العالم..
الله يفرج عن أهلنا وعنا..

[Mo.Una8036 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that narrates the sufferings of Palestinians in the form of a diary, detailing destruction, displacement, hunger, death, vagrancy, and orphanhood. In a world that seems unable to help, Palestinians strive to live through their shared love, hope, and unity.

I was reading the book, and with each word, I felt heartbroken. The stories of suffering and resilience were profound. I imagined the people who were living through this—what a stark contrast to our comfortable lives. It made me reflect on our shared humanity and the importance of empathy. This book not only opened my eyes to their reality but also inspired me to appreciate the small joys in my own life💔😞

اللهم إنّا نعوذ بك من العجز والقهر. اللهم نستودعك فلسطين وكل أهالي غزّة فانصرهم واحفظهم بعينك التي لا تنام، واربط على قلوبهم وأمدهم بجُندك وانزل عليهم سكينتك وسخر لهم الأرض بما ومن عليها. اللهم إنّا لا نملِك لهم إلا الدُّعاء فَـ يا رب لا تردّ لنا دُعاء😞

[nic 🦋 · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are no words to truly encapsulate the horror I felt while reading this. Plestia’s bravery in showcasing her journal entries hurt my heart, and I can only hope she can one day fulfil her dream of seeing a Free Palestine.

Bear witness. From the river to the sea. 🇵🇸

[Iman Savon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even five stars aren’t enough for this book.

This journal allowed me to put myself in the shoes of a journalist who was active from the very beginning of the genocide, and who quickly became known and followed by many. Reading her thoughts, reading what goes on in the mind of someone who experienced the beginning of the genocide and fled because of it, helped me also sort through my own thoughts about this ongoing genocide that only continues to escalate.

Reading the stories of people she interviewed—displaced individuals in Gaza, doctors, grandmothers who lived through the Nakba—opened my eyes even more to the current crisis. We don’t have just numbers—we have people dying, stories, emotional bonds behind the terrorist acts of Is****.

Plestia Alaqad, thank you for publishing your journal and giving us the chance to read your words. Behind your job as a journalist with your phone, your helmet, and your press vest, we got to know who you are and how you experienced all of this.

May Allah help you, may Allah liberate your people, and may Allah free Palestine from all this oppression.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

After everything, the sense of community that’s described blows my mind. People have nothing, yet they give everything to help each other.

I highly recommend reading books written by Palestinian authors, this woman is a journalist as well, so you can read their experiences through their words, eyes, emotions and facts.

Goosebumps from cover to cover

[Jade Finzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

i am from england, i consider myself cornish. my dad is ‘israeli’. he was born there, lived there for a lot of his life, moved to cornwall, met my mother and had me. through my life, i visited ‘israel’ and spent time with my family, marvelled in its beauty, and believed everything everyone told me about the ‘war’. as a child, i blindly went along with the lies and believed the propaganda they all fed me, i wrote essays about it in my english classes and got A’s, i told my friends about how us as ‘israelis’ are victims.

my dad was never a nice person and we always had a strained relationship, so i moved out the first chance i could. and when that happened, i finally broke free of the blind belief. i did my own research, i stopped calling myself ‘israeli’, and i made it publicly known that i was in support of a free palestine. my dad found this out, he told me to never call him ‘dad’ again, and sent his family to my social media to harass me.

when the genocide began, my dad tried once again to radicalise me and i realised that he and so many other ‘israelis’ are so brainwashed that they are beyond saving. they genuinely believe that palestinians and arabs are animals, they believe that none of them are innocent, even children. it disgusts me. i wish that they would find it in themselves to read this beautiful book, to understand that palestinians are human beings that deserve none of what they are subjected to.

i feel so much guilt that i not only once believed the lies, but that i am ‘israeli’ at all, that i ever considered myself to be one. i am sorry. i am so sorry.

[Amy Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly powerful read, it’s hard to write a review of this because it is someone’s diary, but it’s heartbreaking and informative all in one- It’s a hard but powerful read. Highly recommend people read/ listen to it.
Free Palestine 🇵🇸

[Evet · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there is one message I would remember from this book, it would be to remember that Palestinians can also be spirits of joy and warmth — a great departure from the media’s depiction of them as souls marked for perpetual death and violence. Palestinians are humans too, people with their own hopes and dreams, and Plestia is right to be frustrated when the world ignores such a plain fact.

Plestia is a remarkable journalist in her own right, and The Eyes of Gaza offers a glimpse into the life of a person who has likely inspired many.

[AnnaofAsgard · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Wars do not end when the bombs stop falling.”

[Aliyah Spacey-Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost rated this lower, but then realised it’s not because it’s a rubbish book or poorly written, it’s just because the truth is so awful. Sometimes when I read war/refugee/traumatic stories I can approach them as a story, maybe based on truth, but not focusing on the facts at all. This is just heartbreakingly truthful and the truth is horrendous, that’s all I can really say.
‘Never take things for granted, and enjoy every detail of your life. Your ‘boring’ day might be someone else’s dream.’ - the only sentence I highlighted, because honestly, I could’ve highlighted the entire book, but this sentence truly got me choked up