Meet Plestia Alaqad, the 22-Year-Old Journalist Who Made the World See Gaza Through Her Eyes
Amid the ongoing Israeli offensive in Gaza, a new crop of young journalists have risen to document the conditions around them. As foreign correspondents cannot get into Gaza, Palestinian writers, creators, and photojournalists have used social media platforms to raise awareness. Young journalists like Plestia Alaqad have used Instagram to cover the war. Their reels, posts, and broadcast channels routinely draw hundreds of thousands of viewers, and millions of followers. Many of these internet journalists are young people, aged from just 9 to 26. This reflects the young demographic of the Gaza Strip’s population, where more than 70% of people are under the age of 30.
Plestia Alaqad is a young Gazan journalist who has amassed millions of followers on her Instagram page through covering the war in Gaza. Raised in Beit Lahia, Gaza, Plestia had a happy childhood and attended the American International School, after which she became one of the few to leave Gaza, and pursued New Media and Journalism at Eastern Mediterranean University in Cyprus, graduating in 2022.
Wanting to showcase a different perspective of the Gaza Strip, most of Plestia’s content before October was lifestyle content, showcasing makeup looks, scenery in Turkey and Cyprus, and photos with family and friends. Initially making freelance content and working as an HR manager, she began to post video diaries about her life under Israeli aggression after October 7.
Her videos depict the bombing of her home, the displacement to southern Gaza, and the trauma and pain of Gazans. Not shying away from the graphic, Plestia’s work is raw and unfiltered, often showing her vulnerability and fear amidst airstrikes and firing. The deep dive Plestia does into her life in Gaza, and how she showed us the personal losses she went through resonate with viewers across the world. The video of her house being destroyed went viral on Twitter and brought so many more eyes to the violence unfolding in Gaza. Plestia’s videos often go viral on Facebook and Twitter and routinely gain hundreds of thousands of views.
From depicting conditions in Rafah to the displacement from the north of Gaza to the south, her work shares impactful and powerful stories. Even something like sharing with us the difficulty in charging her phone on which she records, and finding an internet connection amid firing and the electricity being cut, is an integral part of the Gazan story.
From depicting conditions in Rafah to the displacement from the north of Gaza to the south, her work shares impactful and powerful stories.
Eventually, after documenting the war until she reached Rafah, Plestia decided to leave Gaza for Egypt. Part of her decision was the increasing Israeli surveillance she was under, and the killing of many Palestinian journalists. Notable journalists such as Wael al-Dahdouh had lost his entire family, as well as his son who was a photojournalist in Gaza. Plestia has said the presence of Israeli drones in the area led her to fear her family would be targeted next due to her activism. Now based in Australia, Plestia’s work helps connect the world to Gaza and brings Gaza to the world.
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