Plestia Alaqad (; born 10 December 2001) is a Palestinian author, journalist, and poet. She gained international attention for her daily coverage of the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, which began on

7 October 2023 On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinians, Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 ...

, by way of her social media accounts. In November 2023, as the

Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip The Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip is a major part of the Gaza war. Starting on 7 October 2023, immediately after the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Hamas-led attack on Israel, Israel began bombing of the Gaza Strip, bombing the Ga ...

intensified, Alaqad and her family fled to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and then to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, where she continued her advocacy on the

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about Territory, land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation ...

Early life and education

Alaqad was born on 10 December 2001 and grew up in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

. She has an older brother and a younger sister. Her mother is the former head of the

American International School in Gaza American International School in Gaza () is a school located in Gaza, Palestine. The school opened in 1999. Islamic fundamentalists criticized the schools coeducational classes and had attacked the school including bombing, looting and kidnap ...

's middle school. Her father is employed abroad. She attended the American International School in the city of

Beit Lahia Beit Lahia or Beit Lahiya () is a city in the Gaza Strip, north of Jabalia, in the North Gaza Governorate of the State of Palestine. It sits next to Beit Hanoun and close to the border with Israel. According to the Palestinian Central Burea ...

, and later enrolled at

Eastern Mediterranean University The Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU; ) is a public university in Northern Cyprus, was established in 1979, led by Onay Fadıl Demirciler, who was then the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education. Initially founded as a technology-focus ...

in what is

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

to study New Media and Journalism, graduating in 2022. In August 2024, Alaqad won the

Shireen Abu Akleh Shireen Abu Akleh (; April 3, 1971 – May 11, 2022) was a prominent Palestinian-American journalist who worked as a reporter for 25 years for Al Jazeera Media Network, Al Jazeera, before she was Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, killed by Israeli ...

Memorial Scholarship to pursue a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA) in Media Studies at the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

in Lebanon.

Career

Alaqad previously worked as a human resources professional at a marketing agency while gathering a small online following on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

in her free time. She regularly conducted media training as well, in addition to engaging in freelance journalism. Prior to the

, Alaqad's online content mainly consisted of travel content, covering locations like

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Outbreak of the Israel–Gaza war

A recent graduate of

, Alaqad was due to start a new job on 8 October 2023. However, on 7 October 2023, the Hamas-led attack on Israel triggered what would become the deadliest war of the

Arab–Israeli conflict The Arab–Israeli conflict is a geopolitical phenomenon involving military conflicts and a variety of disputes between Israel and many Arab world, Arab countries. It is largely rooted in the historically supportive stance of the Arab League ...

. Shortly after the Israeli government declared that it was imposing a "total blockade" on the Gaza Strip, Alaqad began documenting the effects of the Israeli bombardment campaign and posted the video diaries to her Instagram account. By November 3, she had accumulated 2.1 million followers on Instagram, and that figure doubled by 22 November. Alaqad's videos have been shared by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

, the

British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...

, ''Business Today'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

PBS NewsHour ''PBS News Hour'', previously stylized as ''PBS NewsHour'', is the news division of PBS and an American daily evening news broadcasting#television, television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS Network affiliate#Member stations, member stat ...

'', and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. She was also interviewed by the GB News Breakfast Show for an inquiry on how Gazans' lives had been affected by the war. In light of the intensity of the Israeli military's offensive and the high Palestinian death toll accompanying it, Alaqad has accused Israel of waging a genocidal war against the Palestinian people. She has also stated that her experiences with the Israel–Hamas war have driven her to understand her late grandfather's emotions towards the

1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight In the 1948 Palestine war, more than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs – about half of Mandatory Palestine's predominantly Arab population – fled from their homes or were expelled. Expulsions and attacks against Palestinians were carried out by the ...

, which is known as the

Nakba The Nakba () is the ethnic cleansing; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; of Palestinian Arabs through their violent displacement and dispossession of land, property, and belongings, along with the destruction of their s ...

in Palestinian society.

Since leaving the Gaza Strip

On 22 November 2023, roughly one month into the

, Alaqad and her family fled to

via the

Rafah Border Crossing The Rafah Border Crossing () or Rafah Crossing Point is the sole crossing point between Egypt and Palestine's Gaza Strip. The Rafah crossing was opened by Israel after the Egypt–Israel peace treaty, 1979 peace treaty and remained under Isra ...

and then, a few days later, to

, having secured visas via her uncle. In a later video, Alaqad, residing in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, explained that she chose to leave the Gaza Strip because she feared that her journalism was putting her family in immediate danger. In February 2024, Alaqad took part in the

Bankstown Poetry Slam The Bankstown Poetry Slam is the largest regular poetry slam in Australia that has been drawing increasingly diverse audiences from around Sydney since it started in Bankstown in 2013. BPS has become a literary institution in western Sydney with 20 ...

in the city of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, where she presented poetry that she had written about the war in her diary while she was in the Gaza Strip.

Writing

Alaqad has written several articles for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. and

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

''The Eyes of Gaza'' (2025)

In a six-way auction,

Pan Macmillan Pan Books is a British publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany. History Pan Books began as an indepe ...

won the rights to publish Alaqad's debut book ''The Eyes of Gaza'', a series of diary extracts, in 2025.

Awards and honours

In December 2024, Plestia Alaqad was included on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's '' 100 Women'' list, and shared

Amnesty International Australia Amnesty International Australia is a section of the Amnesty International network, and is part of the global movement promoting and defending human rights and dignity. Concerns and campaigns Human rights in the Asia-Pacific region is a key con ...

's inaugural Human Rights Defender Award with Palestinian journalists

Bisan Owda Bisan Owda (; born 1997 or 1998) is a Palestinian journalist, activist, and filmmaker. She is best known for her social media videos documenting her experiences during the Gaza war in the Gaza Strip. She won a 2024 Peabody Award in the News cat ...

, Anas Al-Sharif, and

Ahmed Shihab-Eldin Ahmed Shihab-Eldin (; born September 16, 1984) is a Kuwaiti journalist and media personality of Palestinian descent. Career He formerly worked at ''Huffington Post'' and Vice Media, Vice, and was a senior reporter for Al Jazeera Plus from 20 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alaqad, Plestia Living people 2001 births 21st-century Palestinian poets 21st-century Palestinian journalists 21st-century Palestinian women writers 21st-century Palestinian writers Eastern Mediterranean University alumni Instagram people Journalists from the Gaza Strip Palestinian diarists Palestinian expatriates in Australia Palestinian Internet celebrities Palestinian women journalists Palestinian women poets Palestinian people of the Israel–Hamas war Writers from the Gaza Strip Women in the Israel–Hamas war