This Palestinian journalist kept a diary as Israeli forces invaded – now it’s a book

NPR's Book of the Day

NPR

Arts, Books

4.2 • 671 Ratings

🗓️ 23 October 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As Israeli forces invaded Gaza in 2023, Palestinian journalist Plestia Alaqad kept a diary. Her writing is a record of the 45 days she spent reporting on the ground during the invasion until she evacuated. Now, she’s published her diary as a book called The Eyes of Gaza. In today’s episode, Alaqad joins NPR’s Lelia Fadel for a conversation about the journalist’s memories of home both before and after the conflict.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, this is NPR's book of the day. I'm Chloe Weiner. I remember reading famous diaries back in high school.
0:08.2	Anne Frank's The Diary of Young Girl, of course, or the journals of Sylvia Plath, and finding it difficult to imagine what it would be like to have such a personal document entered into the historical record, to have one's own point of view play a role in our collective memory.
0:22.7	Palestinian journalist Plastia Al-Aqad has published her own diary as a book called The Eyes of Gaza.
0:29.0	Her writing is a record of the 45 days she spent reporting on the ground as Israeli forces invaded the territory two years ago.
0:36.1	Another way she documented this time was through Instagram.
0:39.3	And in today's interview with NPR's Lila Faddle, they talk about how Alakud's social media
0:43.9	began to reveal a very different reality pre and post October 7th. That's coming up.
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1:06.0	On Fridays, the 1A podcast is all about helping you cut through the info fog and get to what's important in the news.
1:13.6	Close out the week with us on our Friday News Roundup.
1:16.8	Here from reporters who've been embedded with the biggest news of the week.
1:20.9	Join us every week for the Friday News Roundup.
1:23.1	Listen to the 1A podcast from NPR and WAMU.
1:28.7	Come check this.
1:30.0	If you scrolled through Plastia Al-Hakid's Instagram account before October 7th,
1:34.6	2023, you would have found snapshots of the young journalists set to music, lounging
1:40.2	by the beach in Gaza City, hanging with friends, getting glammed up, celebrating Palestinian culture.
1:47.4	It all took a dark turn, soon after Hamas attacked Israel.
1:53.7	Al-Aqad started chronicling Israel's response, showing the world what it was like to live under Israel's relentless and, as you'll hear, terrifying bombardment.
2:06.3	And here is the family. They're gathering all together, also in a place far away from the window.
	...

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