A review by ditten
The Eyes of Gaza by Plestia Alaqad

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

"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
Expand filter menu Content Warnings