Basement Books | The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilienc...

How it Works Bookshop

Publishing Team Contact

The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience

Plestia Alaqad

Save to Your Books

Bookshop

Amazon

100% of affiliate revenue supports Basement Books

North American edition with an exclusive afterword and photographs

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | NATIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER | BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER | SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE BESTSELLER

In early October 2023, Palestinian Plestia Alaqad was a recent university graduate dreaming of a career as a journalist. But by the end of November, her homeland was unrecognizable—and she was broadcasting videos of violence and destruction to millions online, known across the world as "The Eyes of Gaza."

A series of diary extracts from the weeks following October 7, The Eyes of Gaza is a gutting, on-the-ground record of the turmoil and destruction endured by the men, women, and children of Palestine. As Alaqad flees from neighborhood to neighborhood, from hospital to hospital, she documents all she sees—the destruction of beloved homes, the waves of bombs, and most of all, the boundless bravery and generosity of her people—all the while trying to memorize the faces of those around her “so somebody will have known them before the end,” wondering if, one day, her own journal will be discovered amidst the rubble.

A document of the indomitable Palestinian spirit, told through the voice of one ordinary young woman, The Eyes of Gaza is a tribute to Alaqad's beloved Gaza, a paean to the courage and endurance of Palestine, and a manifesto of hope for its future.

Get the Bindery app

Posts about this title from Basement Books

Basement Books\ \ Kaitlyn\ \ • Dec 9 2025

Short books to read before the end of the year

If you want to finish your reading goal this year (although in my mind, if you read a single book this year, you already won), pick up some of these incredible short reads! #bookrecommendations #shortbooks #nonfiction #poetry

17 books

Basement Books\ \ Kaitlyn\ \ • Nov 28 2025

Non-fiction gift guide

A non-fiction gift guide for every person in your life (and also some of my all-time favorite books 😘)

#giftguide #nonfiction #bookrecs

23 books

Posts about this book from across Bindery

Kist Reads\ \ Kist\ \ • Mar 30

Join for free

SICKOS! What book cheeks you’re spreading this week? I've got a stack of books and a buncha media that I plan on working through, plus a look back at what I got done last week.\ \ READING\ \ REVIEW\ \ A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS by GEORGE RR MARTIN (fantasy)\ \ Progress: Finished\ \ Our March Fiction Sickos Book Club pick did not disappoint! This is a rare case where I enjoyed watching the show first as it helped my brain movies for the first short story that S1 was based on. I also think the show made solid choices with what it altered or expanded upon (looking at you, Lyonel Baratheon, you minx). Will probably fall somewhere around 3.75-4 stars with the first short story being the strongest.\ \ HOW TO HOLD SOMEONE IN YOUR HEART by MIZUKU TSUJIMURA (contemporary fantasy/magical realism)\ \ #2 in “The Lost Souls Series”\ \ Progress: Finished\ \ A bit underwhelming after Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon and I'll stick to the opinion that it might not have been necessary. Still had some high points but there were a couple chapters that either didn't live up to the potential of their premise or were somewhat uninteresting.\ \ THE EYES OF GAZA: A DIARY OF RESILIENCE by PLESTIA ALAQAD (nonfiction memoir)\ \ Progress: Finished\ \ Phew! I'll talk more about this one soon because it's a harrowing read. The “Diary” in the subtitle isn't a metaphor or a stylistic label, it’s literal. It's a quick but powerful book taking real entries that's devoid of any flowery language and full of thought-provoking, raw sentiments.\ \ GAMES WITHOUT RULES: THE OFTEN INTERRUPTED HISTORY OF AFGHANISTAN by TAMIM ANSARY (narrative historical nonfiction)\ \ Progress: 101/350\ \ Didn't make much of a dent in this but am now transitioning into the 20th century after Abdu'Rahman "set the parameters of a struggle in Afghanistan" between forward and backward-looking elements, which had "profound consequences not just for Afghanistan itself but for attempts by foreign powers to intervene in the affairs of the country over the next century".\ \ PREVIEW\ \ THE RED WINTER by CAMERON SULLIVAN (historical fantasy)\ \ Next up on the fiction side is the Fiction Sickos April selection. I've already detailed what it's about so let's keep it movin'.\ \ For nonfiction, I'm not entirely sure as I need to finish Games Without Rules by I may rock something like We Are Not Numbers or One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This if there's time.\ \ WATCHING\ \ REVIEW\ \ SUCCESSION - HBO MAX\ \ Progress: S4E3\ \ Watching these goblin ah money junkies consistently step on their own junk has been a delight, I'm churning through it, and the episode I left off on was a biggie and so well done. Will finish the re-watch this week fo' sho.\ \ FRIEREN - CRUNCHYROLL\ \ Progress: S1E12\ \ Slowly working through this and only watched two more episodes but I'm still just as invested.\ \ PEAKY BLINDERS - NETFLIX\ \ Progress: S2E5\ \ Another one I had to sideline a bit because Succession and other stuff but will continue working through it when the mood strikes. And no, I will not be getting a flat cap.\ \ GAME OF THRONES - HBO\ \ Progress: S1E9\ \ A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms got me back in a Westeros mood, and today I'll be setting up the Red Wedding After Party forum in the Discord for those of us that are going to be re-watching and/or re-reading GOT/ASOIAF.\ \ GAMING\ \ Still working on the free solo difficulty climb on Cairn, and night time gaming has been Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. I just got through the opening missions and have landed in Ledecestrescire. If it hooks me from here, I'll see it through. If not, I'm thinking about trying Cyberpunk 2077 (which was also included in PS Plus).\ \ A COMPLEMENT OF SCOUNDRELS UPDATE\ \ We have final approval on the blurbs from John Gwynne and Nicholas Eames for the front/back covers (huge!). Another reminder that if you’re a Mega Sicko or above, go to your account settings and verify the name to be included in the “Thank You” page. I'll also stress again that pre-orders are massively important at this stage and you'd be really cool if you marked it as "Want to Read" on Goodreads.\ \ OTHER RANDOM STUFF\ \ Still rocking 3x days a week at the climbing gym and am posting some sends from today on IG/TikTok stories. I sent six "V3" problems today which is a personal best and am looking to project a V4 later this week. This is my happy place where I don't think about anything except scaling fake rocks. Oh, and I was successful in convincing my wife I needed new climbing shoes, HUZZAH!\ \ \ \ Upgrade for $5 or login