When Israel began its bombardment of Gaza in October 2023, then-21-year-old Plestia Alaqad did what any zoomer might do: She picked up her phone and began recording. Over the next 45 days, Alaqad became part of a burgeoning group of young journalists in blue press helmets and bulletproof vests who became the eyes and ears of Gaza. Millions of people watched the beginning stages of what a U.N. commission has now labeled a genocide unfold via her Instagram — until, as Alaqad wondered whether she should end her own life before the Israeli military did, her family got the call that they’d been cleared to evacuate. All the while, she kept a diary. Alaqad documented everything, from the final meal of a hard-candy bracelet she shared with two friends remaining behind in the territory, to he

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