[4] She attended the American International School in the city of Beit Lahia, and later enrolled at Eastern Mediterranean University in what is de facto Northern Cyprus to study New Media and Journalism, graduating in 2022.
[5][6] In August 2024, Alaqad won the Shireen Abu Akleh Memorial Scholarship to pursue a Master of Arts (MA) in Media Studies at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon.
[4][7] Alaqad previously worked as a human resources professional at a marketing agency while gathering a small online following on Instagram in her free time.
[21] On 22 November 2023, roughly one month into the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, Alaqad and her family fled to Egypt via the Rafah Border Crossing[13] and then, a few days later, to Australia,[22] having secured visas via her uncle.
[25][26] In December 2024, Plestia Alaqad was included on the BBC's 100 Women list,[27] and shared Amnesty International Australia's inaugural Human Rights Defender Award with Palestinian journalists Bisan Owda, Anas Al-Sharif, and Ahmed Shihab-Eldin.