Gaza teenager tweets night of bombs and fear

Palestinians at the funeral of a child killed in a Gaza explosion point to the smoke trail of a missile fired by militants from inside northern Gaza Strip on July 28.

By Amy HubbardDeputy Editor, Fast Break Desk

July 29, 2014 2:35 PM PT

A teenager in Gaza has been making the crisis there more immediate and shocking for millions on social media as she has posted live tweets and video about the violence. Farah Baker, 16, grabbed attention with her tweet Monday night "I can't stop crying. I might die tonight."

The Gaza Strip has been under siege by Israel, with more than 100 Palestinians killed Tuesday alone. The death toll for the 22-day campaign is at 1,200. the L.A. Times reports. Government buildings, a TV station and a fuel tank supplying Gaza's only power plant have been hit.

Baker, as @Farah_Gazan, gained thousands of followers, riveted by tweets Monday night and into the wee hours of Tuesday morning, during what was one of the most intense bombardments of the Israeli campaign.

The teen, who has since been featured on various news sites, wrote of the sound of bombs and flares lighting up the sky. Her "I can't stop crying" post has been retweeted more than 12,000 times. After a tumultuous night of violence, Baker posted, "I AM ALIVE!!!"

Follow me at @AmyTheHub

Technology and the Internet

Amy Hubbard

Amy Hubbard is a deputy editor on the Fast Break Desk, the Los Angeles Times’ breaking news team. She’s worked in a range of departments at The Times since 1993, including as copy chief for daily Calendar, Travel, Books and the AM Copy Desk; SEO chief; morning editor on the Metro desk; and assistant newsletters editor. In 2015, she began a four-year stint at personal finance website NerdWallet, where she was the Banking editor. Hubbard is a graduate of the University of Missouri, Columbia, School of Journalism.

Gaza teenager tweets night of bombs and fear

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