El-Haddad is an award-winning Palestinian writer, social activist, and public speaker, who frequently lectures on the situation in Gaza, the intersection of food and politics, and contemporary Islam. 

She is the author of Gaza Mom: Palestine, Politics, Parenting, and Everything In Between and, co-author of the critically acclaimed The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey, and co-editor of Gaza Unsilenced. She is also a policy advisor with al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network. Through her work as a writer and documentarian El-Haddad provides much-needed insight into the human experience of the region.

Born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents from Gaza, she currently lives in Clarksville, Maryland with her husband and their three children. You will frequently find her poking around people’s kitchens, in a forest, or on a basketball court.