Gaza journalists face starvation as AFP calls for urgent evacuation

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published 4 months ago |  From information and quotes provided by Al Jazeera

GAZA—Agence France-Presse (AFP) has called on Israeli authorities to urgently allow the evacuation of its freelance journalists from Gaza, warning that they are trapped in an “appalling” and “untenable” situation as conditions in the besieged enclave worsen.

According to Al Jazeera, the Paris-based news agency made the appeal on Tuesday following a dire warning from the Society of Journalists—an independent association of AFP journalists—that colleagues in Gaza are on the brink of starvation.

“For months, we have watched helplessly as their living conditions deteriorated dramatically,” AFP said in a statement. “Their situation is now untenable, despite their exemplary courage, professional commitment, and resilience.”

AFP emphasized that its Palestinian freelancers have been “crucial” in providing information from Gaza, particularly as Israel has banned foreign journalists from entering the territory for nearly two years. The agency called for immediate evacuation for its staff and their families, stating that their “lives are in danger.”

The Society of Journalists further warned: “We fear learning of their deaths at any moment, and it is unbearable for us. Along with a few others, they are now the only ones reporting on what is happening in the Gaza Strip. We refuse to watch them die.”

The group cited cases such as a 30-year-old photographer named Bashar, who posted online that his “body is thin” and he had lost the strength to continue working. “Since AFP was founded in August 1944, we have lost journalists in conflicts, we have had injured and imprisoned colleagues among us, but none of us can recall ever seeing a colleague die of hunger,” the association said.

On Wednesday, the Al Jazeera Media Network joined AFP in its urgent appeal, calling for “immediate action” by international organizations to halt the crisis that has severely affected journalists.

“We owe it to the courageous journalists in Gaza to amplify their voices and put an end to the unbearable suffering they are enduring due to forced starvation and targeted killings by Israeli occupation forces,” said Mostefa Souag, director general of Al Jazeera Media Network.

Adding to the mounting warnings, UK-based charity Oxfam revealed that even its staff in Gaza are starving. “At Oxfam, we are not just witnessing this crisis, we are living it,” Bushra Khalidi, policy lead in the occupied Palestinian territory and Gaza, told Al Jazeera.

“My colleague, she told me on Saturday that she went to work without even water, with eating a single falafel just to keep going, and she still showed up to work,” Khalidi said.

Meanwhile, Gaza health officials on Tuesday reported that at least 15 Palestinians, including four children, had died from starvation in the previous 24 hours—raising the total number of confirmed malnutrition-related deaths since the start of Israel’s war to 101.

Although Israel blocked all humanitarian aid into Gaza in March, a limited amount of supplies has been permitted since May via the controversial GHF aid agency, supported by both Israel and the United States. However, the GHF has been boycotted by the United Nations and most major international aid organizations.

According to the UN Human Rights Office, Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians near GHF distribution points—many of whom were seeking food aid.

AFP Photo: AFP journalist Khader Zaanoun in Gaza City on July 22, 2025