Four major media outlets express concern over Gaza staff facing famine
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Four major news organizations have warned that their journalists in Gaza are facing starvation amid "Israel’s" ongoing blockade and military assault.
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Khaleda el-Feki embraces the body of her husband, Mohamed el-Maghribi, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike at al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on July 24, 2025. (AP)
Four top news organizations, The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, and the BBC, issued a joint statement Thursday warning that their journalists in Gaza are facing the threat of starvation as the aggression on Gaza drags on.
"We are desperately concerned for our journalists in Gaza, who are increasingly unable to feed themselves and their families," the statement said.
The organizations emphasized that for months, these local journalists have served as the world’s eyes and ears on the ground and are now enduring the same life-threatening conditions as the civilians they report on.
They urged "Israel" to allow both the free movement of journalists into and out of Gaza and the entry of sufficient food supplies into the besieged territory.
Wider Humanitarian crisis and mounting warnings
The warning came just a day after more than 100 humanitarian and rights organizations reported that "Israel's" blockade and ongoing military operations are pushing Palestinians in Gaza toward starvation.
As the Israeli genocide continues unabated, adding to it the excruciating blockade that has pushed #Gaza's population into famine, the world is becoming more and more fed up.
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) July 23, 2025
Condemnations against the abhorrent Israeli actions are flooding in from around the world. While these… pic.twitter.com/VKGN5AeesG
Earlier in the week, the AFP journalists' union also sounded the alarm, saying its members in Gaza are at serious risk of starvation due to the continued blockade of humanitarian aid and food.
"Since AFP was founded in August 1944, we have lost journalists in conflicts, we have had wounded and prisoners in our ranks, but none of us can recall seeing a colleague die of hunger. We refuse to see them die," read a powerful statement from the Société des Journalistes (SDJ), the newsroom union representing AFP journalists.
The SDJ highlighted the increasingly dire conditions facing AFP’s current team in Gaza, which includes one freelance reporter, three photographers, and six freelance videographers. AFP’s permanent staff left the enclave in early 2024, and those remaining are now among the last journalists reporting from inside Gaza.
"Along with a few other [journalists], they are now the only ones reporting on what is happening in the Gaza Strip. International media have been barred from entering the area for many months," the SDJ noted.
According to the AFP journalists’ union, the situation has become so severe that some of their colleagues say they can no longer physically continue their work. One photographer, Bashar, recently wrote on Facebook: "I can no longer work in the media. My body is too thin and I can no longer work."
The union detailed how "Bashar, 30, lives and works in the same conditions as other Gaza residents, moving from one refugee camp to another according to the pace of Israeli bombing. For more than a year, he has lived in extreme poverty at great risk to his life. Hygiene is a huge challenge for him, and he suffers from periods of severe intestinal illness."
"On Sunday morning, he reported that his older brother had 'fallen' as a result of starvation."
AFP seeks urgent evacuation of Gaza team
AFP management expressed deep concern for its freelance journalists in Gaza, stating it "shares the SDJ's concern about the appalling situation of its freelancers."
"For months, we have watched helplessly as their living conditions deteriorated dramatically. Their situation is now untenable, despite their exemplary courage, professional commitment, and resilience," the agency said.
Given the severity of the crisis, AFP announced it is now seeking to evacuate its freelancers from Gaza, acknowledging that while their reporting remains "crucial to informing the world," their lives are in immediate danger. The agency called on Israeli authorities to urgently permit their evacuation along with their families.
