AFP news agency calls on Israel to allow evacuation of its freelance contributors

News agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) has called on Israel to allow the immediate evacuation of its freelance contributors and their families from the Gaza Strip, a day after they warned that they were struggling to work due to starvation.

In a statement, the French news agency said its freelancers faced an “appalling situation” in Gaza. A 21-month war with Israel has devastated the territory, a conflict triggered by Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel in October 2023.

Israel has barred international journalists from entering Gaza since then, leaving most of the world’s news outlets relying on Palestinian freelancers to inform the world.

Palestinian text, photo and video journalists working for the international news agency said desperate hunger and lack of clean water is making them ill and exhausted.

Some have even had to cut back on their coverage of the war, now in its 22nd month, with one journalist saying “we have no energy left due to hunger”.

The UN in June condemned what it claimed was Israel’s “weaponisation of food” in Gaza and called it a war crime, as aid agencies urge action and warnings about malnutrition multiply.

Israel says humanitarian aid is being allowed into Gaza and accuses Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering, including by stealing food handouts to sell at inflated prices or shooting at those awaiting aid.

Witnesses and Gaza’s civil defence agency, however, have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of firing on aid seekers, and the UN has said the military has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food since late May.

“For months, we have been witnessing, powerless, the dramatic deterioration of their living conditions,” AFP said, adding that the situation had become untenable despite the “exemplary courage, professional commitment and resilience” of its local team.

AFP said it had succeeded in evacuating eight staff members and their families from Gaza between January and April 2024, after months of effort. It is now seeking to secure safe passage for its freelance Palestinian reporters, despite “the extreme difficulty of leaving a territory under strict blockade“.

The Israeli military and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the AFP statement.

Reuters, another news agency, also works with freelance journalists in Gaza and said it was “deeply concerned” about their health and safety.

“The extreme difficulty sourcing food is leading to their and all Gaza residents experiencing greater levels of hunger and illness,” a Reuters spokesperson said.

“We are providing our contributors with additional financial support to help them and, should they wish to leave the territory, we will provide any assistance possible to help them get out.”

Bashar Taleb, 35, is one of four AFP photographers in Gaza who were shortlisted for the Pulitzer prize earlier this year. He lives in the bombed-out ruins of his home in Jabalia al-Nazla in northern Gaza.

“I’ve had to stop working multiple times just to search for food for my family and loved ones,” he said. “I feel for the first time utterly defeated emotionally.

“I’ve tried so much, knocked on many doors to save my family from starvation, constant displacement and persistent fear but so far to no avail.”

Another Pulitzer nominee, Omar al-Qattaa, 35, is staying in the remains of his wife’s family’s home after his own apartment was destroyed.

“I’m exhausted from carrying heavy cameras on my shoulders and walking long distances,” he said. “We can’t even reach coverage sites because we have no energy left due to hunger and lack of food.”

Qattaa relies on painkillers for a back complaint, but said basic medicines were not available in pharmacies, and the lack of vitamins and nutritious food have added to his difficulties.

The constant headaches and dizziness he has suffered due to lack of food and water have also afflicted AFP contributor Khadr al-Zanoun, 45, in Gaza City, who said he has even collapsed because of it.

“Since the war began, I’ve lost about 30kg (66lbs) and become skeletal compared to how I looked before the war,” he said.

“I used to finish news reports and stories quickly. Now I barely manage to complete one report per day due to extreme physical and mental fatigue and near-delirium.”