The Agence France-Presse news agency said its freelance journalists in Gaza are suffering constant health issues while a union is warning they will die “without immediate intervention.”
The news agency works with one freelance reporter, three photographers and six freelance video journalists in the Gaza Strip since its own staff fled the war-torn territory in 2024, according to The Society of Journalists at AFP union.
“They’re spending so much time and energy trying to source food and also just they just feel so weak,” Phil Chetwynd, AFP’s global news director, told NPR. “They talk about constant headaches, constant dizziness. So just the ability physically to, you know, get to a story is diminished.”
“Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die,” the union said in its own statement. “With a few others, they are now the only ones reporting what is happening in Gaza. The international press has been banned from entering this territory for nearly two years.”
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“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,” it added in a post on X.
The union said its lead photographer in Gaza, which it identified as Bashar, wrote on Facebook Saturday that “I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can no longer work.”
“Bashar, 30, works and lives under the same conditions as all Gazans, moving from one refugee camp to another amid Israeli bombings. For over a year, he has lived in absolute poverty and takes enormous risks to do his job. Hygiene is a major issue for him, with recurring bouts of severe intestinal illness,” The Society of Journalists at AFP said.
“Since February, Bashar has been living in the ruins of his house in Gaza City with his mother, four brothers and sisters, and the family of one of his brothers. Their house is completely without amenities or comfort, shared with a few cousins. On Sunday morning, he reported that one of his brothers had ‘fallen, due to hunger,’” it added.
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The union said each of its freelance journalists in Gaza are receiving a monthly salary from the AFP, however, “there’s almost nothing to buy — or what is available is prohibitively expensive.”
Representatives for the AP and Reuters also expressed concern for their teams there, but would not say how many people are working for them.
“We are deeply concerned about our staff in Gaza and are doing everything in our power to support them,” said Lauren Easton, a spokeswoman for The Associated Press. “We are very proud of the work our team continues to do under dire circumstances to keep the world informed about what is happening on the ground.”
Reuters said that it is in daily contact with its freelance journalists, and that “the extreme difficulty sourcing food is leading to their and all Gaza residents experiencing greater levels of hunger and illness.”
The agency said it is providing extra money to help them.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
