AFP says stringers in Gaza face starvation, must be evacuated

The SDJ union issued a statement titled “Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die”.

It said the agency had been working with one freelance writer, three photographers and six TV crews since staff journalists were evacuated in 2024. International journalists are barred by Israel from entering the territory.

“Along with a few others, they are now the only ones left to report what is happening in the Gaza Strip… We refuse to watch them die,” SDJ said.

AFP management issued its own statement saying it shared the SDJ’s anxiety about, “The dire situation of its collaborators in the Gaza strip. For months we have been watching, helpless, the dramatic deterioration of their living conditions. Their situation today is untenable despite courage, professional commitment and exemplary resilience.”

It said the ban on international journalists in Gaza made the work of Palestinian reporters crucial to informing the world about what was happening there. But because their lives were in danger, AFP urged the Israeli government to allow their immediate evacuation with their families.

SDJ said: “Since AFP was founded in 1944, we have lost journalists in conflicts, some have been injured, others taken prisoner. But none of us can ever remember seeing colleagues die of hunger.”

It said that one of the stringers, Bashar, 30, had worked with AFP since 2010 first as a fixer and then as a photographer.  He had posted a message on Facebook on July 19 saying: “I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can’t work anymore.”

SDJ said he was living in “utter destitution|” with his mother, four siblings and the family of one of his brothers,. and under extreme risk to his life.

Another stringer, Ahlam, who is living in the south of Gaza said she was holding on to “testify” as long as she could despite never being sure she would survive a reporting assignment. Her biggest problem was lack of food and water.

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