AFP Demands Evacuation of Starving Journalists from Gaza Amid Worsening Humanitarian Crisis

Agence France-Presse (AFP) has issued an urgent plea to the Israeli government, demanding the immediate evacuation of its freelance journalists from the Gaza Strip. The French news agency cites a rapidly deteriorating hunger crisis, which has left reporters and photographers severely weakened and unable to perform their vital work.

Phil Chetwynd, AFP’s global news director, detailed the dire conditions, noting that journalists are spending excessive time searching for food and suffering from constant headaches and dizziness. This follows a dramatic appeal from AFP’s journalists’ union, which stated it had never before witnessed colleagues facing death by starvation in the agency’s 80-year history.

The dire situation for journalists mirrors the broader humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, where severe food shortages persist for an estimated 2 million Palestinians. Gaza health authorities recently reported 25 child deaths from famine and malnutrition within the past week. UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned the Security Council on Tuesday that “starvation is knocking on every door,” describing Gaza as a “horror show” of unparalleled death and destruction.

With international journalists largely denied independent access to Gaza since the conflict began in October 2023, local Palestinian journalists remain the primary source of information. However, their ability to report is severely compromised by the escalating crisis. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has voiced grave concerns that the international community risks losing its last independent source of reporting from inside Gaza, calling it a “crisis of global accountability.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has publicly supported AFP’s request, expressing hope for the journalists’ evacuation “in the coming weeks” and reiterating calls for international press access to the besieged enclave.

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