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Agence France-Presse (AFP) has issued a statement shared on X regarding the situation of its correspondents in Gaza, expressing dire concerns for the first time since its founding in 1944 that its journalists might starve to death.
The statement highlighted the extreme humanitarian crisis in the besieged territory, where access to food, water and medical supplies remains critically limited.
Since the withdrawal of its staff reporters in 2024, AFP has relied on a team of freelance journalists in Gaza—one text reporter, three photojournalists, and six video journalists—to continue its coverage from the enclave.
According to the agency, these individuals, along with a handful of other local reporters, are now the only ones still reporting on the situation on the ground.
“We refuse to see them die,” AFP said in its statement.
The statement mentioned its 30-year-old freelance photographer named Bashar, who has been with the agency since 2010. On July 19, he wrote on Facebook that the journalist no longer had the strength to continue working due to severe malnutrition.
Bashar lives in the ruins of his family home in Gaza, sharing the space with his mother and siblings under extreme conditions, lacking basic necessities.
He recently reported that his eldest brother collapsed from hunger. Despite the risks and deteriorating health, Bashar has continued to report from refugee camps, facing Israeli bombardments and chronic illness.
AFP stated that even though these journalists receive a monthly salary, there is often nothing available to buy—or only at exorbitant prices. The collapse of the banking system has further complicated matters, with intermediaries exchanging money between online accounts and cash for commissions reaching nearly 40%.
The agency added that it can no longer operate its vehicles due to fuel shortages, and even if petrol were available, car travel would expose journalists to potential targeting by Israeli airstrikes. As a result, reporters now move on foot or by donkey cart to carry out their assignments.
Ahlam, one of the other journalists mentioned in AFP's statement, said she aims to "bear witness" for as long as possible. “Every time I leave the tent to cover an event, do an interview, or document something, I don’t know if I’ll come back alive.” She added that the lack of food and water remains the most severe challenge.
According to the AFP statement, the situation faced by its freelance journalists in Gaza has become critical, with many no longer physically able to do their jobs due to hunger and exhaustion. Their cries for help, the agency said, have become a daily reality, and their lives now hang by a thread.
On Sunday, Bashar wrote, “For the first time, I feel defeated,” later expressing gratitude to a colleague for helping explain the daily struggle “between death and hunger” and adding, “I wish (Mr.) Macron could help me get out of this hell.”
Meanwhile, Ahlam, still reporting from the south, stated: “I’m trying to continue doing my job, to carry the voice of the people… Here, resisting is not a choice; it’s a necessity.”
AFP emphasized that while its reporters have previously faced death, injury and imprisonment, never in its history since 1944 has it witnessed its own journalists on the brink of starvation.
“Since AFP was founded in August 1944, some of our journalists were killed in conflict, others were wounded or made prisoner, but there is no record of us ever having had to watch our colleagues starving to death,” the agency concluded the statement.
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