Dozens of international humanitarian organisations have warned that Israel’s blockade of aid to Gaza puts the lives of doctors and aid workers at risk, but major news agencies say they are trying to evacuate the remaining freelance journalists because the situation is “unacceptable.”
In a joint statement, 111 international humanitarian organisations called on Israel to end its blockade, restore a full flow of food, clean water and medical supplies to Gaza, and agree to a ceasefire.
The coalition warned on Wednesday that supply in the enclaves is “completely exhausted,” while humanitarian groups have been “watching their colleagues and partners waste in front of their eyes.”
“As the Israeli government’s siege starves the people of Gaza, aid workers are now joining the same food line and risking being shot just to support their families,” signatories include Medesin Sun Frontier (MSF), Amnesty International and Norway Rifjoh Council.
The statement denounced the state for “feeding” assistance to the Gaza Strip, following severe Israeli indictments by 28 Western countries. Israeli Foreign Ministry rejected a joint statement that was not signed by the United States, saying it was “separated from reality.”
Israeli forces “must stop the killings” in search of Gaza aid, a top European Union diplomat said Tuesday.
“The murder of civilians seeking assistance in Gaza is vulnerable,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU’s diplomatic representative, in a post from X.
In the past 24 hours, 15 people, including four children, have been killed in starvation across Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
“The cases of malnutrition and starvation arrive at hospitals in Gaza every moment,” Dr. Mohammad Absalmiya, director of the Alsifa Medical Complex, said on Tuesday.
The United Nations “spinning” of doctors and humanitarians from hunger
Gaza was already heavily reliant on food aid and commercial shipping before Israel began its war with Hamas following the attacks in October 2023.
Israel previously denounced Hamas for its decision to halt the delivery of aid, claiming that extremist groups were stealing supplies and profiting from them. Hamas denied the allegation.
Israeli authorities also denounce UN agencies and accused them of not picking up aid ready to move to Gaza. However, the United Nations has argued that Israeli forces frequently refuse permission to move aid within the enclave, waiting for further permission.
In a statement Wednesday, the coalition of humanitarian agencies criticized the controversial humanitarian foundations of Israel and the United States (GHF), which began operations on May 27th. The organization said the shootings occurred almost every day.
Juliet Tuma, director of communications with the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, said in another statement that seeking food was “as deadly as a bombing.”
She criticized the distribution scheme by the GHF as “sadistic death traps,” saying, “snipers randomly set fire to the crowd as if they were given a license to kill.”
She added that care workers were unable to perform their duties due to a lack of food.
“Doctors, nurses, journalists, and humanitarians” are among the staff who perform their duties “hunger… fainting due to hunger and fatigue.”
Israel has been trying to dismantle Unrwa for a long time. Several employees have partnered with Hamas, and the school teaches hatred towards Israel. Unrwa has repeatedly denied these accusations.
As of July 21, 1,054 people were trying to get food in Gaza, according to Thameen Al-Kheetan, a spokesman for the United Nations Human Rights Office.
Israeli forces have sometimes admitted to fire warning shots at crowds and denied responsibility for other incidents.
In late June, the military said it had “reorganized” approach routes to support the site to minimize “friction with the population,” but the killings continue.
Last Wednesday, the GHF said 19 people had been trampled and another was fatally stabbed by a crowd crush on one of its aid sites. It was the first time the group had admitted death on one of its sites.
Two major media organizations have issued warnings about their journalists in Gaza.
Al Jazeera, who runs the news channel in English and Arabic, said in a statement Wednesday that Enclave journalists “revelate realize they are fighting for their survival.”
“If we don’t act now, we risk a future that may not be left to tell our story,” said Dr. Mostefa Souag, director of the network.
“I’m owned by hunger, trembling with fatigue, resisting the fainting of my pursuit of me every moment,” said Anas Al-Sharif, Al-Jazeera Arabic correspondent, in a social media post. “Gaza is dying, and we’re going to die from it,” he added.
Israel banned Al Jazeera from operating on the territory in May 2024, calling it Hamas mouthpiece. Al Jazeera rejected the allegation as “an unfounded claim.”
International news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) said Tuesday it was trying to evacuate remaining freelance staff from Gaza as the situation became “unacceptable.”
Alongside Reuters and the Associated Press, AFP, headquartered in Paris, is one of the leading global news agencies providing text, photographs and video images from around the world to other media.
Independent journalists are unable to operate in Gaza due to restrictions on entry into the strip in Israel and Egypt.
Palestinian reporters have been living in the same difficult state as other populations, becoming the eyes and ears of people suffering within Gaza during the 21-month conflict.
AFP’s Main Journalists Union Societe De Journalists (SDJ) warned on Monday Some of the remaining freelance journalists in Gaza are hungry and too weak for their jobs.
“Without immediate intervention, the last reporter in Gaza would die,” the union said in a statement.
The SDJ said AFP was working with freelance reporters from the Gaza Strip, three photographers and six freelance video journalists.
The union shared a social media post from AFP staffer Bashar Taleb. BasharTaleb works as an agency as a photographer explaining the serious circumstances of the besieged enclave.
“I no longer have the power to cover the media. My body is lean and I don’t have the ability to walk anymore,” wrote Taleb (30) in a Facebook post on Saturday, according to a statement from the SDJ.
According to the statement, Bashar lives in the ruins of his home in Gaza city with his mother, four brothers, sisters and a family of one of his brothers. On Sunday morning, he reported that one of his brothers “fallen due to hunger.”
Another AFP staff member, identified by the single name Ahlam, was quoted as “every time I leave the tent to cover an event, interview or record a story, I don’t know if it will come back to life.”
Her biggest problem is the lack of food and water, she told the union.
French Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barott said on Tuesday that France hopes to evacuate its journalist colleagues in the “next few weeks” following a call from the SDJ.
“We’re devoting a lot of energy,” Barot said in an interview with French radio station France Inter to drive them out.
He added that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “inhuman” and is a “scandal that must be stopped immediately.”
The AFP said it had evacuated eight employees from Gaza and its families from January to April 2024, and “is taking the same measures for “freelance staff,” despite the extreme difficulty in leaving territory subject to strict lockdowns.”
“Their lives are at risk, so we are asking Israeli authorities to approve immediate evacuation with their families,” he added.
CNN contacted Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Office for comment.
The Israel-Gaza War has killed more journalists in a year than any other conflict since a committee projecting journalists began collecting data 30 years ago.
At least 186 journalists and media workers were killed, and 89 were jailed since the war began.
As food is struggling to reach displaced people and journalists at Gaza, SDJ said in its statement:
