
Hungry And Exhausted, AFP Journalists Document Gaza War
Palestinian text, photo and video journalists working for the international news agency said desperate hunger and lack of clean water is making them ill and exhausted.
Some have even had to cut back on their coverage of the war, now in its 22nd month, with one journalist saying "we have no energy left due to hunger".
The United Nations in June condemned what it claimed was Israel's "weaponisation of food" in Gaza and called it a war crime, as aid agencies urge action and warnings about malnutrition multiply.
Israel says humanitarian aid is being allowed into Gaza and accuses Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering, including by stealing food handouts to sell at inflated prices or shooting at those awaiting aid.
Witnesses and Gaza's civil defence agency, however, have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of firing on aid seekers, with the UN saying the military had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food since late May.
Bashar Taleb, 35, is one of four AFP photographers in Gaza who were shortlisted for the prestigious Pulitzer Prize earlier this year. He lives in the bombed-out ruins of his home in Jabalia al-Nazla, in northern Gaza.
"I've had to stop working multiple times just to search for food for my family and loved ones," he said. "I feel for the first time utterly defeated emotionally.
"I've tried so much, knocked on many doors to save my family from starvation, constant displacement and persistent fear but so far to no avail."
Another Pulitzer nominee, Omar al-Qattaa, 35, is staying in the remains of his wife's family's home after his own apartment was destroyed.
"I'm exhausted from carrying heavy cameras on my shoulders and walking long distances," he said. "We can't even reach coverage sites because we have no energy left due to hunger and lack of food."
Qattaa relies on painkillers for a back complaint, but said basic medicines were not available in pharmacies, and the lack of vitamins and nutritious food have added to his difficulties.
The constant headaches and dizziness he has suffered due to lack of food and water have also afflicted AFP contributor Khadr Al-Zanoun, 45, in Gaza City, who said he has even collapsed because of it.
"Since the war began, I've lost about 30 kilos (66 pounds) and become skeletal compared to how I looked before the war," he said.
"I used to finish news reports and stories quickly. Now I barely manage to complete one report per day due to extreme physical and mental fatigue and near-delirium."
Worse, though, was the effect on his family, he said.
"They're barely hanging on," he added.
Eyad Baba, another photojournalist, was displaced from his home in Rafah, in the south, to a tent in Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza, where the Israeli military this week began ground operations for the first time.
But he could not bear life in the sprawling camp, so he instead rented an apartment at an inflated price to try to at least provide his family some comfort.
Baba, 47, has worked non-stop for 14 months, away from his family and friends, documenting the bloody aftermath of bullets and bombs, and the grief that comes with it.
Hardest to deal with, though, is the lack of food, he said.
"I can no longer bear the hunger. Hunger has reached my children and has shaken my resolve," he added.
"We've psychologically endured every kind of death during our press coverage. Fear and the sense of looming death accompany us wherever we work or live."
Working as a journalist in Gaza is to work "under the barrel of a gun", he explained, but added: "The pain of hunger is sharper than the fear of bombing.
"Hunger robs you of focus, of the ability to think amid the horrors of war."
The director of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, warned on Tuesday that Gaza was heading towards "alarming numbers of deaths" due to lack of food, revealing that 21 children had died from malnutrition and starvation in the last three days.
AFP text journalist Ahlam Afana, 30, said an exhausting "cash crisis" -- from exorbitant bank charges and sky-high prices for what food is available -- was adding to the issue.
Cash withdrawals carry fees of up to 45 percent, said Zanoun, with high prices for fuel -- where it is available -- making getting around by car impossible, even if the streets were not blocked by rubble.
"Prices are outrageous," said Afana. "A kilo of flour sells for 100-150 shekels ($30-45), beyond our ability to buy even one kilo a day.
"Rice is 100 shekels, sugar is over 300 shekels, pasta is 80 shekels, a litre of oil is 85-100 shekels, tomatoes 70-100 shekels. Even seasonal fruits now -- grapes, figs -- cost 100 shekels per kilo.
"We can't afford them. I don't even remember how they taste."
Afana said she keeps working from a worn-out tent in intense heat that can reach more than 30C, but going days without food and only some water makes it a struggle.
"I move slowly, unlike before," she said. "The danger isn't just the bombing. Hunger is slowly killing our bodies and threatening our ability to carry on.
"Now, I'm not just reporting the news. I'm living the catastrophe and documenting it at the same time."
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on July 8 that more than 200 journalists had been killed in Gaza since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war.
Video journalist Youssef Hassouna, 48, said the loss of colleagues, friends and family had tested him as a human being "in every possible way".
But despite "a heavy emptiness", he said he carries on. "Every frame I capture might be the last trace of a life buried beneath the earth," he added.
"In this war, life as we know it has become impossible."
Zuheir Abu Atileh, 60, worked at AFP's Gaza office, and shared the experience of his journalist colleagues, calling the situation "catastrophic".
"I prefer death over this life," he said. "We have no strength left; we're exhausted and collapsing. Enough is enough." Hunger has only added to the strain of documenting constant death and destruction after more than 21 months of war, AFP journalists say AFP AFP journalists say the difficulties in obtaining enough food to support their families has become an unbearable burden AFP 'In this war, life as we know it has become impossible,' said AFP video journalist Yousef Hassouna AFP
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


DW
9 hours ago
- DW
German government denies rift over Israel's conduct in Gaza – DW – 07/23/2025
The German chancellery insists that the ruling coalition is united in its stance on Israel's actions in Gaza despite differing views. A split appeared after Germany refused to add its name to a 28-country declaration. German Chancellery Minister Thorsten Frei on Wednesday dismissed concerns of a rift within Germany's coalition government over its position on Israel. A split emerged after Germany opted not to join dozens of Western countries in signing a condemnation of the "inhumane killing" of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Frei, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's top aid, said the coalition was united in its aims regarding Gaza, even if there were divisions over how Germany could achieve them. "There's not even a sheet of paper between the partners," Frei told German broadcaster ZDF. "Of course, you can have different views about the form and the path to a shared goal." On Tuesday, leading figures in the Social Democrats (SPD), the junior coalition partner to Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU), urged the government to join a joint declaration signed by 28 states, including France, Italy and the UK, as well as the European Commission, the European Union's executive branch. It called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and condemned Israel's actions. Germany has so far declined to sign on to the declaration. However, Frei defended the government's stance, saying the declaration lacked clarity in its sequencing of events. "It must be made clear that the starting point of this war was Hamas's attack on October 7, 2023, and that Hamas continues to hold hostages," he said. He added that Germany maintains "many channels of contact" with the Israeli government. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Frei emphasized that "the humanitarian situation in Gaza must change," and while Israel has the right to self-defense, protecting civilians is "a legal imperative under international law." Matthias Miersch, the SPD's parliamentary leader, praised the signatory states, including Germany's "closest partners such as France, Canada and Austria," for sending "a clear signal." The countries involved condemned what they called the "drip feeding of aid" to Palestinians in Gaza and said it was "horrifying" that more than 800 civilians had been killed while seeking food and water. "If international law is systematically violated, there must be consequences," Miersch wrote on the platform X. "Germany should join the UK's initiative and not opt out here." "Starving children, destroyed infrastructure, attacks on people seeking help: That goes against everything that international humanitarian law protects," the senior SPD politician said. Reem Alabali-Radovan, Germany's international development minister and an SPD member, said Tuesday she was disappointed by the decision. "The demands in the letter from the 29 partners to the Israeli government are understandable to me. I would have wished for Germany to join the signal sent by the 29 partners," she said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video SPD foreign policy spokesperson Adis Ahmetovic and rapporteur for the Middle East Rolf Mützenich, both senior lawmakers within the party, also called on Germany to join the declaration. They stressed in a joint statement that "the situation in Gaza is catastrophic and represents a humanitarian abyss." German officials have said their stance on Israel is shaped by a unique responsibility, the Staatsraison (reason of state), rooted in the country's Nazi-era history and the Holocaust. They argued they can accomplish more through private diplomatic channels than with public declarations. Merz has said the European Council, the heads of state or government of the European Union, had already issued a joint declaration "practically identical in content to what is expressed in the letter" now circulating. He pointed to the Council's June statement, which deplored the humanitarian crisis in Gaza but was less emotional and bluntly critical of Israel and did not condemn its planned relocation of Palestinians to a so-called "humanitarian city" unveiled earlier this month. "I was one of the first to say very clearly, even in Germany, that the situation there is no longer acceptable," Merz said, pushing back on claims of any split. On Monday, he said he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, telling him "very clearly and very explicitly that we do not share the Israeli government's policy on Gaza." "The way the Israeli army is operating there is not acceptable," Merz said. Fractures within the ruling coalition, only in power since May, were already exposed over a dispute about the appointment of a Constitutional Court judge.


Int'l Business Times
11 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
'So Trump-like': Relief But No Surprise In Japan As US Cuts Tariffs
In the Japanese city of Seki, famed for its razor-sharp artisan knives, news that incoming US tariffs will be lowered is welcome but not entirely unexpected. Around 40 percent of kitchen blades produced in Seki, where knifemaking expertise dates back 700 years, are exported to the United States, local authorities say. The two countries announced Wednesday they had cut a deal to lower the 25-percent tariffs on Japanese goods threatened by US President Donald Trump -- starting on August 1 -- to 15 percent. "Lower tariffs are better" but "I'm not that surprised" at the trade deal, said Katsumi Sumikama, head of Sumikama Cutlery in Seki. "I don't know what truly happened, but I feel like maybe Trump thought tariffs up to 15 percent were acceptable, and boldly proposed a higher tariff rate at first," Sumikama told AFP. "Then as the negotiations took shape, he tried to create a good impression in the public eye by lowering it from 25 percent. That kind of strategy would be so Trump-like." The US leader, who hailed the Japan deal as "massive", has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive tariffs if they do not hammer out a pact with Washington by the end of July. Japan is one of five nations to have signed an agreement -- along with Britain, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines -- after Trump said in April he would strike "90 deals in 90 days". Headlines have focused on the impact of US tariffs on the likes of Toyota and others in Japan's huge auto industry, as well as trade in steel, rice and other key goods. But Japanese knives have in recent years become a luxury must-have in kitchens worldwide including the United States, partly fuelled by a pandemic-era home cooking boom. Blademaking in Seki dates back to the 14th century, when the city in the mountains of Gifu region became a major producer of swords thanks to its rich natural environment. Today its knives are prized for their precision, sleek finish and long lifespan, with record tourism to Japan also boosting sales for companies like Sumikama Cutlery. Exports to North America, including Canada, account for just five percent of the firm's sales on a value basis. The company exports more knives to Europe and other Asian countries. CEO Sumikama, who is in his 60s, said he did not plan price hikes for the US market, even before the tariffs were reduced. Seki's industry has "weathered the storm" through the decades, including during exchange rate fluctuations -- with one dollar worth 80 yen or more than 300 yen at times, he told AFP. On the US side, clients have also survived tumultuous events such as the 2008 financial crisis, meaning they are "not worried at all" about tariffs, he added. If Trump is "trying to make America strong by deliberately raising tariffs" he should know that "problems cannot be solved by such simple means", Sumikama said, adding that "American people will have to bear the burden of higher costs". Sumikama Cutlery, which has about 30 workers, uses machines that guarantee accuracy to one-thousandth of a millimetre to make the knives, then artisans finish the job by hand. Japanese knives make food taste better, "have unique 'wabi-sabi' aesthetics" -- meaning beauty in imperfection -- "and when it comes to sharpness, they're second to none", Sumikama said. "Different countries have different strengths and weaknesses... even if President Trump tells people to make (Japanese-style) knives, they cannot." Japan is one of five nations to have signed a tariff agreement with the United States AFP 'I'm not that surprised' at the tariff deal, says Katsumi Sumikama, head of Sumikama Cutlery AFP Seki's industry has 'weathered the storm' through the decades AFP Blademaking in Seki dates back to the 14th century AFP


DW
11 hours ago
- DW
Middle East: 100 aid groups urge 'decisive action' in Gaza – DW – 07/23/2025
Aid groups such as Doctors Without Borders and Save the Children urged lifting restrictions, opening land crossings and other measures, as they say "mass starvation" is spreading in Gaza. DW has the latest. Over 100 aid groups and human rights watchdogs have condemned the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, laying blame on Israel and the Israeli government-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) for the dire situation there. The Gaza Strip has a population of nearly 2 million people and faces a shortage of food, water, medicine and other essential goods. "Exactly two months since the Israeli government-controlled scheme, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, began operating, 109 organizations are sounding the alarm, urging governments to act: open all land crossings; restore the full flow of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items and fuel through a principled, UN-led mechanism; end the siege, and agree to a ceasefire now," the aid groups said in a joint statement signed by organizations such as Doctors without Borders (MSF), Save the Children International, Oxfam and the Norwegian Refugee Council. US President Donald Trump's administration also backs the GHF, which other humanitarian groups have criticized for politicizing aid in Gaza. Moreover, there have been near-daily reports of Palestinians being shot at and/or killed while trying to receive aid at GHF distribution centers in Gaza. The civil defense agency in Gaza has blamed the shootings on Israeli forces, whereas Israel has claimed that Hamas has been opening fire on Palestinians. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "Palestinians are trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires, only to wake up to worsening conditions," the statement said. "It is not just physical torment, but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage. The humanitarian system cannot run on false promises. Humanitarians cannot operate on shifting timelines or wait for political commitments that fail to deliver access," the statement from the aid groups added. The statement from the aid groups comes after UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres a day earlier called Gaza a "horror show" where "starvation is knocking on every door." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Although the aid organizations have criticized Israel's siege on Gaza, the Israeli government has contended that its restrictions on Gaza's borders are necessary for security reasons. Israel launched a military operation in Gaza after Hamas, the militant group which controls the Gaza Strip, led terror attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. The Israeli military is currently conducting a ground incursion into the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, with the World Health Organization on Monday saying a building housing WHO staff was attacked there. The incursion raises further humanitarian risks for Gaza as the city serves as a refuge for Palestinians displaced amid Israeli strikes in Gaza. Welcome to DW's coverage of Gaza, Israeland the wider Middle East on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. As aid groups sound the alarm over extreme hunger in Gaza, a US envoy is traveling to Europe to discuss a possible ceasefire. This blog will feature not only the latest news from the region but also analysis, multimedia content and on-the-ground reporting from DW correspondents. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video