Al Jazeera Media Network has issued a powerful appeal to the global journalistic community, press freedom organisations, and international legal bodies to take urgent action against what it describes as forced starvation and deliberate targeting of journalists in Gaza by Israeli occupation forces.
In a strongly worded statement, Al Jazeera’s Director General, Mostefa Souag, highlighted the dire situation faced by media professionals in the besieged enclave. “We owe it to the courageous journalists in Gaza to amplify their voices and put an end to the unbearable suffering they are enduring due to forced starvation and targeted killings,” he said.
Souag warned that the failure to act now could result in the erasure of those who document history’s truth. “The world bears an immense responsibility; it is our duty to mobilise all available means to support our colleagues. If we remain silent, our inaction will be remembered as a historical failure,” he added.
This call to action follows a distressing statement from the AFP Journalists’ Association, which revealed that its last remaining media staff in Gaza are facing “extreme food shortages” and are at risk of dying from hunger under Israel’s continued blockade and military assault.
AFP currently has one freelance writer, three photographers, and six freelance video journalists inside Gaza. No international media personnel have been allowed access to the region for nearly two years, leaving these few journalists as the only witnesses documenting the horrors on the ground.
For over 21 months, Israel’s blockade and bombardment have devastated Gaza’s nearly two million residents, pushing the population to the edge of survival. On July 19, Al Jazeera journalists began sharing heartbreaking messages on social media, signaling that their endurance is nearing its limit.
“I haven’t stopped covering for a moment in 21 months, and today, I say it outright … I am drowning in hunger, trembling in exhaustion, and resisting the fainting that follows me every moment … Gaza is dying. And we die with it,” wrote Anas al-Shariff, a correspondent for Al Jazeera Arabic in Gaza.
Al Jazeera demanded immediate intervention by international bodies to stop the starvation that is now claiming the lives of journalists who are committed to bearing witness to truth and injustice.
Since October 2023, five Al Jazeera journalists – Samer Abudaqa, Hamza Dahdouh, Ismail al-Ghoul, Ahmed al-Louh, and Hossam Shabat – have been killed by Israeli forces. Many family members of journalists from Al Jazeera and other outlets have also lost their lives.
Despite the threats and suffering, Al Jazeera commended the resilience of its reporters, stating, “These courageous journalists, along with their colleagues, refuse to succumb to the tactics employed by Israeli authorities to silence them.”
