Israel is starving journalists in Gaza into silence, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday, as it joined more than 100 aid agencies calling for an end of to Israel’s siege and starvation of millions of Gazans.
The Gaza Strip’s health ministry says more than 100 people have starved to death in the territory, most of them children, with Israel cutting off all aid to the coastal enclave since March.
It eased the blockade slightly in late May when the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operating a food distribution scheme in Gaza, but this has been slammed by the UN and humanitarian organisations as a "death trap" because of the chaos and violence associated with it.
Over 1,000 desperate Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army while trying to obtain aid from GHF sites.
Aid agencies and media outlets have said their staff members are starving amid a severe lack of food.
"Israel is starving Gazan journalists into silence. They are not just reporters, they are frontline witnesses, abandoned as international media were pulled out and denied entry," CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The world must act now: protect them, feed them, and allow them to recover while other journalists step in to help report. Our response to their courageous 650 plus-days of war reporting cannot simply be to let them starve to death."
Multiple journalists have spoken about the bleak conditions in the war-torn territory.
AFP, AP, BBC News and Reuters have also spoken out, releasing a joint statement.
"We are desperately concerned for our journalists in Gaza, who are increasingly unable to feed themselves and their families. For many months, these independent journalists have been the world’s eyes and ears on the ground in Gaza. They are now facing the same dire circumstances as those they are covering.
"Journalists endure many deprivations and hardships in warzones. We are deeply alarmed that the threat of starvation is now one of them.
"We once again urge the Israeli authorities to allow journalists in and out of Gaza. It is essential that adequate food supplies reach the people there."
Earlier this week, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called on Israel to allow foreign press into the besieged territory of Gaza, warning that the lives of Palestinian freelance journalists working with AFP in Gaza were in danger and urged Israel to allow them and their families to leave the occupied coastal territory.
Israel threatens Al-Jazeera journalist
Palestinian reporter Anas al-Sharif who works with Al Jazeera who has become one of the most well-known faces since the start of the war.
Last month he said he was was, "drowning in hunger, trembling in exhaustion, and resisting the fainting that follows me every moment… Gaza is dying. And we die with it."
In a separate post on Wednesday, Al-Sharif responded to Israeli military Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee who accused the reporter of being a member of the Hamas militant group, potentially putting his life in danger.
In a statement on X, the Israeli army official accused Al-Sharif of being part of "Hamas' military machine," saying that the journalist works for the "the most criminal and offensive channel," accusing Al Jazeera – which Israel has banned – from "trying to turn defeat into victory at the expense of the population and cover up the crimes committed … by Anas' colleagues."
Anas responded to the accusations on X, saying: "Important – Please share and tag all press freedom and human rights organizations. Once again, the Israeli army spokesperson has launched a campaign of threats and incitement against me because of my work as a journalist with Al Jazeera."
"I reaffirm: I, Anas Al-Sharif, am a journalist with no political affiliations. My only mission is to report the truth from the ground — as it is, without bias. At a time when a deadly famine is ravaging Gaza, speaking the truth has become, in the eyes of the occupation, a threat," he added.
Pregnant journalist killed with her entire family
In the latest killing of a journalist by Israel, Walaa al-Jaabari and her whole family were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted their home early Wednesday in Gaza City.
Al-Jaabari, who was pregnant, was killed along with her husband and four children in the attack.
She had worked with several local media outlets in Gaza.
In her last post on Facebook, Al-Jabari wrote: "I’m not afraid of dying from hunger... I’m worried about the heartbreak if this crazy war doesn’t end!"
The Government Media Office in Gaza said the number of journalists killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023 has reached 232 following the death of Al-Jaabari and another journalist, Tamer al-Zaanin.
The office condemned the attack which killed the pregnant reporter and her family, saying Israel’s systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists aimed to "obscure the truth" and prevent ongoing war crimes from being reported.