General Discussion

AFP journalists in the Gaza Strip warned Tuesday that chronic food shortages are crippling their ability to report on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Palestinian text, photo, and video journalists working for the international news agency described desperate hunger and a lack of clean water that have left many ill and exhausted, forcing some to cut back their coverage as the war enters its 22nd month. One journalist summed up the crisis bluntly: they have "no energy left due to hunger."

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Bashar Taleb, 35, one of four AFP photographers in Gaza shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize earlier this year, lives amid the bombed-out ruins of his home in Jabalia al-Nazla, northern Gaza. He said he has had to stop working multiple times to search for food for his family and loved ones and admitted feeling "utterly defeated emotionally" for the first time.
"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," he added.

Another Pulitzer nominee, Omar al-Qattaa, 35, is staying in the remains of his wife's family home after his 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."