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Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘We die with Gaza': They kept their cameras rolling. Now, they can't afford bread
In the southern Gaza Strip, a press shield, once worn as an armour against Israeli shellfire, is now up for sale — not for lack of purpose, but for want of bread. Mohammed Abu Aoun, a photojournalist who has documented the horrors of the war in Gaza since its onset in October 2023, took to LinkedIn on Saturday, not to publish an image, not to break news, but to ask for help. 'I want to offer my equipment and the press shield for sale,' he wrote, 'so that I can buy food for me and my family.' In a place where bearing witness has long meant risking one's life, journalists in Gaza now face a more immediate threat: starvation. Nearly ten months into the war, the Israel-Hamas conflict has hollowed out the territory's food supplies, decimated its infrastructure, and turned survival into a negotiation that demands grave sacrifices. More than 232 journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, making the war the deadliest-ever for media professionals. A report by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs' Costs of War project, released in April this year, stated that the attack on journalists in Gaza has intensified a trend where local reporters — often underpaid and under-resourced — face the greatest risks. As Israel continues to prevent international media professionals from accessing its territory, Palestinian reporters, many of them as freelancers, live in the same conditions as Gazan residents, and have become sole witnesses to the conflict unfolding in Gaza. 'Allow journalists in and out of Gaza': A joint statement Earlier on Wednesday, four of the world's leading media organisations, BBC, Agence France-Presse (AFP), Reuters and the Associated Press, issued a joint statement expressing their desperate concern for local journalists who are now struggling to survive after access to basic human needs, such as food, clean water and medical services, collapsed in Gaza. '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,' the statement read. 'Journalists endure many deprivations and hardships in war zones. 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,' it added. 'Resistance isn't a choice: it's a necessity' One of the journalists from AFP, Bashar Taleb, last week posted on Facebook, 'I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can't work anymore.' Describing the helplessness of the media organisations to support its journalists in Gaza amid imposed restrictions by Israel, AFP wrote: 'Even though these journalists receive a monthly salary from AFP, it's no longer enough to buy food, or they have to pay completely exorbitant price… We may hear about their deaths at any moment, and this is unbearable.' The editorial committee of the AFP also shared the ordeal of a female journalist based in Gaza, who is holding on 'to testify' as long as she can. 'Every time I leave the tent to cover an event, do an interview or document a story, I don't know if I'll come back alive,' it stated quoting the journalist, adding that she is 'exercising' her 'profession, to speak for the voiceless, to document the truth despite all the attempts to silence it. Here, resistance isn't a choice: it's a necessity.' AFP currently maintains ten freelance journalists in Gaza, including, one writer, three photographers, and six video professionals, as per TIME. AFP, in its statement, further declared that none of the professionals at their organisation 'remember witnessing colleagues die of hunger' in the past. Moreover, AFP's global news director Phil Chetwynd, speaking to NPR, shared, 'They're spending so much time and energy trying to source food and also they just feel so weak. They talk about constant headaches, constant dizziness. So just the ability physically to, you know, get to a story is diminished.' Taleb on Saturday requested assistance from the social community on Facebook of a nutritional doctor to help her sister, who was 'losing her consciousness.' 'Taken to drinking water with a little salt' Three freelance Palestinian journalists from the BBC also shared how they are struggling to feed their families and often go two days or more without eating, BBC News reported. 'All of the men have kept their cameras running, sending us vital footage, even on days when their close relatives have been killed, they have lost their homes, or have been fleeing from Israeli military advances with their families,' the report stated, highlighting the plight of the journalists working for the organisation. A veteran journalist, a few cameramen, and other media professionals in the Gaza City have been struggling to feed themselves as well as their families, leading to fatigue, poor psychological state, and headaches, thereby, hampering their ability to report. Some of them describe these times as a huge crisis of 'suffering and deprivation.' According to a BBC reporter, 'Two of the men say they have taken to drinking water with a little salt to try to suppress their hunger. One says he can sometimes buy a 50g biscuit for his daily meal but this costs 30 shekels ($9; £6.60).' Sharing the exhausting process of money transfers, which now involves using money merchants, another Gaza City cameraman explained to the BBC, 'If I need cash, it's mostly not available, but when it is, it's accompanied by a withdrawal fee of 45 per cent.' 'I'm breaking, just like Gaza is breaking now' One of the on-ground reporters from Al Jazeera went reporting across the market in Gaza, only to end up buying a falafel wrap, costing less than $1. A stroll around the market street, enquiring about the sky-rocketing prices of food supplies, which the journalist claimed were 'looted stuff from the aid trucks,' revealed that the costs of a bag of spaghetti cost $10, half-a-kilo lentil bag $15, one flour bag $17, a quarter-kilo onions $10, potatoes $15. 'People don't just not have jobs, but they don't have money to pay for these products,' Al Jazeera reported. The one meal that's available for the people in Gaza is the sandwich or falafel wraps, as the reporter claimed, costs less than a dollar for two pieces, however, is insufficient for people in these starving times. 'This is the cash that I've right now… I am not going through a middleman. Sometimes I sleep on empty stomachs, and sometimes I don't sleep at all,' the reporter said, describing his ordeal while reporting from the ground in the war-torn country. 'I stay strong in front of the camera but, behind it, I am breaking, just like Gaza is breaking now,' the journalist declared. On July 22, Al Jazeera Media Network called upon the 'journalistic community, press freedom organisations, and relevant legal bodies to take decisive action to halt the forced starvation and crimes against journalists and media professionals in Gaza.' 'I haven't stopped covering for a moment in 21 months,' an Al Jazeera correspondent wrote online. '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.' Highlighting heart-wrenching video-reportage by Al Jazeera journalists from Gaza, the statement quoted Dr. Mostefa Souag, Director General of the network, 'The journalistic community and the world bear an immense responsibility… If we fail to act now, we risk a future where there may be no one left to tell our stories. Our inaction will be recorded in history as a monumental failure to protect our fellow journalists and a betrayal of the principles that every journalist strives to uphold.' The statement remarked five Al Jazeera journalists have been killed by the Israeli forces since October 2023. 'Yet, these courageous journalists, along with their colleagues, refuse to succumb to the threats and pressure tactics employed by the Israeli authorities to silence them,' it further read. 'Until the youngest child is fed' Another journalist based in Gaza went on a hunger strike to draw global attention to the suffering of civilians. 'I can't eat while children are dying of hunger in front of me,' Wadie Abu Saud told Anadolu Agency, state-run Turkish news agency, as quoted in the Palestine Chronicle. The reporter, who now survives merely on saltwater, began his strike six days ago, saying he would continue the movement 'until the youngest child in the Gaza Strip has something to eat.' He also urged fellow 'free people of the world to stand up to their responsibilities and join the 'Empty Stomachs movement' in solidarity with the oppressed, the starving, and the thirsty in the Gaza Strip.' The hunger crisis in Gaza With 470,000 people facing catastrophic hunger, and 100,000 women and children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, in desperate need of treatment, the food crisis in Gaza is fast becoming one of the worst in modern history, as per the Associated Press report. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has denounced global inaction, calling the suffering in Gaza a 'moral crisis that challenges the global conscience.' The BBC, quoting Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry reported the death of 45 Palestinians since Sunday as a result of malnutrition. United Nations Women too claimed, over a post on social media platforms, '1 million women and girls are starving in Gaza.' 'We continue to demand the delivery of urgent lifesaving aid #ForAllWomenAndGirls in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire, and the release of all hostages.' Even though UN officials and aid groups have warned that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are on the brink of famine, they have stayed away from declaring one explicitly. The impossibility to gather data for experts in some cases amid limited access to the territory; absence of clarity that hunger is the cause of death; eroded and incomplete data and surveillance systems; among others, remain a few of the reasons for the same, AP noted. The hunger crisis in Gaza has intensified since March this year, when the aid blockade began, pushing Gazans toward prolonged food shortages, illness, and death, as per the World Health Organisation. In May, nearly 17,000 pregnant and breastfeeding mothers were expected to require treatment for acute malnutrition over the next eleven months, if the dire situation continued. Earlier this week, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) also sounded the alarm, reporting that one in four children and pregnant or breastfeeding women screened at its Gaza clinics were malnourished. 'Rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have tripled in the last two weeks alone,' MSF said, blaming what it described as Israel's 'policy of starvation'. On July 23, more than 100 organisations, including Oxfam, urging governments to act, sounded an alarm: '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,' a release by Oxfam International stated. Israel, along with the United States, early this year, established what the UN called, a 'controversial' new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid operation, which Guterres termed to be 'inherently unsafe.' 'It is killing people,' he said. Israel, though, lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on May 19, allowing limited UN deliveries to resume, more than 400 Palestinians were killed while seeking aid from both the UN and GHF operations, as per the UN. Majority of them were trying to reach GHF sites, Reuters reported. About 900 Gazans were killed in recent weeks as they tried to gather food, with most deaths linked to private aid sites run by GHF, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said, as on July 15, 2025. Moreover, Israeli forces forcibly displaced nearly two million Palestinians with the most recent mass displacement order issued on July 20, UN highlighted. Recent steps by nations UK: Prime Minister United Kingdom Keir Starmer Saturday confirmed the government will be 'taking forward' plans to airdrop aid into Gaza and evacuate children who need medical assistance in an effort to relieve what Downing Street called an 'appalling situation,' The Guardian reported. Speaking to the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, early morning, the prime minister outlined the UK's intentions to work with Jordan to carry out the plans. This comes after Israeli army officials said they would allow foreign countries to resume airdropping aid into Gaza 'in the coming days'. However, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) strongly criticised the use of airdrops to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, calling them 'inefficient' and a 'distraction' from addressing the root causes of the crisis, as per the report. 'Airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation,' said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini. 'They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians. It is a distraction and screensmoke.' Moreover, Starmer Saturday rejected calls to immediately recognise a Palestinian state, after 221 MPs signed a letter urging the British government to recognise the state of Palestine at a meeting of the UN next week, The Guardian reported. India: India this Thursday called for an immediate ceasefire, uninterrupted humanitarian aid into Gaza and release of Israeli hostages by Hamas to address the deepening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory. While speaking during the open debate on 'Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question' at the UN Security Council, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said that mere pauses in hostilities are not enough. This turnaround comes after India abstained from voting during the resolution at the UNGA for a ceasefire in Gaza last month. Harish also expressed hope that an upcoming UN conference on the Israel-Palestine conflict would pave the way for 'concrete steps' towards achieving a two-State solution, which India has always advocated. US and Israel: At a time when the hunger crisis is worsening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump stepped up to Friday to abandon Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Hamas. Both the leaders declared it had become clear that the Palestinian militants did not want a deal. Netanyahu said Israel was now mulling 'alternative' options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending Hamas rule in the enclave. Israel and US also withdrew their delegations on Thursday from the ceasefire talks in Qatar, Reuters reported. Trump said he believed Hamas leaders would now be 'hunted down', telling reporters: 'Hamas really didn't want to make a deal. I think they want to die. And it's very bad. And it got to be to a point where you're going to have to finish the job.' France: French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, announced that Paris would become the first major Western power to recognise an independent Palestinian state. Trump, however, dismissed Macron's move. Italy: Italy's prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said on Saturday that recognising the state of Palestine before it is established could be counterproductive, according to updates in The Guardian. Others: Mediators Qatar and Egypt have said that there had been some progress in the latest round of talks. They said suspensions were a normal part of the process and they were committed to continuing to try to reach a ceasefire in partnership with the US, as per a Reuters report. Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas-led fighters stormed Israeli towns near the border, killing around 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages on October 7, 2023. Since then, Israeli forces have killed nearly 60,000 people in Gaza, according to its health ministry, and reduced much of the enclave to ruins.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Who is Gaza journalist Mohammed Abu Aoun who puts his camera, press shield on sale on LinkedIn for food?
Gaza photojournalist puts his camera, press shield on sale on LinkedIn to buy food for his family. A LinkedIn post by a Gaza-based photojournalist broke hearts as Mohammed Abo Oun said he is ready to put his camera and press shield on sale so that he could buy food for his family. "I am the photojournalist Mohammed Abu Aoun from Gaza, I want to offer my equipment and the press shield for sale so that I can buy food for me and my family," the post read. His LinkedIn profile shows his works have been used by New York Times, ABC News, Sky News. "I have extensive experience covering Gaza, including the 11-day flare up with Israel last year, during which my work was distributed by Storyful. I often distribute my footage through Storyful," he wrote. "The hungry journalist conveys the voice of hungry children. We are dying of hunger," another post by Mohammed Abu Aoun read. The peace negotiation situation in Gaza is at a stalemate while Gaza stares at an imminent famine. US President Donald Trump Friday said Israel and the US exited the negotiations with Hamas as the group did not really want a ceasefire and hostage release deal for Gaza. "Trump's remarks are particularly surprising, especially as they come at a time when progress had been made on some of the negotiation files," Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP. "So far, we have not been informed of any issues regarding the files under discussion in the indirect ceasefire negotiations", he added. Israel said it will allow foreign nations to parachute humanitarian aid to Gaza as children have die of malnutrition. Jordan and the United Arab Emirates were expected to begin airdrops in the coming days, according to COGAT, the Israeli military agency that regulates humanitarian affairs in Gaza. The Israeli announcement came amid rising international condemnation of the present situation in Gaza, with many countries, including some of Israel's traditional allies, holding the Israeli government responsible for the situation. Israel says it is doing everything it can to allow aid into the Palestinian enclave. "The humanitarian catastrophe that we are witnessing in Gaza must end now," the governments of Britain, France and Germany said in a joint statement Friday. Experts said Israel's announcement to allow aids to be airdropped is only symbolic and that will not provide for the 2 million Palestinians in Gaza. Nearly 1 in 3 people in the territory is not eating for days at a time, according to the United Nations' World Food Program. Gaza health authorities say that acute malnutrition is rising and that children have died.
NDTV
3 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Journalist Ready To Put Camera, Shield On Sale For Food, As Gaza Starves
As the war in Gaza continues with increasing intensity, the humanitarian crisis in the region has worsened dramatically. Severe shortages of food, clean water, and medical supplies are being reported across the Gaza Strip, affecting not only civilians but also journalists and aid workers. In a recent LinkedIn post, Gaza-based photojournalist Mohammed Abo Oun revealed that he is selling his camera equipment and press shield in order to buy food for his family. "I am the photojournalist Mohammed Abu Aoun from Gaza, I want to offer my equipment and the press shield for sale so that I can buy food for me and my family," he wrote. Abo Oun has contributed to major international media outlets including The New York Times, Sky News, and ABC News. The United Nations and humanitarian organisations have warned that Gaza is now facing the risk of famine, with a sharp rise in malnutrition-related deaths. According to the World Food Programme, nearly one-third of Gaza's population has gone without food for days. The UN agency has stated that approximately 470,000 people are expected to face "catastrophic hunger." Although Israel claims that hundreds of truckloads of aid are waiting at the border to be distributed, humanitarian agencies say that access and coordination remain major obstacles. On Thursday, the Israeli military brought journalists to the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing to show aid boxes stacked on pallets awaiting distribution. Meanwhile, the number of hot meals provided by charity kitchens in Gaza has dropped drastically from over 1 million meals daily in April to only 160,000 this month, according to UN figures. Multiple governments have issued fresh calls for a ceasefire. On Friday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz posted on X, "The time has come to end the war in Gaza." He added, "We - France, the United Kingdom and Germany - urge all parties to bring an end to the conflict by reaching an immediate ceasefire". Earlier, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned the ongoing war, saying, "Mexico is putting all its words and actions into building peace." On the other hand, former US President Donald Trump placed blame on Hamas for the breakdown in ceasefire negotiations, suggesting support for Israel's continued offensive. In remarks to reporters before leaving for a trip to Scotland, Trump said, "I think they want to die, and it's very, very bad", adding, "It got to a point where you're gonna have to finish the job." As the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that France will formally recognise the State of Palestine. He urged an immediate halt to hostilities to "save the civilian population." Meanwhile, Jordan has requested Israeli permission to conduct airdrops of food and baby formula into Gaza. Israeli officials have said the request is under coordination. The ongoing conflict, combined with the severe blockade of aid, has left millions vulnerable, and even the journalists covering the crisis, like Mohammed Abo Oun, are now forced to make impossible choices for survival.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
'Equipment for sale': Journalist's desperate plea as mass starvation hits Gaza
A LinkedIn post from Gaza-based photojournalist Mohammed Abu Aoun has cast a stark light on the deepening hunger crisis in the besieged enclave, as ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas hit another impasse. Journalist Abu Aoun's viral post highlights how bad the food crisis in Gaza is. 'I am the photojournalist Mohammed Abu Aoun from Gaza. I want to offer my equipment and the press shield for sale so that I can buy food for me and my family,' Abu Aoun wrote in a widely shared post that has ignited global attention. The post reflects a growing desperation among Gaza's civilian population, many of whom are now facing the deadly consequences of prolonged food scarcity. The humanitarian crisis has reached critical levels. For months, Israel has tightly restricted aid and food deliveries into Gaza. Aid groups warn that the region is teetering on the edge of famine. Deaths from malnutrition have accelerated this month, with even humanitarian staff struggling to secure basic sustenance. At a charity kitchen in Gaza City on Friday, long lines of residents - many carrying empty pots - waited for watery lentil soup. 'We've been living three months without bread,' said Riham Dwas, a mother of five. 'We're relying on charity kitchens, surviving on a pot of lentils, and there are many times when we don't even have that.' She described taking her children to hospitals for IV saline drips when food runs out. A ceasefire in limbo The deepening hunger crisis comes as ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas have stalled. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Friday that his government is considering 'alternative options' after both Israeli and US delegations left Doha, Qatar, where talks had been taking place. 'Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal,' Netanyahu said in a statement, adding that Israel and its US allies were exploring other ways to secure the release of hostages, defeat Hamas, and bring 'lasting peace.' The departure of the negotiating teams followed remarks by US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who accused Hamas of showing a 'lack of desire' for a deal. Hamas officials, however, characterized the withdrawal as a pressure tactic. Bassem Naim, a Hamas representative, said talks were expected to resume next week and that recent discussions had resolved several major sticking points, including the delivery of humanitarian aid and the structure of a phased ceasefire. Mediators Egypt and Qatar confirmed that the pause in talks was temporary and emphasized that 'progress had been made.' The proposed deal reportedly includes a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in stages, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. It also calls for a significant increase in humanitarian aid and further talks on a permanent ceasefire. However, disagreements over the future governance of Gaza and the presence of Israeli forces have kept both sides locked in a stalemate. Civilians continue to suffer The pause in diplomacy has done little to slow the violence or alleviate civilian suffering. An Israeli airstrike on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City on Friday killed at least five people, including an 11-year-old boy. Grieving families carried the bodies of the dead through the streets. 'Stop the war!' cried Taraji Adwan, whose son and grandson were among the casualties. 'Our children are dying from starvation, malnutrition, dehydration, lack of food, strikes, and dying from fear and destruction. Enough, Hamas! Enough, Israel! Enough, world!' Palestinian children wait for a meal at a charity kitchen in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.(AFP) The Gaza Health Ministry said approximately 80 people had been killed since Thursday night, including nine who died while trying to retrieve aid. International outcry is mounting. French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that France would formally recognize Palestine as a state, calling for an immediate halt to the conflict to 'save the civilian population.' Jordan has requested permission to carry out food and formula airdrops, a plan Israeli officials say is under coordination. Meanwhile, the number of daily cooked meals distributed by charity kitchens in Gaza has plunged from over a million in April to just 160,000, according to the United Nations.
Days of Palestine
25-06-2025
- Days of Palestine
IOF Kills 41 Civilians, Injures Dozens in Gaza
DaysofPal- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have killed 41 Palestinian civilians and injured dozens more since the early hours of Wednesday, as relentless airstrikes continue to pound various areas across the Gaza Strip on the 100th consecutive day of the ongoing military assault. Medical sources confirmed that 41 people have been killed since dawn, including 10 civilians who were waiting to receive humanitarian aid, amid Israel's continued use of starvation and deadly force as tactics of war. Safaa News Agency reported the death of Abdul Razaq Qishta, who succumbed to injuries sustained days ago in northern Rafah. Another young man, Mohammed Abu Aoun (24), was also killed and others were wounded after Israeli forces opened fire on civilians near an aid distribution center in northern Rafah. Two more civilians were killed and others wounded in an Israeli airstrike near the Al-Omari Mosque in Jabalia town in the north. At the same time, rescue teams recovered the body of Mazen Ahmad Mahmoud Al-Breem from the village of Abasan east of Khan Younis in the south. In Gaza City, three people were killed and others injured in a strike on Al-Mansoura Street in the Al-Shuja'iyya neighborhood. Five others were killed when their home, belonging to the Salman family, was targeted on Al-Salam Street in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Meanwhile, Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat reported receiving six martyrs and 17 injured, including five in critical condition, following an Israeli airstrike on a house near Al-Nouri Tower in Nuseirat Refugee Camp. In the Wadi Gaza area, five more martyrs and 18 injured—two critically—were brought to hospitals after Israeli forces bombed civilians waiting for aid on Salah al-Din Street. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has waged a genocidal war on Gaza, resulting in nearly 180,000 Palestinians killed or wounded, the majority of them women and children. Over 11,000 are still missing, as a full-scale humanitarian catastrophe and famine threaten the remaining population. Shortlink for this post:
