News agency says its Gaza journalists suffering health woes as union warns they will die without intervention

The Agence France-Presse news agency commented its freelance journalists in Gaza are suffering constant medical issues while a union is warning they will die without immediate intervention The news agency works with one freelance reporter three photographers and six freelance video journalists in the Gaza Strip since its own staff fled the war-torn territory in according to The Society of Journalists at AFP union They're spending so much time and strength trying to source food and also just they just feel so weak Phil Chetwynd AFP's global news director recounted NPR They talk about constant headaches constant dizziness So just the ability physically to you know get to a story is diminished Without immediate intervention the last reporters in Gaza will die the union explained in its own report With a meager others they are now the only ones reporting what is happening in Gaza The international press has been banned from entering this territory for nearly two years AMERICAN VETERANS ATTACKED INJURED WHILE DISTRIBUTING AID IN GAZA WITH US-BACKED GROUP Since AFP was founded in August we have lost journalists in conflicts we have had wounded and prisoners in our ranks but none of us can recall seeing a colleague die of hunger We refuse to see them die it added in a post on X The union noted its lead photographer in Gaza which it identified as Bashar wrote on Facebook Saturday that I no longer have the strength to work for the media My body is thin and I can no longer work Bashar works and lives under the same conditions as all Gazans moving from one refugee camp to another amid Israeli bombings For over a year he has lived in absolute poverty and takes enormous risks to do his job Hygiene is a major issue for him with recurring bouts of severe intestinal illness The Society of Journalists at AFP commented Since February Bashar has been living in the ruins of his house in Gaza City with his mother four brothers and sisters and the family of one of his brothers Their house is utterly without amenities or comfort shared with a inadequate cousins On Sunday morning he revealed that one of his brothers had fallen due to hunger it added DOZENS OF PALESTINIANS KILLED NEARLY WOUNDED WHILE ON THEIR WAY TO COLLECT AID IN GAZA The union declared each of its freelance journalists in Gaza are receiving a monthly salary from the AFP however there's almost nothing to buy or what is available is prohibitively expensive Representatives for the AP and Reuters also expressed concern for their teams there but would not say how multiple people are working for them We are deeply concerned about our staff in Gaza and are doing everything in our power to sponsorship them announced Lauren Easton a spokeswoman for The Associated Press We are very proud of the work our unit continues to do under dire circumstances to keep the world informed about what is happening on the ground Reuters announced that it is in daily contact with its freelance journalists and that the extreme difficulty sourcing food is leading to their and all Gaza residents experiencing greater levels of hunger and illness The agency noted it is providing extra money to help them The Associated Press contributed to this account