“The pain of hunger is stronger than the fear of bombing”: AFP journalists in Gaza tell hell
Bashar Taleb, 35, one of the four photographers of the France-Presse agency (AFP) selected this year for the Pulitzer price, lives in the ruins of his house in Jabaliya al-Nazla, in the north of the Palestinian enclave.
“I had to interrupt my work several times to look for food for my familyhe says. For the first time, I feel completely shot. »»
His colleague Omar al-Qattaa, a 35-year-old photographer and also a candidate for the pulitzer, says he is exhausted: “I have to wear heavy equipment, walk kilometers (…). We can no longer go to the reporting scene, we no longer have any strength because of hunger. »»
It depends on analgesics to relieve back pain, but says that basic drugs are not found in pharmacies, while the lack of vitamins and nutrients aggravate its situation.
Khadr al-Zanoun, 45, living in the city of Gaza, said that she had lost 30 kilos since the war. The journalist evokes fainting because of the lack of food and water, as well as a “Extreme fatigue” and the difficulty of working: “My family is also to the end. »»
The photojournalist Eyad Baba, 47, moved from the south of the Gaza Strip to the Center in Deir Al-Balah, where the Israeli army launched a terrestrial offensive this week, had to leave a overcrowded and unhealthy camp to rent a housing at an exorbitant price, in order to house his family. “I can’t take this hunger anymore, she touches my children”he says.
“As part of our work, we were faced with all possible forms of death. The fear and the feeling of an imminent death accompany us everywhere ”continues the latter, stressing that being a journalist in Gaza is working “Under the constant threat of weapons”. “Hunger pain is stronger than fear of bombing He adds.
AFP journalist Ahlam Afana, 30, underlines another difficulty: an exhausting “Liquidity crisis”linked to exorbitant banking costs and rampant inflation on the rare foods available, comes to worsen the situation.
Liquid withdrawals can be taxed up to 45 %, explains Khadr al-Zanoun, while the price of fuels explodes-where we find it, making any trip by car impossible.
“Prices are exorbitant”deplore Ahlam Afana, retailer: “ A kilo of flour sells between 100 and 150 Israeli shekels (25 to 38 dollars), which exceeds our means, even to buy a single kilo per day. »» When “Rice costs 100 shekels, sugar exceeds 300, pasta 80, one liter of oil between 85 and 100. The tomatoes are sold between 70 and 100 shekels. Even seasonal fruits – grapes, figs – reach 100 shekels per kilo. “” We cannot afford it. I don’t even remember their taste “she testifies.
The journalist explains that she has been working from a dilapidated tent, in a stifling heat: “I move slowly. It is not only the bombings that threaten us, it is hunger that eats away at us. I don’t just cover the disaster. I live it. »»
The video Youssef Hassouna, 48, says that the loss of colleagues, friends and family members experienced it “In any way possible”. Despite a “Deep inner empty”he says he continues to exercise his profession. “Each image that I capture could be the last trace of a life buried under the rubble”he said.
Zouheir Abou Atileh, 60, former collaborator of the AFP office in Gaza, shares the experience of his colleagues and talks about a situation “Catastrophic”. “I prefer death to this life”he says.
Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) recalled Tuesday that more than 200 journalists had been killed in Gaza since the attack on October 7, 2023.
