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A group of journalists at the Agence France-Presse news agency is sounding the alarm about conditions faced by colleagues working in Gaza, saying that “without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die.”

In a war-torn territory where Israel generally forbids outside journalists to enter, international news organizations like AFP, The Associated Press and Reuters rely on local teams to get out the news. They’ve been hampered by safety concerns and hunger in Gaza, where an estimated 59,000 people have died in the 21-month conflict, according to local health authorities.

The Society of Journalists at AFP, an association of professionals at the news agency, detailed what their Gaza colleagues are facing. AFP’s management said Tuesday that it shares concerns about the “appalling” situation and is working to evacuate its freelancers and their families.

“For months, we have watched helplessly as their living conditions deteriorated dramatically,” AFP said in a statement. “Their situation is now untenable, despite their exemplary courage, professional commitment, and resilience.”

One of AFP’s photographers, identified as Bashar, sent a message on social media over the weekend that “I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can’t work anymore.”

Bashar has been working for AFP since 2010. Since February, he’s been living in the ruins of his home in Gaza City with his mother and other family members, and said one of his brothers had died of hunger, according to the journalists’ group.

The journalists receive a monthly salary from AFP, but exorbitant prices leave them unable to purchase much food.

Another AFP worker, Ahlam, said that every time she leaves her shelter to cover an event or do an interview, “I don’t know if I’ll come back alive.” Her biggest issue is the lack of food and water, she said.

Since AFP was founded in 1944, the Society of Journalists said that “we have lost journalists in conflicts, some have been injured, others taken prisoner. But none of us can ever remember seeing colleagues die of hunger.”

“We refuse to watch them die,” the society said.

AFP has been working with one freelance writer, three photographers, and six freelance videographers in Gaza since its staff journalists left in 2024. Representatives for the AP and Reuters also expressed concern for their teams there, but would not say how many people are working for them.

“We are deeply concerned about our staff in Gaza and are doing everything in our power to support them,” said Lauren Easton, a spokeswoman for The Associated Press. “We are very proud of the work our team continues to do under dire circumstances to keep the world informed about what is happening on the ground.”

Reuters said 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 said it is providing extra money to help them. “Should they with to leave the territory, we will provide any assistance to help get them out,” Reuters said.

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David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.

A group of journalists at the Agence France-Presse news agency is sounding the alarm about conditions faced by colleagues working in Gaza, saying that “without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die.”

In a war-torn territory where Israel generally forbids outside journalists to enter, international news organizations like AFP, The Associated Press and Reuters rely on local teams to get out the news. They’ve been hampered by safety concerns and hunger in Gaza, where an estimated 59,000 people have died in the 21-month conflict, according to local health authorities.

The Society of Journalists at AFP, an association of professionals at the news agency, detailed what their Gaza colleagues are facing. AFP’s management said Tuesday that it shares concerns about the “appalling” situation and is working to evacuate its freelancers and their families.

“For months, we have watched helplessly as their living conditions deteriorated dramatically,” AFP said in a statement. “Their situation is now untenable, despite their exemplary courage, professional commitment, and resilience.”

One of AFP’s photographers, identified as Bashar, sent a message on social media over the weekend that “I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can’t work anymore.”

Bashar has been working for AFP since 2010. Since February, he’s been living in the ruins of his home in Gaza City with his mother and other family members, and said one of his brothers had died of hunger, according to the journalists’ group.

The journalists receive a monthly salary from AFP, but exorbitant prices leave them unable to purchase much food.

Another AFP worker, Ahlam, said that every time she leaves her shelter to cover an event or do an interview, “I don’t know if I’ll come back alive.” Her biggest issue is the lack of food and water, she said.

Since AFP was founded in 1944, the Society of Journalists said that “we have lost journalists in conflicts, some have been injured, others taken prisoner. But none of us can ever remember seeing colleagues die of hunger.”

“We refuse to watch them die,” the society said.

AFP has been working with one freelance writer, three photographers, and six freelance videographers in Gaza since its staff journalists left in 2024. Representatives for the AP and Reuters also expressed concern for their teams there, but would not say how many people are working for them.

“We are deeply concerned about our staff in Gaza and are doing everything in our power to support them,” said Lauren Easton, a spokeswoman for The Associated Press. “We are very proud of the work our team continues to do under dire circumstances to keep the world informed about what is happening on the ground.”

Reuters said 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 said it is providing extra money to help them. “Should they with to leave the territory, we will provide any assistance to help get them out,” Reuters said.

___

David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.

PARIS — French Culture Minister Rachida Dati and former Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn will face trial on charges of corruption, a Ministry of Justice official confirmed.

Dati is being charged with “passive corruption and influence peddling by a person holding elective public office within an international organization (in this case, the European Parliament),”  the official, who was granted anonymity in accordance with standard practice for reporting on certain criminal cases, said in a statement.

Ghosn, who is considered a fugitive by both France and Japan after his daring escape from Tokyo in 2019, is accused of “abuse of power by a company executive,” “breach of trust” and “active corruption and influence peddling.”

The statement claims that Dati received €900,000 between 2010 and 2012 from a Renault subsidiary, officially for consultancy work. However, investigators allege she performed little or no actual consulting and was instead paid to use her position at the time as a member of the European Parliament to lobby on behalf of Renault and its then-chairman.

PARIS — French Culture Minister Rachida Dati and former Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn will face trial on charges of corruption, a Ministry of Justice official confirmed.

Dati is being charged with “passive corruption and influence peddling by a person holding elective public office within an international organization (in this case, the European Parliament),”  the official, who was granted anonymity in accordance with standard practice for reporting on certain criminal cases, said in a statement.

Ghosn, who is considered a fugitive by both France and Japan after his daring escape from Tokyo in 2019, is accused of “abuse of power by a company executive,” “breach of trust” and “active corruption and influence peddling.”

The statement claims that Dati received €900,000 between 2010 and 2012 from a Renault subsidiary, officially for consultancy work. However, investigators allege she performed little or no actual consulting and was instead paid to use her position at the time as a member of the European Parliament to lobby on behalf of Renault and its then-chairman.

PARIS — French Culture Minister Rachida Dati and former Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn will face trial on charges of corruption, a Ministry of Justice official confirmed.

Dati is being charged with “passive corruption and influence peddling by a person holding elective public office within an international organization (in this case, the European Parliament),”  the official, who was granted anonymity in accordance with standard practice for reporting on certain criminal cases, said in a statement.

Ghosn, who is considered a fugitive by both France and Japan after his daring escape from Tokyo in 2019, is accused of “abuse of power by a company executive,” “breach of trust” and “active corruption and influence peddling.”

The statement claims that Dati received €900,000 between 2010 and 2012 from a Renault subsidiary, officially for consultancy work. However, investigators allege she performed little or no actual consulting and was instead paid to use her position at the time as a member of the European Parliament to lobby on behalf of Renault and its then-chairman.

BREAKINGBREAKING,

ICJ judge Yuji Iwasawa says greenhouse emissions are “unequivocally caused by human activities” as he delivers landmark opinion.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the top World Court, has begun delivering a historic advisory opinion on climate change which it has called an “urgent and existential threat”.

Reading the opinion at the Peace Palace in The Hague, ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa said on Wednesday that greenhouse gas emissions are “unequivocally caused by human activities” and have cross-border effects.

“The consequences of climate change are severe and far-reaching: They affect both natural ecosystems and human populations. These consequences underscore the urgent and existential threat posed by climate change,” said Iwasawa.

The reading of the opinion is ongoing, and the court is yet to announce its conclusions.

After years of lobbying by vulnerable island nations who fear they could disappear under rising sea waters, the United Nations General Assembly asked the ICJ in 2023 for an advisory opinion, a non-binding but important basis for international obligations.

Although it is non-binding, the landmark opinion of the 15 judges of the ICJ – the court’s first-ever on climate change – will carry legal and political weight and is likely to determine the course of future climate action across the world, including whether polluters should be made to pay for their actions.

Judges waded through tens of thousands of pages of written submissions and heard two weeks of oral arguments during the ICJ’s biggest-ever case, as they sought to pull together different strands of environmental law into a definitive international standard.

Vanuatu is one of a group of small states that are pressing for international legal intervention in the climate crisis, which affects many more island nations in the South Pacific.

They have called for stronger measures, in some cases legally binding, to curb emissions and for the biggest emitters of climate-warming greenhouse gases to provide financial aid.

Before the ruling, supporters of climate action gathered outside the court, chanting: “What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now!”

More to come…

BREAKINGBREAKING,

ICJ judge Yuji Iwasawa says greenhouse emissions are “unequivocally caused by human activities” as he delivers landmark opinion.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the top World Court, has begun delivering a historic advisory opinion on climate change which it has called an “urgent and existential threat”.

Reading the opinion at the Peace Palace in The Hague, ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa said on Wednesday that greenhouse gas emissions are “unequivocally caused by human activities” and have cross-border effects.

“The consequences of climate change are severe and far-reaching: They affect both natural ecosystems and human populations. These consequences underscore the urgent and existential threat posed by climate change,” said Iwasawa.

The reading of the opinion is ongoing, and the court is yet to announce its conclusions.

After years of lobbying by vulnerable island nations who fear they could disappear under rising sea waters, the United Nations General Assembly asked the ICJ in 2023 for an advisory opinion, a non-binding but important basis for international obligations.

Although it is non-binding, the landmark opinion of the 15 judges of the ICJ – the court’s first-ever on climate change – will carry legal and political weight and is likely to determine the course of future climate action across the world, including whether polluters should be made to pay for their actions.

Judges waded through tens of thousands of pages of written submissions and heard two weeks of oral arguments during the ICJ’s biggest-ever case, as they sought to pull together different strands of environmental law into a definitive international standard.

Vanuatu is one of a group of small states that are pressing for international legal intervention in the climate crisis, which affects many more island nations in the South Pacific.

They have called for stronger measures, in some cases legally binding, to curb emissions and for the biggest emitters of climate-warming greenhouse gases to provide financial aid.

Before the ruling, supporters of climate action gathered outside the court, chanting: “What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now!”

More to come…