France's foreign minister urged Israel on Tuesday to allow international journalists into the besieged Palestinian territory of Gaza to "bear witness" to the situation after 21 months of war.
The United Nations and human rights groups say Gaza and its population of more than two million people face famine-like conditions, with near-daily deaths of people queueing for food aid.
"I ask that the free and independent press be allowed to access Gaza to show what is happening there and to bear witness," Barrot told France Inter radio.
Jean-Noel Barrot spoke after the AFP news agency said it was concerned about "the appalling situation of its staff in the Gaza Strip", warning that the lives of its freelancers were in danger and urging Israel to allow them and their families to leave the occupied coastal territory.
Asked if France would help these journalists leave Gaza, Barrot said that France was "addressing the issue" and hoped to be able to evacuate some freelancers working with French journalists "in the coming weeks".
Israel accuses Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering in the war, which started after the Palestinian militant group carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel's foreign ministry on Monday accused Hamas of "deliberately acting to increase friction and harm to civilians who come to receive humanitarian aid".
It was responding after Britain, France, Australia, Canada and 21 other countries on Monday said that the war "must end now", as the "suffering of civilians in Gaza" had "reached new depths".
'No Energy Left'
AFP journalists in the Gaza Strip said on Tuesday that chronic food shortages were affecting their ability to work.
Palestinian text, photo, and video journalists working for the international news agency said that desperate hunger and lack of clean water is making them ill and exhausted.
"We have no energy left due to hunger and lack of food," SAID Omar al-Qattaa, a 35-year-old photographer shortlisted for a Pulitzer Prize earlier this year.
AFP contributor Khadr Al-Zanoun, 45, in Gaza City, said that he suffered from constant headaches and dizziness due to lack of food and water, and he had even collapsed because of it.
"Since the war began, I've lost about 30 kilograms (66 pounds) and become skeletal compared to how I looked before the war," he said.
On Monday, a staff association at AFP called the Société des Journalistes (Society of Journalists) sounded the alarm, urging "immediate intervention" to help reporters working with the agency in Gaza.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Monday that it was "receiving desperate messages of starvation" from its Gaza staff, as the Palestinian territory experiences surging levels of hunger.
With food scarce or unaffordable, doctors, the civil defense agency, and medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) have reported a spike in malnutrition cases in recent weeks.
The head of Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa Medical Complex, on Tuesday said that 21 children had died due to "malnutrition and starvation" in the Palestinian territory in the past three days.
The civil defense agency on Sunday reported at least three infant deaths from "severe hunger and malnutrition" in the previous week.
Israel on Monday said there was "no ban or restriction on the entry of baby formula or baby food into Gaza".
'No Longer Any Justification'
AFP evacuated its eight staff members and their families from Gaza between January and April 2024.
The agency said the situation of its freelancers had now also become "untenable".
"Since October 7, Israel has blocked access to the Gaza Strip for all international journalists. In this context, the work of our Palestinian freelancers is crucial to informing the world," it said.
"But their lives are in danger, so we urge the Israeli authorities to allow them to evacuate immediate along with their families."
Barrot said there was "no longer any justification for the Israeli army's military operations in Gaza".
"This is an offensive that will exacerbate an already catastrophic situation and cause new forced displacements of populations, which we condemn in the strongest terms."
EU crisis management commissioner Hadja Lahbib on Tuesday also urged Israel to allow journalists into Gaza.
"Israel must allow the press to do its work and guarantee its access. Journalists and civilians cannot, and must not, be targets," she said.
With AFP
Comments