Roya Media Group sounds alarm as its Gaza journalists face starvation under siege

Roya Media Group expresses its deep concern over the catastrophic and unparalleled humanitarian conditions facing its journalistic team in the Gaza Strip. These conditions are the result of the ongoing brutal assault by the Israeli Occupation forces, with direct support from the United States, and a suffocating siege that has led to widespread famine, the depletion of basic food supplies, and severe malnutrition among team members.

Roya’s correspondent in Gaza, Ghazi Al-Aloul, said that the entire team is suffering from the direct effects of famine. He reported: "Famine has spread across the entire Strip and reached us after our supplies of flour, canned goods, and vegetables ran out. Since the war resumed, we haven’t had access to meat or poultry. Our daily meal, if available, now consists of lentils only, and sometimes nothing for days."

 "To prevent intestinal decay, we have resorted to drinking only saltwater," he added.

Aloul continued: "Over the past month, I’ve lost 20 kilograms, and my colleague, cameraman Mohammed Daher, has lost a similar amount. We are forced to walk more than 12 kilometers each day to and from our workplace, with no transportation available. This has accelerated the deterioration of our physical and mental health."

Roya’s team continues to work in areas classified as “red zones” on evacuation maps, having been forcibly displaced more than 16 times since the start of the war. They now have no safe shelter or option to relocate. The team faces daily threats amidst disturbing international silence and the clear complicity of parties supporting the ongoing assault.

Roya Media Group holds the Israeli Occupation authorities and their primary supporter, the United States of America, fully and directly responsible for any harm to its staff, whether through targeting, starvation, or obstruction of their professional and humanitarian duties.

The ongoing acts of collective starvation, forced displacement, and systematic targeting of civilians - including journalists - in Gaza constitute an act of genocide, carried out by the Israeli Occupation with explicit US backing, in grave violation of international humanitarian law and all human rights conventions.

We call on the United Nations, global journalism organizations, and human rights and humanitarian institutions to urgently intervene to protect journalists and ensure the immediate entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza; including food, medicine, and basic life necessities. Starving journalists and forcing them to work under inhumane conditions is a dual violation of human rights and press freedom, and must not be met with silence or indifference from the international community.

Despite immense risks and daily suffering, Roya’s team continues to fulfill its humanitarian and professional duty to report the truth from the heart of the catastrophe. We salute their courage and sacrifices and emphasize that the world’s silence is not neutrality, it is complicity in an ongoing crime that must not be ignored.