European Federation of Journalists

European Federation of Journalists

Our letter to the EU on Gaza: starvation as a weapon, silence as complicity

A medic cleans the body of Palestinian youth Abdul Jawad al-Ghalban, 14, who died of starvation at the Nasser hospital morgue in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 22, 2025. Picture credit: AFP.
  •    News
  •   24-07-2025

The worsening situation in Gaza and the requests sent to the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) by numerous journalists have prompted our federation, in coordination with the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS), to send the following letter to the European Commission. The EFJ suggests that its affiliates and all journalists who feel concerned send similar letters to their respective governments.

Brussels, 24 July, 2025

Dear President von der Leyen,
Dear Vice-President Kallas,
Dear European Commissioners,

We address you as representatives of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), representing 300,000 journalists in Europe, at a time when the world is witnessing one of the most severe humanitarian catastrophes. We express deep solidarity with all civilians who are dying today because the world dares not act decisively, and with our fellow journalists who, despite everything, continue to carry out their journalistic duties. Regrettably, the European Commission is displaying restraint – at a time when all honest public authorities should demonstrate courage.

We are witnessing the systematic, deliberate starvation of people in Gaza – people who have had no access to food, water, medical supplies, or shelter for days. Children are dying of exhaustion in the arms of parents who cannot feed them. In hospitals, babies are suffering from severe malnutrition, while humanitarian aid convoys remain blocked. This is not the result of a natural disaster – it is a political decision, a form of collective punishment orchestrated by the Israeli government.

What is happening in Gaza today is a war crime and a crime against humanity: hunger is being used as a weapon, and the denial of basic necessities for life – including medicine and clean water – is occurring before the eyes of the world. And before our eyes, too. The only remaining witnesses to the crimes and suffering are local journalists. Under blockade and with foreign journalists explicitly banned from entering, they risk their lives daily to bring the truth to the world. And now they, too, are being silenced through hunger.

The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) warn that journalists in Gaza have reached the point of physical collapse: they are starving, losing consciousness, losing strength – and with that, the ability to do their jobs. According to IFJ data, at least 187 journalists and media workers have been killed since the beginning of the war in Gaza. Their deaths send a dangerous message: that the truth must not be heard. By closing Gaza to foreign reporters, the Israeli military is suppressing freedom of expression and the public’s right to know. We are witnessing the literal silencing of the voices of truth – journalists – by starving them to death.

The refusal of EU diplomacy and member states to support a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, along with the absence of a clear condemnation of the blockade of aid and attacks on journalists, is deeply disappointing and morally unacceptable. Even the announced humanitarian aid loses its significance without a firm political decision and position.

We demand that the European Commission clearly define its stance on the ongoing genocide in Gaza, stop hiding behind neutral formulations, and no longer avoid taking concrete actions.

We demand that the European Union publicly and officially support the suspension of the agreement between the EU and Israel, the urgent evacuation of civilians in immediate danger, international calls to allow foreign journalists access to Gaza, the protection of local reporters, and calls for an international investigation into systematic starvation as a war crime.

The EU must stand on the side of truth, humanity, and international law. We expect the European Commission to strongly support international law and the protection of human rights.

When the truth is being starved into silence — it is our duty to speak even louder. It is a moral and political disgrace that the European Commission remains silent at this moment.

Ricardo Gutiérrez, EFJ General Secretary
Maja Sever, EFJ President

Our letter, here:

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Solidarity actions undertaken by EFJ affiliates: