KPFA News Department Condemns Israel’s Killing of 6 Gaza Journalists and Forced Starvation of its Gaza Correspondent
Our colleagues are dying. Our colleagues are being killed. Our colleagues are being murdered.
As one of the few U.S.-based radio stations with a reporter in Gaza, the KPFA News Department condemns Israel’s targeted killing of six journalists on Sunday, August 10, 2025 — five of whom worked for Al Jazeera. We send our condolences to all those impacted and our solidarity to the award-winning network.
As of August 12, 2025, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has documented the deaths of 185 journalists and media workers across Gaza — the deadliest period for the press since CPJ began tracking journalist fatalities. Even these numbers are likely an undercount.
“Israel is murdering the messengers,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Israel wiped out an entire news crew. That’s murder. Plain and simple.”
We track these numbers daily — and like all others — the death count will almost certainly rise, often increasing in real time as we prepare our daily newscast. It is a chilling reality. And the reporters who survive face starvation and constant danger.
In late July, Agence France-Presse warned that their “last reporters will die” working under current conditions. As Politico published, “In Gaza, journalism is not just under siege — it’s deliberately being starved.”For us at KPFA News, this is personal. Rami Almegahri has been our correspondent in Gaza for 17 years. He is a widowed father of four, his home has been bombed, and now he is starving.
We have sent additional resources to support Rami and his family, but the money we send is useless without food. The cost of flour — once $2 a kilogram — has been inflated by over 5,000%. Sugar prices have increased by 10,000%. Basic foods like cheese, eggs, and fruit are unavailable. Rami has to burn plastic to fuel his kerosene stove since diesel is no longer accessible.
When Rami manages to find food, it comes with extreme danger. He lives and works amid ongoing bombardment. Despite all this, Rami continues to go into the field and support his family on these limited resources. The emotional and psychological toll he endures is unimaginable — and something most journalists should never have to experience.
Yet he tells us at KPFA he feels a deep responsibility to tell Gaza’s stories, because they are the only voices able to.He has witnessed widespread destruction and death, including horrifying hunger-related deaths of children — and yet he persists. His commitment to journalism and reporting for KPFA News and our network with hundreds of affiliates is unmatched.
After 25 years in the field, he sees his work as his duty. Voices like his offer the only balanced coverage and truth-telling we hear about Israel’s war and devastation in Gaza — and this is precisely why they are being punished, targeted, and killed.
This is why KPFA News speaks out today: to condemn the slaughter of our colleagues in Gaza and to demand justice for those who risk everything to tell the truth and bear witness for the world.
Being a journalist in Gaza right now is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. No foreign journalists are allowed into Gaza, placing the entire burden of coverage on local reporters. Israeli forces have even refused to let journalists document aerial views of Gaza during air drops, forcing many to rely on satellite surveillance to track the destruction.
Journalists are civilians protected under international law. Deliberately targeting them is a war crime, yet the CPJ has confirmed that 26 journalists were directly targeted and killed by Israeli forces. Colleagues on the ground have stopped wearing press vests, believing these now mark them as targets.
Our colleagues have died not only in the field but also in their homes alongside their families. Killed in vehicles and vests that were clearly marked “PRESS.” Some, like Anas Al Sharif, were murdered while reporting near hospitals or in tents.
KPFA News categorically condemns the killing and starvation of journalists. Silencing those who bear witness is an assault not only on the press but on the world’s right to know the atrocities of war. This is more than a humanitarian catastrophe; it is a crisis of press freedom.
In solidarity,
Lauren Schmitt
KPFA News Director