Our Executive Director writes:
Over more than a decade—first at the BBC, then at ABC—I visited Gaza many times. Each trip began the same way: lunch at the al-Deira hotel, overlooking the sea, always with the same friend.
Today, the hotel is gone. And while my friend was able to leave Gaza earlier in the conflict, his family remains trapped.
Before October 7th, he lived what, by Gaza’s standards, was a good life—he was a journalist, with a stable income, a secure home, and a loving family. But last weekend, he emailed me in desperation:
“I spend 70% of my salary—$150 a day—just to feed my parents and siblings with bread. Only bread. A single kilo of flour now costs 250 Shekels (£55), and they need 4kg a day to prepare one meal.”
His father, who suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, can no longer find medication. And my friend, like so many others who managed to flee, now finds himself powerless to protect the people he loves most.
This isn’t just one story. It’s the reality for thousands of families—and dozens of the journalists we support.
A week ago, I joined other members of INSI, the news industry’s safety body, in calling on Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza—to allow food in, and let its starving journalists out. Since then, the UN has warned that one in five Gazans now faces catastrophic hunger.
Last year, a quarter of the freelance journalists we supported were from Gaza. This year, there are even more—many relying on our Crisis Fund to survive. But that fund is now almost empty. In the coming days, we may have to close to new applications—just as the need is at its most urgent.
For 22 months, Palestinian freelancers have risked their lives to show the world what is happening. If their voices are silenced, so too is the pursuit of the truth.
Please, if you can, help us keep Gaza’s journalists alive—and reporting. Click here to give what you can.
Thank you.
Jon Williams is Executive Director of the Rory Peck Trust. A version of this article first appeared as an email to Trust supporters.