- Title: Gaza fishermen face rising danger, hunger amid Israeli blockade and airstrikes
- Date: 22nd April 2025
- Summary: Gaza fishermen face rising danger, hunger amid Israeli blockade and airstrikes SHOTLIST GAZA STRIP, PALESTINE (APR. 21, 2025) (ANADOLU-ACCESS ALL) 1. WIDE SHOT OF PALESTINIAN FISHERMEN AND CHILDREN ON COAST, SOME PULLING NET 2. FISHERMEN PUSHING FISHING BOAT INTO SEA 3. FISHERMAN ON BOAT PADDLING, MOVING TOWARD COAST 4. VARIOUS OF FISHERMEN ON COAST PULLING NETS 5. TIGHT SHOT OF FISH TRAPPED IN NET 6. TIGHT SHOT OF FISHERMEN COLLECTING FISH FROM NET 7. FISHERMEN ON COAST PREPARING NET (TWO SHOTS) 8. FISHERMEN AND TEENS PULLING NET FROM SEA (TWO SHOTS) 9. FISHERMEN TRYING TO SPREAD NET WITH FISH 10. FISH MOVING INSIDE BOX / FISHERMEN COLLECTING FISH FROM NET 11. FISHERMAN HOLDING BOX FILLED WITH FISH, WALKING AWAY FROM OTHERS 12. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN FISHERMAN KEMAL SHARAF AL-SHARIF SAYING: "...We’re trying to hold on to our dignity, but every day another boat comes back damaged. Life is incredibly difficult right now. Today, the sea is rough, and as you can see, the tunnels are blocked. There’s no work, no life—just the sea, and it’s filled with risks. Every day, two or three fishermen go out and may never return. From Rafah to Beit Hanoun, they’re being targeted by Israeli forces... anywhere there’s sea, there’s targeting by the occupation. We’re starving." 13. WHITE FLASH 14. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN FISHERMAN KEMAL SHARAF AL-SHARIF SAYING: "We are dying of hunger. The dead hold no value anymore—they’re like a number on a check. That’s why we’re asking the world to stand with us. Enough suffering, enough war. We don’t want more wars, brother. We just want peace." 15. WHITE FLASH 16. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN FISHERMAN KEMAL SHARAF AL-SHARIF SAYING: "We've been here since five in the morning, and I haven't even made 80 shekels [21$]. I have 18 people to feed. When you divide that among 18—just one or two shekels each—can you imagine how much a fisherman suffers? The sea is unforgiving." 17. FISHERMEN SITTING ON COAST, COLLECTING FISH FROM BOX, DROPPING THEM IN OTHER BOX 18. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN FISHERMAN MOHAMMED NASHAT BAKIR SAYING: “Just three or four meters out, we’re attacked by gunboats and patrols. They shoot at us, throw bombs—we can’t fish or even move freely. We’re exhausted, struggling for nothing. There’s no food to eat, no water to drink. We go to the sea and make about 30 shekels [8$]. How can anyone survive on that? Even the fish can’t go beyond that three-meter mark anymore. If we try, we’re fired at or bombed. Just two weeks ago, my cousin was killed when patrols opened fire. We’re enduring immense suffering. The borders are closed, there’s no food, no fish, and the sea is off-limits. Life has come to a standstill for everyone here.” 19. WHITE FLASH 20. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN FISHERMAN MOHAMMED NASHAT BAKIR SAYING: “We’re doing what we can. We always trust in Allah...There are no open borders, and we can’t go beyond three meters into the sea. That’s nothing. We need at least nine or 10 meters to fish properly, but it’s all in vain. How much longer can we keep struggling for nothing? There’s no life, no fish, no food, no work. Everything is forbidden. Even when we tie up the boat, they shoot at us with bombs. We’re exhausted.” 21. WHITE FLASH 22. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN FISHERMAN MOHAMMED NASHAT BAKIR SAYING: “I’m sending a message to the whole world: Please, for God’s sake, solve our problems. We are exhausted. We’ve had enough. We can’t take it anymore. Please, world—help us. We are suffocating. We’re dying. Every day, we die a thousand deaths. Every day, we suffer.” 23. WIDE SHOT OF ISRAELI NAVAL BOAT SAILING SCRIPT As Israeli military operations continue across the Gaza Strip, Palestinian fishermen in Gaza City say they are struggling to survive due to mounting restrictions, deteriorating conditions at sea, and the constant threat of deadly attacks. In the coastal enclave, where Israeli airstrikes and a land and sea blockade have crippled daily life, fishermen continue to cast their nets off Gaza’s shores — often at great personal risk. “We’re trying to hold on to our dignity, but every day another boat comes back damaged,” one fisherman Kamal Sharaf Al-Sharif told Anadolu on Monday, Apr. 21. “Life is incredibly difficult right now. Today, the sea is rough, and as you can see, the tunnels are blocked. There’s no work, no life—just the sea, and it’s filled with risks." He added that fishermen are frequently targeted by Israeli forces along the coast. “From Rafah to Beit Hanoun, they are targeted by the Israelis. In all the sea areas — Deir al-Balah, Rafah, Khan Younis, the port, the chalets, Gaza — wherever there is sea, we are targeted by the occupation,” he said. “We're dying from hunger. We don’t want wars… We've been here since 5 a.m., and I haven’t made 80 shekels. I have 18 people to feed.” Another fisherman, Mohammad Nashat Bakir, described the dangers more vividly: “Just three or four meters out, we’re attacked by gunboats and patrols. They shoot at us, throw bombs—we can’t fish or even move freely. We’re exhausted, struggling for nothing." Bakir underscored the escalating humanitarian crisis: “We’re enduring immense suffering. The borders are closed, there’s no food, no fish, and the sea is off-limits. Life has come to a standstill for everyone here.” “I’m sending a message to the whole world: Please, for God’s sake, solve our problems. We are exhausted. We’ve had enough. We can’t take it anymore. Please, world—help us. We are suffocating. We’re dying. Every day, we die a thousand deaths. Every day, we suffer," he added. Since March 2, Israel has closed Gaza’s crossings, blocking essential supplies from entering the enclave despite multiple reports of famine in the war-devastated territory. The Israeli army resumed its assault on Gaza on March 18, shattering a Jan. 19 ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement. Israel has killed more than 51,200 Palestinians in the enclave since October 2023, most of them women and children. Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave. Writing by Sibel Uygun
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