Palestinian photographer claims world's top photo award

A harrowing image capturing the devastating toll of conflict in Gaza has earned Palestinian photographer Samar Abu Elouf the 2025 World Press Photo of the Year.

The award-winning photograph, taken for The New York Times, depicts Mahmoud Ajjour, a young boy gravely wounded in an Israeli airstrike.

For 70 years, the World Press Photo Contest has honoured the best in photojournalism.

Abu Elouf, based in Doha after leaving Gaza in late 2023, has committed her work to documenting the tales of Israel's genocidal war survivors like Mahmoud, many of whom have been compelled to seek healthcare far from home.

Joumana El Zein Khoury, head of the Amsterdam-based World Press Photo Foundation, praised the image for its profound emotional weight.

She noted that though the photo focuses on a single child’s suffering, it resonates as a universal symbol of war’s far-reaching consequences.

“When Mahmoud first came to the realization that his arms were amputated, a situation that cannot be reversed, the first sentence he said to his mother was ‘How will I be able to hug you?’” Elouf said of the adolescent featured in her photo. 

The winner and two finalists were announced on Thursday, during the press opening of the World Press Photo Exhibition in Amsterdam.