DOHA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) A touching photo of a nine-year-old Palestinian boy who lost both arms as a result of an Israeli attack in Gaza was honored Thursday as World Press Photo of the year, the most prestigious photojournalism competition, in its 2025 edition.
The photo, taken by Samar Abu Elouf for the New York Times, shows Mahmoud Ajjour, who was evacuated to Doha after an explosion that severed one of his arms and led to the disfigurement of the other last year.
“Working on this project was a unique but painful experience,” Samar said while accepting the award in Amsterdam.
The self-taught photographer emphasized that “Palestinian children have paid a high price for the atrocities they have endured. Mahmoud is one of them,” she added.
Samar Abu Elouf, also from Gaza and evacuated in December 2023, is currently photographing severely injured Palestinians in Doha. He is the first Palestinian photographer to win the World Press Photo Award.
“One of the hardest things Mahmoud’s mother told me was how when Mahmoud first came to the realization that his arms were amputated, the first sentence he said to her was, ‘How will I be able to hug you?’,” she said.
“This is a quiet photo that speaks loudly. It tells the story of one boy, but also of a wider war that will have an impact for generations,” said World Press Photo Executive Director Joumana El Zein Khoury.
The jury praised the image’s “strong composition and the attention given to light” and its thought-provoking subject matter, especially questions about Mahmoud’s future.
The boy is currently practicing playing games on his phone, learning to write and opening doors with his feet, according to the jury.
The organizers of the World Press Photo Award said in a statement, “Mahmoud’s dream is simple: He wants to have two prosthetic limbs and live his life like any other child.”
During the awards ceremony, Abu Elouf addressed the case of her colleague Ihab al-Bardini, who was injured in Israeli strikes that targeted a journalists’ tent in Khan Yunis on April 7.
“My joy is not complete, as one of my best friends who is a photographer in Gaza, Ihab al-Bardini, is injured,” she said, holding pictures of her colleague lying in the hospital.
