TO Sometimes it happens that there are images that, in addition to telling a story, manage to hit so deeply to shake consciences, forcing the observer to stop and reflect. This is what happened with photography taken by the Palestinian photojournalist Samar Abu Elouf For the New York Times, Choice as winner of the World Press Photo 2025. Is the Portrait of Mahmoud Ajjoura nine -year -old boy from the Gaza Strip, mutilated of both arms during an Israeli attack in March 2024. His simple, but very powerful image has become the symbol of a tragedy that affects the most vulnerable: children.
World Press Photo 2025, Gaza’s tragedy in the eyes of a child
The story is no different from that of many Palestinian children who are experiencing this massacre: Mahmoud was fleeing with his family from a bombing in Gaza, When an explosion hit himtrancling one arm and devastating the other. His family was subsequently evacuated in Doha, Qatar, where the child has received medical care and is trying to adapt to his new reality.
Now, Mahmoud is learning to use his feet to make daily gestures such as writing, playing and even opening doors. But the his dream is to be able to have prostheses and live like any other child.
“A silent photo that speaks aloud”
The jury of World Press Photo he praised the image for his ability to tell a universal story through a single face. Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of the prize, defined the shot “a silent photo that speaks aloud”. Because it is not just the story of Mahmoud, but of a war that left deep scars on an entire generation.
The Palestinian photojournalist Samar Abu Elouf, winner of the World Press Photo Award for 2025 (Photo by Mouneb Taim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The World Press Photo: the prize that tells the world with images
The World Press Photois the most prestigious International Portogiornoism Prize, established in 1955 in the Netherlands. Every year, the competition celebrates the images that best tell stories of global relevance, highlighting events, conflicts and social changes through the goal of photographers. Already in 2024, The award for the photo of the year was awarded to Mohammed SalemPalestinian photojournalist of Reuters, for the shot entitled “Gaza’s pity“. The image, taken to Khan Youunis, portrays Abu Maamar, a 36 -year -old Palestinian woman, while embracing the lifeless body of the five -year -old grandson, Saly, wrapped in a white sweat. The girl had been killed together with her mother and sister during an Israeli attack that had hit their home.
The numbers of the Palestinian tragedy
According to UNICEF data updated to March 2025, Almost 18 months of conflict in the Gaza strip caused the death of over 15,000 Palestinian childrenwith more than 34,000 injured and almost one million displaced minors. Numbers, chilling in their crudeness, tell of a denied childhood, broken lives and an uncertain future for thousands of young people.
World Press Photo 2025, the role of photojournalism
Samar Abu Elouf’s photography, It is not only a work of art, but an act of complaint. In an era in which the images flow quickly on our screens, this is a shot that forces us to dwell, to look at and to understand. It is a reference to collective responsibilityan invitation not to look away in front of horror. But Mahmoud also represents the resilience and strength of a people who continue to fight for survival. And its history thus becomes a warning for the world: Children should never be victims of conflicts.
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