A portrait of a young Palestinian boy who lost both arms as a result of an Israeli attack in Gaza was honored Thursday (April 18, 2025) as World Press Photo of the year.<\/p>\n

The photo, taken by Qatar-based Palestinian photographer Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times<\/i> shows 9-year-old Mahmoud Ajjour with his arms missing just below each shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most difficult things Mahmoud\u2019s mother explained to me was how when Mahmoud first came to the realization that his arms were amputated, the first sentence he said to her was, \u2018How will I be able to hug you?\u201d Abu Elouf said in a statement released by the World Press Photo organization.<\/p>\n

The winner of the 68th edition of the prestigious photojournalism contest was selected from 59,320 entries submitted by 3,778 photographers from 141 countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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,\u201d said World Press Photo Executive Director Joumana El Zein Khoury.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the organization said that Ajjour was injured while fleeing an Israeli attack in March 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter he turned back to urge his family onward, an explosion severed one of his arms and mutilated the other,\u201d according to the World Press Photo citation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis young boy\u2019s life deserves to be understood, and this picture does what great photojournalism can do: provide a layered entry point into a complex story, and the incentive to prolong one\u2019s encounter with that story,\u201d said jury chair Lucy Conticello, who is Director of Photography for French newspaper Le Monde\u2019s weekend magazine.<\/p>\n

Winning photographer Abu Elouf was evacuated from Gaza in December 2023 and she now lives in the same apartment complex as Ajjour in Qatar\u2019s capital, Doha.<\/p>\n

Israel launched its devastating attack on Gaza after Hamas\u2019 October 7, 2023 attack, in which thousands of militants stormed into southern Israel from Gaza, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251.<\/p>\n

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza says over 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive. It does not differentiate between civilians and militants, but says that over half of the dead were women and children, including at least 876 infants under 1. It says over 116,000 people have been wounded.<\/p>\n

Israel blames Hamas for the heavy civilian toll because the group carries out attacks and other military activities from residential areas and civilian buildings.<\/p>\n

Competition organizers also named two World Press Photo finalists that highlighted the issues of migration and climate change.<\/p>\n

A dark photo by John Moore for Getty Images shows Chinese migrants warming themselves after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, and a picture by Musuk Nolte for Panos Pictures<\/i>, Bertha Foundation, of a young man carrying food across a dried up river bed in Brazil\u2019s Amazon basin region.<\/p>\n