A heartbreaking photograph of a Palestinian boy who lost both arms in the war in Gaza was declared the best news photograph in the world this year (World Press Photo 2025) on Thursday.
Around 60.000 photographs taken by approximately 4.000 photographers from all corners of the world competed for the World Press Photo 2025 award, the jury said on Thursday, and the main themes were conflict, migration, and climate change.
The jury, based in Amsterdam, chose as the winning image the photograph by Palestinian photojournalist Samar Abu Elouf, which shows nine-year-old Mahmoud Ajjour.
Ajjour was seriously injured in an Israeli attack on the city of Gaza in March 2024 and lost both arms in the explosion.
He was later evacuated to Qatar, where he lives with his family in the same residential building as Abu Elouf.
The executive director of the competition, Joumana El Zein Khoury, said: “This is a quiet photograph that speaks loudly. It tells the story of one boy, but also of a broader war that will have an impact for generations.”
The jury said that Ajjour “is learning to use his feet to play games on his phone, write, and open doors,” but still needs help with daily activities such as eating and dressing.
“Mahmoud’s dream is simple: he wants to get prosthetics and live his life like any other child,” the jury added.
Photographer Abu Elouf fled Gaza in December 2023 and has documented the severe injuries of refugees from the coastal enclave since the beginning of the current conflict in October 2023.
She took the photograph of Ajjour for The New York Times.
Other finalists include a photograph by American John Moore showing Chinese migrants warming themselves by a fire at the United States (U.S.) – Mexico border and the work of Mexican photographer Musuk Nolte on droughts in the Amazon rainforest.
The jury selected a total of 42 photographs in various categories.
The winning photographs can be seen at exhibitions in more than 60 cities.
