Samar Abu Elouf wins 2025 World Press Photo for haunting image of Gazan child survivor

Palestinian photojournalist Samar Abu Elouf has been awarded the 2025 World Press Photo of the Year for her portrait of Mahmoud Ajjour, a young boy who lost both arms following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.

The photograph, taken for The New York Times, offers an intimate portrayal of one child’s suffering — and stands as a broader symbol of the humanitarian cost of the war in Gaza.

• Mahmoud, 9, was fleeing an Israeli attack with his family in March 2024 when an explosion severed one of his arms and left the other so badly injured it had to be amputated.
• Abu Elouf captured the image after Mahmoud was evacuated to Doha for treatment.
• The photographer herself was displaced from Gaza in December 2023 and has continued documenting the lives of wounded survivors abroad.

Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of World Press Photo, described the image as “quiet yet powerful,” adding that it “speaks not only to Mahmoud’s pain, but to the wider consequences of war on children.”

The announcement was made Thursday during the opening of the World Press Photo Exhibition in Amsterdam. The annual show will travel to more than 60 cities around the world. This year’s contest received over 59,000 submissions from photographers in 141 countries.

Israel kills more than 51,000 people in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023

Since October 2023, more than 51,000 people have been killed by Israel’s brutal attacks in Gaza, according to local health authorities. Hundreds of children have lost limbs, often undergoing surgeries without anesthetics due to a collapsing health care system. Mahmoud is one of them.

• At least 1,000 children in Gaza have had one or both legs amputated since October 7, per UNICEF.
• Thousands more have lost limbs, parents, or access to critical medical care.
• Gaza’s health infrastructure has been devastated by Israel’s military campaign, with many surgeries, including amputations, performed without anesthesia.

Now in Doha, Mahmoud is adjusting to life without his arms. He is learning to use his feet to eat, write, and play games. His mother says his greatest hope is to receive prosthetic limbs.