Samar Abu Elouf Wins 2025 World Press Photo Award

Samar Abu Elouf, a Gaza-born photographer now living in Doha after her own evacuation, has won the 2025 World Press Photo of the Year for her image of nine-year-old Mahmoud Ajjour, who lost both arms in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. The photo, taken for The New York Times, captures Mahmoud's resilience and includes his poignant question to his mother, 'How will I be able to hug you?' after realizing his arms were gone. The World Press Photo jury praised the composition and emotional impact of the image, describing it as a 'quiet photo that speaks loudly' about the generational effects of war. This year’s contest attracted nearly 60,000 entries from 3,778 photographers across more than 140 countries, with the jury emphasizing conflict, migration, and climate change as central themes. Runner-up prizes were awarded to images of drought in the Amazon and Chinese migrants at the US-Mexico border. The winning photographs will be exhibited worldwide to highlight the role of photojournalism in documenting global crises.