Portrait of young Gazan amputee wins World Press Photo Contest

Palestinian photographer Samar Abu Elouf’s powerful image was among 42 contenders in this year's competition

Palestinian photographer Samar Abu Elouf, left, with her winning photo, and executive director of the World Press Photo Foundation Joumana El Zein Khoury. EPA

A portrait of a boy from Gaza whose arms were severed as a result of an Israeli bombing has won this year's World Press Photo Contest.

Nine-year-old Mahmoud Ajjour was severely injured while trying to flee the attack in March last year. Taken by Samar Abu Elouf, who is also from Gaza, the photograph was originally published in The New York Times.

“When [Mahmoud] turned back to urge his family onward, an explosion severed one of his arms and mutilated the other,” the Amsterdam-based World Press Photo Foundation said. “Mahmoud and his family were evacuated to Doha, Qatar, where, following medical treatment, he is now learning to play games on his phone, write and open doors with his feet.”

Abu Elouf was evacuated in December 2023 and she now lives in Doha, Qatar. After the announcement of the winner, Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of World Press Photo, said: “This 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.”

The winner was announced at the opening of the World Press Photo Exhibition 2025, at De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. This year 59,320 photographs, by 3,778 photographers from 141 countries were entered into the contest.

The non-profit foundation was set up to “champion the power of photojournalism and documentary photography to deepen understanding, promote dialogue and inspire action” and is celebrating its 70th anniversary.

Finalists for the prize included several photos from the Middle East, including Murat Sengul’s photo from Beirut and Samuel Nacar’s photo from Syria. The former depicts a group of people in the Lebanese capital anxiously looking up to see rockets flying above them. The latter is of the infamous Palestine Intelligence Branch interrogation and detention centre in Syria.

Last year's World Press Photo of the Year was Mohammed Salem's image of a Palestinian woman, Inas Abu Maamar, cradling the body of her five-year-old niece Saly in Khan Younis.