A touching portrait of a young boy from Gaza, recovering from the wounds of war, has been named the World Press Photo of the Year for 2025, A2 CNN reports. The photo, taken by Palestinian photojournalist Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times, depicts nine-year-old Mahmoud Ajjour, who lost both arms in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City in March 2024.
Abu Elouf, who was evacuated from Gaza in late 2023, lives in the same housing complex as Mahmoud in Doha, Qatar. She has documented the lives of several wounded Gazans who have managed to receive treatment abroad.
"It's a quiet photograph that speaks loudly," said World Press Photo executive director Joumana El Zein Khoury. "It tells the story of one child, but also of a larger struggle that will have an impact for generations."
Two other photographs were announced as finalists as part of the competition. “Night Passage” by John Moore for Getty Images, depicts the complex reality of migration on the US-Mexico border.
“Drought in the Amazon” by Musuk Nolte for Panos Pictures and the Bertha Foundation, shows a boy walking two kilometers across a dry riverbed to bring food to his mother. The once-wetland area has now become a wasteland, showing the severe water crisis facing the world’s largest forest region.
This year, the competition included 59,320 photographs from 3,778 photographers from 141 countries. Regional winners were selected in three categories: single photographs, series and long-term projects. (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
