More than 200 journalists and news photographers, together with family members, have been killed in Gaza in the last 16 months. Despite this, and more than 60,000 entries, a photo submitted by a Gazan photographer has won the 2025 World Press Photo of the Year.

The conflict in Gaza, triggered by the Hamas-led attack on October 7, has now resulted in more than 51,000 deaths in Gaza. While this figure has shocked most people around thw world, less attention has been given to the more than 116,00 people, mostly women and children,that have been injured, almost all of them horrifically - as Israeli Air Force pilots have obliterated the small enclave in relentless attacks. One of the victims of their actions was Mahmourd Ajjour, a 9-year old boy who had both his arms blown off. 

A photo of Mahmoud, captured by Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times late this week was declared the 2025 World Press photo of the Year.

"One of the most difficult things Mahmoud's mother explained to me was how when Mahmoud first came to the realization that his arms were amputated, the first sentence he said to her was, ‘How will I be able to hug you?'" Abu Elouf, who has since ben evacuated to Qatar, said in a statement released by the World Press Photo organization.

"The photograph of this Palestinian boy speaks to the long-term costs of war, the silences that perpetuate violence, and the role of journalism in exposing these realities," the judges in the global contest said in their ruling. "Without shying away from the corporeal impacts of war, the photo approaches conflict and statelessness from a human angle, shedding light on the physical and psychological traumas civilians have been forced to, and will continue to endure through industrial scale killing and warfare."

"The Jury found this portrait, with its strong composition and attention to light, to be contemplative, sparking questions about the experiences yet to come for the young wounded boy, about the dehumanization of a region, and about the relentless targeting of journalists in Gaza alongside the continued denial of access to international reporters seeking to expose the realities of this war," judges said.

"As his family fled an Israeli assault, Mahmoud turned back to urge others onward. An explosion severed one of his arms and mutilated the other," World Press Photo said in a statement.

"This is a quiet photo that speaks loudly," said World Press Photo Executive Director Joumana El Zein Khoury.

"It tells the story of one boy, but also of a wider war that will have an impact for generations."

An interview with Mahmoud Ajjair who is now recovering in Doha. Qatar. - Courtesy of the Qatar television network Al Jazeera.

Two finalists were selected as runners up alongside the 2025 World Pres Photo fo the Year.  Night Crossing by John Moore for Getty Images and Droughts in the Amazon by Musuk Nolte for Panos Pictures, Bertha Foundation.