Mahmoud Ajjour, aged nine’ by Samar Abu Elouf for the New York Times
Photojournalist Samar Abu Elouf – recognised with the RPS Award for Photojournalism for her astonishing images of life and war in Gaza City – has achieved the top award in the World Press Photo competition.
Her winning portrait, named World Press Photo of the Year, is of Mahmoud Ajjour. The nine-year-old had been fleeing an assault in Gaza City in March 2024 when an explosion severed one of his arms and mutilated the other.
Elouf’s intimate images of life in her home city during the early stages of the Gaza war, published by The New York Times, quickly won worldwide acclaim. The series followed years of her documenting Gazan life, focusing largely on the experiences of women and children.
In December 2023, after losing members of her family and her home to the conflict, Elouf accepted an offer by The New York Times to evacuate her and her four young children from Gaza. She continues to chart the impact of the war by focusing on those rebuilding their shattered lives as refugees in Qatar, where she is now based.
Elouf met Mahmoud when she bonded with other Gazan families in her block of flats in Doha and began documenting wounded people who had been evacuated.
The portrait of Mahmoud is one of the winning images appearing in the World Press Photo Exhibition at MPB Gallery, London, this summer. The show illuminates a world of experiences from across the globe – from a young man bringing food and water to his mother in a drought-hit Amazon, to a Māori girls’ rugby team performing a haka before a practice.
We bring you ten highlights from the show.
1. Mahmoud Ajjour, aged nine’ by Samar Abu Elouf for the New York Times (see main image, above)
Mahmoud Ajjour, injured during an Israeli attack on Gaza City in March 2024, finds refuge and medical help in Qatar, 28 June 2024.
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. The family were evacuated to Qatar where, after medical treatment, Mahmoud is learning to use his feet to play games on his phone, write, and open doors. Mahmoud’s dream is simple – he wants to get prosthetics and live his life as any other child.
2. Droughts in the Amazon’ by Musuk Nolte for Panos Pictures/Bertha Foundation
A young man takes food to his mother who lives in the village of Manacapuru. The village was once accessible by boat, but because of the drought, he now must walk 2km along the dry riverbed of the Solimões River to reach her. Amazonas, Brazil, 5 October 2024.
3. ‘Tamale Safalu’ by Marijn Fidder
Bodybuilder Tamale Safalu trains in front of his home. Kampala, Uganda, 25 January 2024. Despite losing his leg after a motorcycle accident in 2020, Safalu remains committed to competitive bodybuilding, becoming the first disabled athlete in Uganda to compete against able-bodied athletes.
4. From the series The Lake Has Fallen Silent by Aubin Mukoni
Sambaza, a sardine-like fish local to the waters of Lake Kivu, are captured in a net. Several factors, including overfishing and the presence of gas extraction plants, threaten the sambaza population. Goma, DRC, 20 March 2024.
5. ‘No more monkey mania in Thai town' by Chalinee Thirasupa for Reuters
A young long-tailed macaque lies sedated as veterinarians from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation carry out a sterilisation procedure, in Lopburi, Thailand, 25 May 2024.
6. From the series Te Urewera – The Living Ancestor of Tūhoe People by Tatsiana Chypsanava for Pulitzer Center/New Zealand Geographic
Mihiata Teepa, 16, and her Tūhoe Māori Rugby League U16 teammates perform a haka during practice before a game. Rotorua, New Zealand, 12 January 2025.
7. ‘Underground field hospital’ by Nanna Heitmann, Magnum Photos, for The New York Times
A Ukrainian man from the Luhansk region – conscripted to fight for Russian-backed separatist forces, which then merged with the Russian army – lies injured in a field hospital set up in an underground winery near Bakhmut. His left leg and arm were later amputated. Donbas, Ukraine, 22 January 2024.
8. From the series It Smells of Smoke at Home by Aliona Kardash, DOCKS Collective, for Stern
The letter Z, which went from a military marking to become a symbol of public support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, shines among Christmas decorations. Tomsk, Russia, 29 December 2022.
9. ‘Attempted assassination of Donald Trump’ by Jabin Botsford for The Washington Post
Members of the United States Secret Service help Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump off stage moments after a bullet fired by a would-be assassin hit his ear during a campaign rally. Butler, Pennsylvania, United States, 13 July 2024.
10. From the series Paths of Desperate Hope by Federico Ríos
Luis Miguel Arias, 28, takes a break with his daughter Melissa, four, as they climb a hill at the Darién Gap – a 100km stretch of dense jungle connecting Colombia and Panama. They are from Venezuela and joined more than 250,000 migrants who traversed the gap in 2022. Darién Gap, 23 September 2022.
The World Press Photo Exhibition 2025 is at MPB Gallery, Here East, London, 23 May-25 August. Tickets are available here.
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