Thunder of excitement provokes the photo of a 9 -year -old Palestinianmutilated from both hands as he tried to escape an Israeli attack on Gaza, he gets his first prize World Press Photo 2025.
The photo belongs to the Palestinian photographer Samar Eluff and pulled for the New York Times. It is a portrait of Mahmoud Azur, who was taken to a Doha hospital After his explosion uprooted one hand and amputated the other.
“One of the hardest things, as Mahmoud’s mother explained to me, is that when Mahmoud realized that his hands were mutilated, the first phrase he said was:”And how will I hug you?“, Said Samar Eluff. – See the photo here.
The photographer comes from Gaza and was also transferred outside Gaza in December 2023. Since then makes portraits heavily injured by Palestinian War installed in Doha.
“It’s a silent photo, which however speaks loudly. He tells the story of a boy, but also of a bigger war that will mark future generations, “said Zumana El Zain Huri, executive of the World Press Photo.
The jury of the prize which It praised the composition of the photo, the attention to lighting and its theme that gives a handle for thought and, above all, on the issues related to Mahmoud’s future.
Now the boy learns to play with his phone, to write and to open the doors with his feet, says the World Press Photo 2025 jury.
“Mahmoud has a very simple dream: he wants to put artificial hands and live a life like any other child,” the World Press Photo’s organizers write in a statement.