PARIS (AP) 鈥 Reuters photographer Mohammed Salem captured this year鈥檚 prestigious World Press Photo of the Year award Thursday with a depiction of loss and sorrow in Gaza, a heartrending photo of a Palestinian woman cradling the body of her young niece. The photograph, taken in Khan Younis just days after Salem鈥檚 own child was born, shows 36-year-old Inas Abu Maamar holding five-year-old Saly, who was killed along with her mother and sister when an Israeli missile struck their home.
Salem, who is Palestinian, described this photo filed Nov. 2 last year, as a 鈥減owerful and sad moment that sums up the broader sense of what was happening in the Gaza Strip.鈥
The image 鈥漷ruly encapsulates this sense of impact,鈥 said global jury chair Fiona Shields, The Guardian newspaper's head of photography. 鈥淚t is incredibly moving to view and at the same time an argument for peace, which is extremely powerful when peace can sometimes feel like an unlikely fantasy,鈥 she added.
The World Press Photo jury praised the shot鈥檚 sense of care and respect and its offering of a 鈥渕etaphorical and literal glimpse into unimaginable loss.鈥
This is not the first time Salem has been recognized for his work on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; he received a World Press Photo award more than a decade ago for another depiction of the human toll of conflict in the Gaza strip.
In the three other global categories announced Thursday, South Africa鈥檚 Lee-Ann Olwage won Photo Story of the Year for her touching series 鈥淰alim-babena,鈥 featured in GEO magazine. The project focused on the stigmatization of dementia in Madagascar, a topic she explored through intimate portraits of 鈥淒ada Paul鈥 and his family. Lack of public awareness surrounding dementia means that people displaying symptoms of memory loss are often stigmatized.
In the series, 鈥淒ada Paul,鈥 who has lived with dementia for 11 years, is tenderly cared for by his daughter Fara. One of the standout images in the series shows him preparing for church with his granddaughter Odliatemix, capturing moments of normalcy and warmth amidst the challenges of dementia.
Photographer Alejandro Cegarra, a Venezuelan native who migrated to Mexico in 2017, won the Long-Term Project award for 鈥淭he Two Walls,鈥 published by The New York Times and Bloomberg. Cegarra鈥檚 project, initiated in 2018, examines a shift in Mexico鈥檚 immigration policies, which have moved from being historically open to enforcing strict regulations at its southern border. The jury said the photographer's perspective as a migrant gave it a 鈥渟ensitive," human-centered perspective, according to a press release.
Julia Kochetova of Ukraine won the Open Format award for 鈥淲ar Is Personal.鈥 The project stood out from coverage of the ongoing conflict by offering a personal look at the harsh realities of war. On a dedicated website, she merged traditional photojournalism with a diary-like documentary style, incorporating photography, poetry, audio clips and music.
The Associated Press won the Open Format award in the regional Africa category with the multimedia story 鈥淎drift,鈥 created by journalists Renata Brito and Felipe Dana. The story investigates the fate of West African migrants who attempted to reach Europe via a treacherous Atlantic route but ended up on a ghost ship discovered off Tobago. The team鈥檚 compelling use of photography, cinematography and detailed narrative, enhanced by expert design and multimedia elements, highlights the perils faced by migrants and the human stories behind global migration issues.
The Associated Press' Ebrahim Noroozi won the Asia Stories award for his series 鈥淎fghanistan on the Edge,鈥 which documents the country since the Taliban took over in August 2021.
World Press Photo is an independent, nonprofit organization based in the Netherlands, founded in 1955.
