Story: 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 play games on his phone, write, and open doors with his feet. Mahmoud’s dream is simple: he wants to get prosthetics and live his life as any other child. Children are disproportionately impacted by the war. The UN estimates that by December 2024, Gaza had the highest number of child amputees per capita anywhere in the world. The photographer, who is from Gaza and was herself evacuated in December 2023, lives in the same Doha apartment complex as Mahmoud. She has bonded with families there, and documented some of the few badly wounded Gazans who made it out for treatment.
The Photo of the Year winner for 2025 is a photo by Doha based Palestinian photographer Samar Abu Elouf, taken for The New York Times, of a young boy – Mahmoud Ajjour – severely injured while fleeing an Israeli attack in Gaza.
Samar Abu Elouf was evacuated from Gaza in December 2023. She now lives in the same apartment complex as Mahmoud in Doha, where she has documented the few badly wounded Gazans who, like Mahmoud, have made it out for treatment. Mahmoud Ajjour was severely injured while fleeing an Israeli attack in Gaza City in March 2024. After he turned back to urge his family 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 play games on his phone, write, and open doors with his feet.
Mahmoud’s dream is simple: he wants to get prosthetics and live his life as any other child. The war in Gaza has taken a disproportionate toll on children and the United Nations estimates that by December 2024, Gaza had the highest number of child amputees per capita anywhere in the world.
Executive Director World Press Photo, Joumana El Zein Khoury said:
“This is a quiet photo that speaks loudly. It tells the story of one boy, but also of a wider war that will have an impact for generations. Looking at our archive, in the 70th year of World Press Photo, I am confronted by too many images like this one. I remain endlessly grateful for the photographers who, despite the personal risks and emotional costs, record these stories to give all of us the opportunity to understand, empathise, and be inspired to action. As we look ahead to the next 70 years, World Press Photo remains dedicated to supporting the photographers who risk everything to bring us the truth.”
Two finalists were selected as runners up alongside the Photo of the Year:
Story: Unauthorized immigration from China to the US has increased dramatically in recent years due to a host of factors, including China’s struggling economy and financial losses after strict zero-COVID policies. Moreover, people are being influenced by video tutorials on how to get across the border, shown on Chinese social media platforms. This image, both otherworldly and intimate, depicts the complex realities of migration at the border, which is often flattened and politicized in public discourse in the United States.
Story: The Amazon River is experiencing record low-water levels due to severe drought intensified by climate change. This ecological crisis threatens biodiversity, disrupts ecosystems, and impacts local communities reliant on rivers for survival. As droughts intensify, many settlers face the difficult choice of abandoning their land and livelihoods for urban areas, changing the social fabric of this region permanently. This project makes the effects of climate change, which can so often be abstract or difficult to represent, appear as a tangible and concrete reality shaping the futures of vulnerable communities closely connected with the natural world.
The awarded stories will be shown to millions as part of the World Press Photo annual traveling exhibition in over 60 locations around the world. Millions more will see the winning stories online
Global jury chair, Lucy Conticello, Director of Photography for M, Le Monde’s weekend magazine, said:
“When the global jury got down to selecting the different contenders for Photo of the Year we started with a wide selection from each of the six regions. Three topics emerged from that pool that define the 2025 World Press Photo edition: conflict, migration, and climate change. Another way of seeing them is as stories of resilience, family, and community. The Photo of the Year is a portrait of a boy wearing a tank top; he’s facing a window and a warm light shines on him casting a soft shadow on one side of his face. His young age, and beautiful features, are really in contrast with his melancholy expression. You then realize with a shock that he is missing his arms. This young boy’s life deserves to be understood, and this picture does what great photojournalism can do: provide a layered entry point into a complex story, and the incentive to prolong one’s encounter with that story. In my opinion, this image by Samar Abu Elouf was a clear winner from the start.”
The World Press Photo Exhibition 2025, 23rd May – 25th August 2025 MPB Gallery, Here East, London
Tickets available here: TicketTailor or visit: theexhibitionists.co.uk or : https://www.worldpressphoto.org/calendar/2025/london-uk
