Heartbreaking photo of Palestinian woman carrying her deceased niece wins top prize

The poignant image of a grieving Palestinian woman holding her little niece, killed in an Israeli strike in the war-torn Gaza Strip, won the top prize at World Press Photo on Thursday (April 18). prestigious photojournalism competition. The photo taken by Mohammed Salem, a Reuters photographer, shows Inas Abu Maamar cradling a body wrapped in white cloth: that of his five-year-old niece, Saly, killed along with her mother and sister by a missile that struck their house in Khan Younes in October 2023.

The photographer was at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis on October 17 when he saw Inas Abu Maamar, 36, in tears in the morgue. The photo was taken ten days after the start of the conflict, sparked by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel.

“It was a powerful and sad moment and I felt the image summed up in a broad sense what was happening in the Gaza Strip”declared Mohammed Salem, quoted in a World Press Photo press release. “It’s a truly deeply touching imagesaid Fiona Shields, president of the jury. Once you see it, it kind of sticks in your mind.”

The winning photos in 2024 were selected from 61,062 entries submitted by 3,851 photographers from 130 countries. They are on display in the Nieuwe Kerk church in Amsterdam (Netherlands) until July 14.