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Palestinian photographer Samar Abu Elouf wins world’s top photo prize

The winning picture of this year’s World Press Photo competition highlights the human cost of war in Gaza.

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World Press Photo of the Year
Title: Night Crossing - Chinese migrants warm themselves during cold rain after crossing the United States–Mexico border, in Campo, California, on March 7, 2024. [John Moore, Getty Images]
Published On 17 Apr 2025

The 2025 World Press Photo of the Year has been awarded to Samar Abu Elouf, a Doha-based Palestinian photographer, for her poignant image of Mahmoud Ajjour, a young boy severely injured while fleeing an Israeli attack in Gaza.

Captured for The New York Times newspaper, the photograph powerfully conveys Mahmoud’s suffering and resilience after an explosion in March last year left one of his arms severed and the other mutilated.

Since her evacuation from Gaza in December 2023, Abu Elouf has been documenting the experiences of individuals like Mahmoud, who sought medical treatment abroad.

Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of World Press Photo, an Amsterdam-based organisation, described the image as “quiet” yet deeply impactful, capturing the intimate suffering of one child while also speaking to the wider repercussions of global conflict.

The winner and two finalists were announced on Thursday, during the press opening of the World Press Photo Exhibition in Amsterdam. The exhibition will travel to more than 60 locations worldwide, showcasing some of the year’s most compelling and visually striking stories.

For 70 years, the World Press Photo Contest has honoured the best in photojournalism. This year’s contest received at least 59,000 submissions from photographers in 141 countries, featuring powerful stories of struggle, defiance, warmth and courage.

Here are some of the top images of this year:

World Press Photo of the Year
Title: Mahmoud Ajjour, Aged Nine - Mahmoud Ajjour, who was injured during an Israeli attack on Gaza City in March 2024, finds refuge and medical help in Doha, Qatar, on June 28, 2024. [Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times ]
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World Press Photo of the Year
Title: Droughts in the Amazon - A young man brings food to his mother who lives in the village of Manacapuru. The village was once accessible by boat, but because of the drought, he must walk two kilometres along the dry riverbed of the Solimoes River to reach her, in Amazonas, Brazil, on October 5, 2024. [Musuk Nolte, Panos Pictures/ Bertha Foundation]
World Press Photo of the Year
Title: Tamale Safalu - Bodybuilder Tamale Safalu trains in front of his home. in Kampala, Uganda, on January 25, 2024. [Marijn Fidder]
World Press Photo of the Year
Title: Gabriel Medina during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games - Brazil's Gabriel Medina bursts out triumphantly from a large wave in the fifth heat of round three of men’s surfing, during the 2024 Olympic Games, in Teahupo’o, Tahiti, French Polynesia, on July 29, 2024. [Jerome Brouillet/Agence France-Presse]
World Press Photo of the Year
Title: The Impact of Nickel Mining on Halmahera Island: Workers ride towards a nickel smelting and processing plant amid heavy rains that continued for two days, causing flooding in Weda, Halmahera, Indonesia, on August 12, 2024. [Mas Agung Wilis Yudha Baskoro/China Global South Project]
World Press Photo of the Year
Title: Beyond the Trenches - Anhelina, six, who is traumatised and suffers panic attacks after having to flee her village, lies in bed in her new home, in Borshchivka, Ukraine, on March 7, 2024. [Florian Bachmeier]
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World Press Photo of the Year
Title: Attempted Assassination of Donald Trump - Members of the United States Secret Service help Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump off stage moments after a bullet from an attempted assassin hit his ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, United States, on July 13, 2024. [Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post]
World Press Photo of the Year
Title: Botafogo Fans: Pride and Glory - Botafogo fans celebrate their team’s victory in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 30, 2024. [Andre Coelho/EFE]
World Press Photo of the Year
Title: The Last Hope - Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets supporters from atop a vehicle during a campaign rally for the opposition presidential candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, in Merida, Venezuela, on June 25, 2024. [Gabriela Oraa/Reuters]
World Press Photo of the Year
Title: Drone Attacks in Beirut - People glance anxiously upwards during an Israeli drone strike, as they take refuge away from buildings in Beirut’s Dahiyeh neighbourhood, in Lebanon on September 29, 2024. Jets and drones often fly at low altitudes, causing fear and distress. [Murat Şengul/Anadolu Agency]
World Press Photo of the Year
Title: The Canvas of Power - People vandalise a statue of former Bangladesh president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had resigned following weeks of unrest, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on August 5, 2024. [Suvra Kanti Das/The Daily Prothom Alo]