Reuters photojournalist Mohammed Salem has been named the winner of a prestigious World Press Photo Award, which recognizes the best photojournalism and documentary photography produced over the last year. Salem's photo of a woman embracing the body of her niece, who was killed in Gaza by an Israeli airstrike, was selected as the Photo of the Year from more than 61,000 entries from 130 countries.
Salem's photo, taken on October 17, 2023, shows Palestinian woman Inas Abu Maamar, 36, embracing the body of her 5-year-old niece Saly, who was killed in an Israeli strike, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Salem said of the photo, "It was a powerful and a sad moment, and I felt the picture sums up the broader sense of what was happening in the Gaza Strip. People were confused, running from one place to another, anxious to know the fate of their loved ones, and this woman caught my eye as she was holding the body of the little girl and refused to let go."
The jury noted how Salem's image was composed with care and respect, offering at once a metaphorical and literal glimpse into unimaginable loss.
The World Press Photo Awards are among the most prestigious photojournalism awards in the world. Presented by the World Press Photo Foundation in Amsterdam, the World Press Photo of the Year is awarded to an image that "... is not only the photojournalistic encapsulation of the year, but represents an issue, situation or event of great journalistic importance, and does so in a way that demonstrates an outstanding level of visual perception and creativity."
Salem's photo was earlier named a winner of a World Press Photo Asia region award. In addition to the World Press Photo honors, Salem was recently named the winner of an Overseas Press Club Award and an Ortega y Gasset Journalism Award from Spain's El Pais.
View more of Salem's work on the Wider Image.
Media contact:
Heather Carpenter
Heather.Carpenter @ tr.com
