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.”