AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Reuters photographer Mohammed Salem has won the prestigious 2024 World Press Photo of the Year award for his image of a Palestinian woman cradling the body of her five-year-old granddaughter in the Gaza Strip.
The photo was taken on October 17, 2023 at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, where families were looking for relatives killed in the Israeli bombing of the Palestinian enclave.
The award-winning shot depicts Inas Abu Maamar, 36, crying as she holds Saly’s body wrapped in a sheet in the hospital morgue.
“Mohammed greeted the news of the WPP award with humility, saying it is not a photo to celebrate but that he appreciates the recognition and the opportunity to publish it for a wider audience,” said Rickey Rogers, Reuters Global Editor for Images and the videos, during the ceremony in Amsterdam.
“He hopes that with this award the world will become even more aware of the human impact of war, especially on children,” added Rogers, in front of the photo displayed at the Nieuwe Kerk in the Dutch capital.
(Translated by Chiara Scarciglia, editing by Sabina Suzzi)
