![Inas Abu Maamar, 36, embraces the body of her five-year-old niece Saly, who was killed in an Israeli strike, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, on October 17, 2023. [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]](https://mmnews.tv/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Grieving-Palestinian-woman.jpg)
A poignant image of a grieving Palestinian woman embracing the body of her little niece, who was killed in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip, won the 2024 World Press Photo of the Year Award on Thursday.
The photograph was captured by Mohammed Salem of Reuters.
The heart-wrenching scene unfolds in Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza. Saly, along with her mother and sister, fell victim to a missile that struck their home in October. Ten days after the conflict began, Salem found himself at Khan Younis’s Nasser Hospital, where he witnessed Abu Maamar’s grief-stricken embrace of her niece’s shrouded body in the morgue.
In addition to this moving image, other remarkable works were recognized in the 2024 World Press Photo Awards:
Story of the Year
South Africa’s Lee-Ann Olwage, shooting for GEO, portrayed the intimate care provided by a Malagasy family to an elderly relative suffering from dementia. This story sheds light on a universal health issue through the lens of family bonds and compassion.
Venezuelan photographer Alejandro Cegarra captured vivid monochrome images of migrants and asylum seekers attempting to cross Mexico’s southern border. His work emphasizes the agency and resilience of those seeking refuge.
Ukraine’s Julia Kochetova created a website that combines photojournalism with a personal documentary style, providing a glimpse into what it’s like to live with war as an everyday reality.
These award-winning photographs were selected from an impressive pool of 61,062 entries submitted by 3,851 photographers from 130 countries. The photos are on exhibit at De Nieuwe Kerk, a 15th-century church in the centre of Amsterdam, until July 14.
