A disturbing portrait of a young Palestinian from Gaza who lost both arms in an Israeli strike has been named a world press photo of the year by 2025.
Mahmoud Ajjour, 9, was fleeing an Israeli attack in Gaza with his family when he turned to urge his loved ones to move forward, said the organization of photos of the world press in a statement that accompanies the image taken by the Palestinian photographer Samar Abu Elouff.
He was then beaten in an explosion, added the non -profit organization based in the Netherlands.
One of Ajjour’s arms completely cut, while the other was seriously injured and finally had to be amputated.
“One of Mahmoud’s most difficult things explained to me was how when Mahmoud realized that his arms were amputated,” said Abu Eluff in the statement of the World Press photo organization. “The first prayer he said was: ‘How can I hug you?'”
Ajjour was evacuated from Gaza to receive treatment in the capital of Qatar Doha, where Abu Eluff took his portrait for the New York Times. The photographer also fled to the city.
Ajjour is one of the hundreds of children in Gaza who has lost at least one limb during the war, which has seen more than 51,000 people killed since October 7, 2023 according to the Ministry of Health in the enclave led by Hamas.
UNICEF warned in December that more than 1,000 children in Gaza had seen one or both legs amputated only since October 7, 2023, when Israel began its military campaign in the enclave after the terrorist attacks led by Hamas in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 hostages, marking a great escalation in a conflict of a decision.
“These are incredible numbers,” said Dr. Ahmed al-Fara, head of the Nasser Hospital Department of Pediatrics in southern Khan Youngers of Gaza, told the NBC News crew in an interview earlier this month, noting that thousands of children have also been killed and even more they have run out of one or both parents.
Al-Fara said he could not understand “the silence of the world” amid the generalized devastation in Gaza, where much of the enclave has been destroyed.
According to UNICEF, many of the operations in Gaza have had to undergo anesthesia, according to UNICEF, with the enclave health system also beaten by Israel’s offensive, which restarted last month after a pause in the fight.
The conversations for a permanent end for fighting would be supposed to begin after the first phase of the high fire agreement, in which Hamas released 25 living hostages and the bodies of eight in exchange for around 1,800 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, ended on March 1.
But the Israeli forces destroyed the fragile truce and since then they have launched air attacks in the enclave while resuming military operations.
Israel has also forced the entry of medical supplies, along with food, water and another vital help during a blockade of more than a month of the enclave.
The efforts to ensure a high more permanent fire and ensure the release of hostages in Gaza so far have failed to obtain results.
Meanwhile, Mahmoud is learning to live without his arms, said the photo statement of World Press, adding that he requires support for most daily activities, including food and dressing.
He is also learning to use his feet to do things like opening doors, writing and playing games on his phone, he said, adding that he hopes to receive prosthetic limbs, a dream now shared by a growing number of children in Gaza.
