Palestinian PHOTOGRAPHER, Mohammed Salem, has won a prestigious award World Press Photo of the Year in 2014, for his photos that captured the loss and sadness of family members in Gaza.
The Salem photo shows a Palestinian woman, Inas Abu Maamar, cradling the body of her little niece, Saly, who was killed in a brutal and indiscriminate Israeli attack.
The photo, taken at Nasser Khan Younis Hospital, just days after Salem’s child was born, shows 36-year-old Inas Abu Maamar holding five-year-old Saly. The nephew was killed along with his mother and sister when an Israeli missile hit their home.
Salem was at Nasser Khan Younis Hospital, southern Gaza, on October 17 when he saw Inas Abu Maamar sobbing and hugging Saly’s body tightly. The nephew was already wrapped in a shroud in the morgue.
At that moment, Palestinian families were looking for their relatives who were killed in the Israeli bombing in Gaza.
Salem, who works for a news agency Reuterssaid the photo he took depicted the unimaginable pain and loss that occurred in Gaza and befell the Palestinian people.
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“The image shows a powerful and sad moment that encapsulates the broader picture of what is happening in the Gaza Strip,” World Press Photo quoted Salem as saying, as reported The New ArabThursday (18/4) local time.
“People were confused, running from one place to another, trying to find out the fate of their loved ones, and this woman caught my attention when she held the little girl’s body and refused to let go,” Salem said.
One of the judges who served as head of photography at Guardian, Fiona Shield, called Salem’s photo very affecting. The picture presented should be a reason for anyone to achieve and promote peace.
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“It really was a very moving image,” said Fiona Shields, chair of the judges. “As soon as you see the photo, the incident seems to flash in your mind,” he continued.
According to Fiona, the image of Salem becomes a kind of literal and metaphorical message about the horror and futility caused by conflict and war. “This is a very strong argument for peace,” Shields added.
Salem’s photo was taken when Israel was waging a war in Gaza which has killed more than 33,900 Palestinians, 72% of whom were women and children. At least 76,000 people were injured in the war that began on October 7.
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Gaza’s population of 2.3 million is also in dire humanitarian conditions, facing shortages of food, shelter and medicine, as well as hunger looming over the besieged enclave.
This is not the first time Salem has received recognition for his work. He previously received the World Press Photo award more than a decade ago for his photograph of another depiction of the death toll in Israel’s offensive on the Gaza Strip.
Israel has attempted to ban and divert international and independent journalists from Gaza. Israel only allows certain media to access the Gaza Strip on a very limited basis. Journalists are also required to always follow the Israeli military’s censorship before recording or reporting can be broadcast.
All other access points to Gaza, including the Rafah crossing in Egypt, were closed to the press. Critics argue that the work of field journalists like Salem is very important in documenting the reality of Israel’s war in the besieged Palestinian territories.
Israel’s brutal, deadly and indiscriminate attacks on the Gaza Strip have also killed at least 97 journalists and media workers since October 7, most of whom were Palestinians, according to an April 18 report by the Committee to Protect Journalists. (B-3)
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