Mohammed Salem Wins World Press Photo 2024 with 'Palestinian Pietà'

Reuters photographer Mohammed Salem, of Palestinian origin, won the World Press Photo 2024 award for his image of a woman holding the body of her five-year-old niece, killed in Khan Yunis by an Israeli missile. The photo, titled 'A Palestinian Woman Embraces the Body of Her Niece,' has been dubbed 'La Pietà di Gaza' for its resemblance to Michelangelo's Pietà. Salem, who became a father shortly before the October 17 incident, described the moment as 'strong and sad, summarizing the broader sense of what was happening in the Gaza Strip.' The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that Palestinian women and children currently account for over two-thirds of the conflict's casualties. The image's power lies in its restrained composition, avoiding graphic details to evoke empathy. Other global winners include Lee-Ann Olwage (Photo Story of the Year for 'Valim-babena' in GEO), Alejandro Cegarra (Long-term Project Award for 'The Two Walls' in The New York Times and Bloomberg), Julia Kochetova (Open Format for 'War Is Personal'), Associated Press (Open Format Africa for 'Adrift' by Renata Brito and Felipe Dana), and Ebrahim Noroozi (Asia Stories for 'Afghanistan on the Edge').