Best photographic reporting from abroad requiring exceptional courage and enterprise published in any medium
Award Year: 2024
Award Name: The Robert Capa Gold Medal Award 2024
Recipients: Laura Boushnak and Nariman El-Mofty
Affiliation: The New York Times
Honored Work: “Gaza’s Injured Children”
Courage in conflict is often measured in proximity to the front lines, but Nariman El-Mofty and Laura Boushnak remind us that bravery also lies in bearing witness to survival. In documenting the lives of Palestinian children evacuated from Gaza, El-Mofty and Boushnak capture not just what has been lost, but what refuses to be taken: innocence interrupted, but not erased. These images don’t define their subjects by their suffering, insisting instead on the presence, the personhood, and the futures of Gaza’s children. In a war defined by unimaginable violence, El-Mofty and Boushnak’s images stand as a testament to the ways photography can dignify even the most painful realities.
Sarah Yusuf, 5, stared out the window of an airplane during an Italian military airlift evacuating injured children from Gaza. On right, her cousin and caretaker, Niveen Foad, held her daughter, Rugia. At left, Shaymaa Shady, 5, whose foot was amputated in Gaza, nestled in the arms of her aunt, Lina Gamal. Photo by Nariman El-Mofty for The New York Times
Sarah Yusuf, 5, receives an X-ray ahead of surgery in Bologna, Italy. Her leg and pelvis were broken when her Gaza town was bombed. Photo by Nariman El-Mofty for The New York Times
In January, an explosion ripped through the southern Gazan village of Al Mawasi, killing Shaymaa’s grandmother, badly injuring her grandfather and mangling the 5-year-old’s foot. The hospital where she was taken had run out of anesthesia, alcohol or anything but murky water to clean the wound. Doctors hurriedly amputated her foot before turning to other casualties. When she was evacuated to Bologna, Italy, doctors said she would have to face a second amputation to stop an infection from spreading. They operated on Shaymaa in February. Photo by Nariman El-Mofty for The New York Times
Shayma Shady, 5, receives treatment in Bologna, Italy, accompanied by her aunt, Lina Gamal. Photo by Nariman El-Mofty for The New York Times
Shaymaa was evacuated to Italy for treatment. At summer camp, she adjusted her prosthetic leg with the help of a friend. Photo by Laura Boushnak for The New York Times
Four-year-old Ahmad Al Saafen lost his leg in an Israeli airstrike. Italian doctor Luca Dalmastri, left, adjusted the prosthetic while Ahmad’s father, Montaser Al Saafen, 35, held his son. Photo by Laura Boushnak for The New York Times
Baian Azoum, 4, was pulled from the rubble after a December 2023 attack on Gaza with wounds to her head, broken teeth and a fractured leg. She has nearly two years of treatment ahead of her. Photo by Laura Boushnak for The New York Times
Ahmad’s older sister, Rema, first evacuated Gaza to get treatment in Egypt for the shoulder and leg injuries she sustained in the airstrike on their family’s home. She barely spoke until Ahmad and their mother joined her and her father there. Eventually, they were all airlifted to Italy, where doctors managed to save Rema’s legs from amputation. Photo by Laura Boushnak for The New York Times
At summer camp in Bologna, no one noticed Shaymaa’s prosthetic leg until it was time to swim. Then the Italian campers peppered her with questions about her leg, which she ignored at first. After swimming, one classmate cautiously tried to touch her prosthesis. Shaymaa frowned at the boy and covered herself up. “Ha fatto la guerra,” one child said. She went to war.
Photo by Laura Boushnak for The New York Times
“Italy is beautiful, but I need support,” said Lina Gamal, Shaymaa’s aunt and caretaker. “As long as I have no one around me, it’s nothing.” Photo by Laura Boushnak for The New York Times
Shaymaa Shady, 5, lost her leg in Gaza bombing. At lunch one day, her prosthetic leg fell off. She shrugged: “My leg fell,” she said, and kept eating. Laura Boushnak for The New York Times
Fatma Hasanain, 32, Baian’s aunt, came with her to Italy as her caretaker because Baian’s parents were dead, but had to leave her own daughter behind in Gaza. She walked Baian to her first day of summer camp in July. Photo by Laura Boushnak for The New York Times
Citation for Excellence:
Mohammed Salem
Reuters
“Fragments of Despair: A Visual Chronicle of Gaza, 2024”