Sawt Falasteen - AFP, BBC win top French war reporting awards

AFP photographer Mahmud Hams won the top prize for photos including his harrowing image of a woman crying during a search for victims after an Israeli strike on Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip on October 17, 2023.

The picture was captured just days after the Gaza war erupted after the attack by Hamas militants against Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people.

Israel's ongoing retaliatory campaign in Gaza has wrought devastation and, according to data from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, killed 42,175 people, mainly civilians.

"I dedicate this award to all the journalists covering bravely and honestly the war in Gaza," Hams said.

"I want to tell my colleagues in Gaza that our message has been heard: the entire world is watching Gaza through our lenses," he added.

Andrew Harding of the BBC was awarded the radio prize for his investigation into the smugglers behind a doomed attempt by migrants to cross the English Channel from France to England.

The migrants' inflatable boat capsized during the crossing, leading to the deaths of five people including Sara, a seven-year-old Iraqi girl whose family was hoping to escape being sent back to their country.

- Gaza reports honoured -

Gaza journalist Rami Abou Jamous won the top prize in written press for his "Gaza Journal", a day-by-day account as he fled his home as Israeli forces advanced. It was published in the online journal Orient XXI.

In television, Gaza journalist Mohamed Abou Safia and John Irvine of ITV News won the top prize for their report capturing a Palestinian man shot dead despite carrying a white flag as he sought family members in Gaza.

The Public's Choice award went to photographer Kostiantyn Liberov for his reporting on the war in Ukraine.

"I was so impressed by the work that we were judging," said jury president Clarissa Ward of CNN television.

"It made me very proud to be a journalist."

AFP's global news director Phil Chetwynd said: "This prize is a fitting tribute to the astonishing work produced by Mahmud in unimaginable circumstances.

"It is also a recognition of the fine work by AFP journalists in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, Lebanon and across the Middle East, who are often risking their lives to report this complex story with professionalism, fairness, and humanity."

F.AbuZaid--SF-PST