Palestinian photojournalist Mahmud Hams is seen in a giant screen as he receives the Visa d'Or Award during the 36th edition of the "Visa pour l'image" press photography festival in Perpignan, southwestern France, on September 7, 2024 (Photo by Matthieu RONDEL / AFP) MATTHIEU RONDEL / AFP
Palestinian AFP photographer Mahmud Hams has won the prestigious Visa d'Or News prize for his coverage of the conflict in Gaza, the Visa pour l'Image Association announced Saturday.
The 44-year-old, who has worked for AFP in the Palestinian territory since 2003, thanked the jury for the award in a recorded video message aired at the ceremony in Perpignan, France.
In a statement, he denounced the targeting of journalists during the conflict. "I spent my childhood in Gaza, and in 23 years of photojournalism, I have witnessed every war, every conflict there," said Hams in the statement. "But this war is unlike any other, without precedent from the very first day. "My colleagues and I have had to face incredibly difficult conditions, with no red lines and no protections for anyone," he added. "There were even attacks targeting journalists' offices, which are supposed to be off-limits in times of war. "Many journalists have been killed; others wounded. I've also lost friends and loved ones. We struggled to keep our families safe," he said. "I hope the photos we take show the world that this war, and the suffering, must end," he added.
Palestinians inspect the damage at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp after an overnight Israeli strike on December 25, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. MAHMUD HAMS / AFP
Palestinians mourn after identifying corpses of relatives killed in overnight Israeli bombardment on the southern Gaza Strip at Al-Najjar hospital in Rafah on February 8, 2024, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas enters its fifth month. MAHMUD HAMS / AFP
Palestinian civilians flee Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip after the Israeli army called on people to leave certain areas in the city, as battles between Israel and Hamas militants continue on December 3, 2023. MAHMUD HAMS / AFP
Eric Baradat, AFP's Deputy News Director for Photo, Graphics, Data and Archives, paid tribute to his work. "Mahmud and his colleagues, photographers and journalists from AFP in the Gaza Strip, have carried out extraordinary work in every respect, considering the conditions in which they lived with their families and loved ones," he said. "It is staggering and often unimaginable. Their testimony will be recorded in history," he added.
After the deadly October 7 attack carried out by Hamas on Israel sparked the war, AFP relied on its Gaza bureau, staffed by nine journalists, to cover the conflict from within the besieged Palestinian territory. On November 2, the office building, which had been evacuated a few days earlier, was badly damaged by a strike, probably caused by Israeli tank fire, according to an investigation conducted by AFP and several international media outlets.
Palestinian newly-weds Afnan Jibril (C) and Mustafa Shamlakh (L) are surrounded by guests and relatives their wedding at the UNRWA School in the al-Salam neighborhood of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on January 12, 2024, amid continuing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas. MAHMUD HAMS / AFP
Smoke billows during Israeli bombardment in Rafah on the southern Gaza Strip on February 6, 2024 amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. MAHMUD HAMS / AFP
Women stand by clothes drying on a laundry line outside a Palestinian outpost painted in camouflage colors where they are taking refuge near a make-shift shelter for Palestinians who fled to Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on January 30, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. MAHMUD HAMS / AFP