World Press Photo 2024
On April 3, 2024, I received the huge honour of having one of my images included in the annual World Press Photo selection.
“An Israeli security forces officer searches the site of the Supernova music festival for personal effects of victims of the 7 October Hama attack, which resulted in around 1,200 deaths, more than 2,500 reported injuries, and some 250 people held hostage from the festival and communities near the Gaza border. Re’im, Israel.”
This year, the WPP jury made the decision to include my photo from the aftermath of the Super Nova Festival attack, above, as one of two “Jury’s Special Mention” awards in the contest selection alongside the image below by Mustafa Hassouna, showing a resident of al-Zahra walking through the rubble of homes destroyed in Israeli air strikes.
In the words of the judges, the decision to include these two moments from the ongoing crisis was made to reflect “the gravity of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023, the extreme suffering of civilians, and its global political impact. While each photograph shows a single individual in the aftermath of a horrific attack, the contrast between the scenes helps viewers understand the differing scales of devastation without minimizing the individual suffering. We also wish to pay tribute to photographers reporting on this war, who are subjected to huge amounts of trauma, risk, and personal loss, particularly in Gaza.”
Below, I’ve re-posted my thoughts from my time at the festival site as I covered the fallout of the October 7 attacks.
Passing through Sderot and seeing the aftermath of the attack by Hamas a few days earlier and a rocket strike that afternoon, word went round that a coordinated visit to the site of the festival would be taking place. After waiting at a staging post for media at a nearby petrol station in Urim, the convoy was escorted to the scene of the attack.
It’s very hard to put into words how it felt to be there. All around, the everyday signs of festival life littered the floor, destroyed cars sitting where they’d come to a standstill, many with keys in the ignition, personal effects strewn around the seats. In some, evidence of the horrifying physical violence that took place was clear to see, sprayed across the dashboard.
Half an hour after arriving, a shot rang out, then another, and another. Some dropped to the floor, others ran, some rushed towards the sounds. Among the trees, a man stood alone, surrounded by members of the Israeli Defence Forces, weapons raised. Under orders, he removed his clothes and dropped to the floor before the soldiers fell towards him, and ushering us away.
Leaving the site, I could only think of the energy, love and happiness that fills these festivals, and how hard it is to even to begin to imagine what these people experienced.
More images and thoughts from my coverage in Israel can be found here.
My thoughts go out to all of those who have suffered and lost loved ones in this ongoing conflict.
My thanks to World Press Photo judging panel for choosing my photo to illustrate the Israeli side of the image combination. It means a huge amount to me to have been included. My thanks also to Getty Images for their trust in sending me to cover the story.