Le Pays De France - AFP photographer wins top prize for Gaza coverage

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 issued by AFP, 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.

Hams left Gaza with his family in February.

"I hope the photos we take show the world that this war, and the suffering, must end," he added.

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.

(A.Renaud--LPdF)