- The father of a woman killed by Hamas has defended an award-winning image of her.
- The Associated Press image showed Shani Louk half-naked and facedown in the back of a Hamas van.
- This article contains an image that may cause distress.
The father of a woman killed during Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 has defended the decision to award a prestigious journalism award to an independent journalist who photographed her body.
Associated Press freelance journalist Ali Mahmud won the Reynolds Journalism Institute’s Team Picture Story of the Year award for the image, which showed Shani Louk’s lifeless body sprawled in the back of a pickup truck and surrounded by Hamas militants.
Louk, a German tattoo artist, was attending an outdoor “Festival for Peace” party near Kibbutz Urim when Hamas fighters targeted the area in a terrorist attack.
The award-winning image. AP Photo/Ali Mahmoud
The decision to award the prize to Mahmud’s photo sparked strong reactions on social media and from some Jewish commentators.
The official X profile, formerly Twitter, of State of Israel appeared to react to the news of the award by sharing several images of Louk alive and smiling, writing: “This is how we want Shani Louk to be remembered.”
Israeli writer Hen Mazzig also took to X to denounce the decision, saying the image “dehumanizes” Louk.
“The world’s largest photojournalism competition has decided to trample on the family’s wishes and award a prestigious prize to a photo of Shani’s mutilated body,” he wrote.
“Photos depicting violence and death can be newsworthy or important when they humanize the dead or galvanize the public. The ‘winning’ photo does neither; it only further dehumanizes Shani, retraumatize his family and legitimize Hamas’ actions under the guise of journalistic neutrality.” he added.
“This is one of the most important photos of the last 50 years”
But Louk’s father, Nissim Louk, told Israeli newspaper Ynet that he was happy the photo won the prize.
“It’s good that this photo won the prize. It’s one of the most important photos of the last 50 years. These are some of the photos that shape human memory,” he said.
Nissim added that the image of his daughter and those of Noa Argamani taken hostage by Hamas militants on motorcycles were images that “symbolize this era.”
“I think it’s a good thing to use it to illuminate the future. If I start crying, what will come of it? It’s ancient history. In 100 years they will be watching and will know what happened here,” he added. “I travel the world and everyone knows who Shani is.”
The Hamas attacks on October 7 killed around 1,200 people and around 240 others were kidnapped and taken hostage in Gaza.
Israel responded to the attacks with relentless airstrikes and a ground invasion of the territory. So far, more than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed, Al Jazeera reported.
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