Samar Abu Elouf (; born ), sometimes romanized as Samar Abu Ouf, is a Palestinian

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...

whose work documents life in Palestine. She has worked for

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''.

Career

Abu Elouf is from

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

. Abu Elouf was 26 when she began seeking a career, desiring more purpose beyond being a

housewife A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which may include Parenting, caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; Sew ...

. She was drawn to photography and began taking photos despite the reprimands of her then-husband and her family. In 2010, she enrolled in photography classes and taught herself with online tutorials. In 2012, she won a prize in

UNRWA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA, pronounced ) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians who fl ...

's "Change the Picture" contest for one of her photos of children celebrating a birthday. She began freelance work with Reuters, ''

Middle East Eye ''Middle East Eye'' (MEE) is a United Kingdom-based media website and channel that primarily focuses on news related to the Middle East, North Africa, and the broader Muslim world. The ownership of the organisation is undisclosed. Some sources ...

'', and local magazine ''Al Ghaidaa''. While covering a border protest in Gaza in 2015, Elouf improvised a helmet from a cooking pot and made a vest with "press" written on it to make it clear that she was a photographer documenting the events. After the onset of the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, she began living out of her

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile brand, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with other assets, from its previous owner, American Motors Co ...

and traveled between cities to report and document the aftermath of airstrikes. Her home in Gaza City was destroyed in an airstrike. She won the 2023 George Polk Award for Photojournalism, jointly with Yousef Masoud, for her photographs for ''The New York Times'' of the

Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip The Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip is a major part of the Gaza war. Starting on 7 October 2023, immediately after the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Hamas-led attack on Israel, Israel began bombing of the Gaza Strip, bombing the Ga ...

in late 2023. In December 2024, Abu Elouf and Israeli photographer jointly won the UNICEF Photo of the Year award for their portraits of child survivors of the Gaza war and October 7, 2023 attacks respectively. In December 2023, she and her children evacuated to

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

in Qatar with assistance from ''The New York Times''. Since leaving Gaza, Abu Elouf's photography has documented the lives of other displaced people. While in Doha, Abu Elouf lived near Mahmoud Ajjour, a child who lost both his arms due to an Israeli airstrike; Elouf took a

portrait photograph Portrait photography, or portraiture, is a type of photography aimed toward capturing the personality of a person or group of people by using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses. A portrait photograph may be artistic or clinical. Frequentl ...

of Ajjour, with permission from his mother, as part of a news report on people wounded during the war in Gaza receiving medical treatment in Qatar. The picture was recognised as the 2025

World Press Photo of the Year The World Press Photo of the Year award is part of the World Press Photo Awards, organized by the Dutch foundation World Press Photo. Considered one of the most prestigious and coveted awards in photojournalism, the World Press Photo of the Ye ...

Awards and honours

* 2023 George Polk Award for Photojournalism, jointly with Yousef Masoud * 2024 Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism Award,

International Women's Media Foundation The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), located in Washington, D.C., is an organization working internationally to elevate the status of women in the media. The IWMF has created programs to help women in the media develop practical so ...

*2024 International Press Freedom Award,

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) is a Canadian non-governmental organization supported by Canadian journalists and advocates of freedom of expression. The purpose of the organization is to defend the rights of journalists and con ...

*2024 UNICEF Photo of the Year, jointly with Israeli photographer Avishag Shaar-Yashuv *2024 Visa d'Or Daily Press Award, Visa pour l'Image

Personal life

Abu Elouf has four children; she and her children are based in Doha, Qatar as of 2024. During the

2021 Israel–Palestine crisis The 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, sometimes called the Unity Intifada, was a major outbreak of violence in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict that mainly commenced on 10 May 2021, and continued until a ceasefire came into effect on 21 May. I ...

14 of Elouf's family members were killed in an explosion.

References

External links

Instagram accountPublications with ''The New York Times''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elouf, Samar Abu Living people 1980s births 21st-century Palestinian artists 21st-century Palestinian journalists 21st-century Palestinian photographers 21st-century Palestinian women artists 21st-century women photographers Journalists from the Gaza Strip Palestinian photojournalists Palestinian women photographers Photographers from the Gaza Strip Women photojournalists Palestinian refugees

Career

Awards and honours

Personal life

See also

References

External links