OSLO.- The Photo Journalism Prize announced Palestinian photojournalist Abdelrahman Alkahlout as the recipient of the inaugural James Nachtwey Prize for his photographic series, Echoes of Genocide: Gaza’s Civilian Suffering.

Selected personally by internationally renowned photojournalist James Nachtwey, the €5,000 prize recognizes photographic work of exceptional courage, humanity and journalistic significance.

Created in Nachtwey’s name, the award honors photographers who bear witness to defining events of our time and bring sustained attention to the lives of those affected by conflict, displacement and humanitarian crisis.

Through Echoes of Genocide: Gaza’s Civilian Suffering, Alkahlout documents the human consequences of the war in Gaza. His photographs move beyond the scale of destruction to focus on the individuals living through it—families facing loss and displacement, communities navigating devastated surroundings, and civilians attempting to preserve dignity and connection amid extraordinary circumstances.

IN JAMES NACHTWEY’S WORDS

"Working in conditions of constant, life-threatening danger and tremendous hardship, Abdelrahman Alkahlout, along with his colleagues from Gaza, were the eyes of the world. Abdelrahman's images show us the stark reality of what was happening in Gaza and allow us to make a human connection with the individual people in the pictures," stated James Nachtwey. "In the midst of chaos and extreme peril, he managed to capture crucial, heartbreaking moments with compositions that are both powerful and eloquent - that use the visual language of photography effectively, without pretention, to bring the viewer deeper inside the story. Far too many of Abelrahman's colleagues were killed doing their job as visual journalists. The critical mass of all their work together showed the world what it would otherwise not have been allowed to see. They seized the narrative from the exclusive control of the warring parties and gave it back to the people. Their images will stand as a permanent record of a moment in history of monumental importance to its own time and to everything that followed," stated James Nachtwey.

Alkahlout’s work is rooted in his experience as a Palestinian photojournalist from Gaza. With an approach that is both immediate and deeply personal, he uses photography as testimony: preserving individual stories, creating a visual record and ensuring that the realities experienced by civilians are not reduced to statistics.





The recognition follows another major international achievement for Alkahlout. His series was recently named International Photographer of the Year at the 2025 International Photography Awards, where it also received the title of Editorial/Press Photographer of the Year.

“Abdelrahman Alkahlout’s photographs demonstrate the essential role of photojournalism: to witness, to preserve and to make distant realities impossible to ignore,” said Hossein Farmani, Founder of Photo Journalism Prize. “His work carries both the urgency of the present moment and the lasting importance of a historical record.”

As the inaugural recipient of the James Nachtwey Prize, Alkahlout establishes a powerful standard for an award dedicated to integrity, commitment and the enduring social purpose of documentary photography.

Abdelrahman Alkahlout is a Palestinian photojournalist and visual storyteller whose work focuses on war, forced displacement and the human consequences of life under siege. Beginning his career in Gaza, he has documented the experiences of Palestinian civilians with an emphasis on testimony, memory and human resilience. His work has received international recognition, including the title of 2025 International Photographer of the Year at the International Photography Awards.