Shani Luk: The prestigious photo award, “Pictures of the Year,” bestowed by the Missouri School of Journalism and sponsored by Nikon, has stirred controversy this year.

Associated Press (AP) clinched the prize for “Team Photo Story of the Year” with a distressing snapshot capturing Hamas militants transporting the body of a slain woman to Gaza.

The awarded image depicts 22-year-old Shani Luk, abducted and killed by Hamas militants during an attack on the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023.

The accolade in the category of “Team Photo Story of the Year” was credited to a group of Palestinian journalists: Fatima Shbair, Ohad Zweigenberg, Hatem Ali, Mohammed Dahman, Francisco Seco, Leo Correa, Ariel Schalit, Oded Balilty, Adel Hana, Hatem Moussa, and Ali Mahmoud.

However, it was freelance photographer Ali Mahmoud, associated with Associated Press, who captured the controversial photograph. Mahmoud, a Palestinian photographer, had traveled to document the assault on Israel from the Gaza side.

The photo sparked outrage online, prompting calls for the award’s cancellation, and a petition appeared on Change.org.

Several publications, including PetaPixel, Ynet, and The Jewish Chronicle, detailed the scandal surrounding the photo award.

The “Pictures of the Year” award recognised Associated Press for a series of 20 images, including photos depicting explosions over Gaza, casualties among children, destruction, and other horrors of war.

However, it was the image of Israeli citizen Shani Luk being transported by militants that drew the most condemnation.

Although AP initially shared this photo on Instagram, it was later deleted due to a barrage of negative comments.

Ali Mahmoud was one of the photographers investigated by HonestReporting, an organisation that promptly reacted to the award’s announcement.

“Congratulations to Associated Press on winning the ‘Image of the Year’ award. How does it feel to receive it thanks to Palestinian photojournalists who infiltrated Israel on October 7 and captured the photo showing Shani Luk’s body in a Hamas pickup?” – tweeted media outlets.

Israeli authorities also weighed in on the scandal. Michal Cotler-Wunsh, the special envoy for combating antisemitism, criticised the photo contest’s jury decision, labeling it as “normalization and legitimization of Hamas and other terrorist proxies of bloody authoritarian regimes.”

However, the father of the deceased woman, Nissim Luk, defended the jury’s decision to award the prize for the shocking photograph.

“It’s good that the photo received an award; it’s one of the most important photos of the last 50 years… If I start crying, what will come of it? It’s history. In 100 years, people will look and learn what happened here. I travel the world, and everyone knows who Shani is,” said Nissim to Israeli media.

The petition to revoke the award for the AP freelancer has already garnered over 124,000 signatures.

Information agencies AP and Reuters have previously faced criticism from Jewish communities and, particularly, from families of deceased Israelis.

Some believed that freelancers might have been aware of the Hamas attack on the Nova festival, enabling them to swiftly capture the killings and abductions.

The families of the five deceased even filed lawsuits against journalists, and the organisation HonestReporting initiated investigations into some freelancers who collaborated with international agencies such as AP, Reuters, and CNN.

However, in an official statement, AP denied any wrongdoing. The agency stated that it was unaware of the Hamas attack in advance, and the freelance photographers took the pictures within hours of the initial explosions.

Media outlets also reported that there was no evidence linking freelance contributors to Hamas militants, and any claims to the contrary were deemed “reckless and dangerous.”

“Documenting extraordinary events worldwide, however horrific they may be, is our job. Without AP and other news organisations, the world would not have known what was happening on October 7,” AP stated.

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