Palestinian photographer Saher Alghorra wins Pulitzer 2026: the hell of Gaza through his lens

Palestinian photographer Saher Alghorra has won the Pulitzer Prize 2026 for his work on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, a visual narrative that the jury described as "heartbreaking" and "deeply sensitive".

In one photograph, a woman holds a photo of her daughter; in another, a person desperately carries the remains of a dead child; in yet another, all that can be seen is a pile of rubble where a school once stood. Another shows members of the armed wing of Hamas carrying what is believed to be the remains of a hostage in Khan Younis.

The photographs were all taken by New York Times contributor Saher Alghorra, who has just won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in the "Breaking News Photography" category (for his depiction of the devastation and starvation in the Gaza Strip, following Israel's genocidal campaign since October 2023).

A Palestinian, Alghorra won the award for his report Trapped in Gaza: Between Fire and Famine, which has become one of the most powerful and painful photographic testimonies to the conflict.

His images are not just of ruins and smoke. There are exhausted people, children's eyes, fleeing families, hospitals on the verge of collapse, bodies exhausted by hunger and fear. Photographs that don't seek spectacular effect, but humanity at the heart of tragedy.

This is not Saher Alghorra's first international award. Last year, his work won first prize for war photography at the Prix Bayeux Calvados-Normandie in France. But the Pulitzer represents a worldwide consecration, establishing the power of photography as a collective memory and an act of denunciation.

At a time when images scroll at breakneck speed on social networks to the point of losing their meaning, this Palestinian photographer's work, on the contrary, restores weight and dignity to every face photographed.

Other finalists in the category included Reuters photographers for their coverage of anti-immigration operations in the United States, and the Los Angeles Times for its images of the devastating fires in California.

The 2026 Pulitzers also rewarded major international investigations and investigative reporting. The New York Times was awarded the prize for investigative journalism for an investigation into the alleged conflicts of interest of Donald Trump's alleged conflicts of interest, while Reuters won for a report on the expansion of executive power in the United States.

A special mention was also awarded to Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown, for her investigations into the Jeffrey Epstein affair, which helped reveal years of systemic abuse and cover-ups.

Established in 1917, the Pulitzer Prizes are among the world's most prestigious awards for journalism, photography and public service. But this year, more than ever, one story seems to run through all the others: that of those who continue to tell the story of war while living it in their own flesh.