Pictures Of the Year International - AP Winners

FIRST PLACE

Team Picture Story of the Year

Israel Hamas War

Fatima Shbair, Ohad Zwigenberg, Hatem Ali, Mohammed Dahman, Francisco Seco, Leo Correa, Ali Mahmud, Ariel Schalit, Oded Balilty, Adel Hana and Hatem Moussa

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The Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel at daybreak Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations by air, land, and sea and catching the country off-guard on a major holiday. Israel's retaliation after Gaza's militant Hamas rulers launched the unprecedented attack on Israel killing over 1,200 Israelis and taking captive dozens, has been fierce for Gaza and it’s people.

Palestinian militants drive back to the Gaza Strip with the body of Shani Louk, a German-Israeli dual citizen, during their cross-border attack on Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. Photo by Ali Mahmud

The bodies of civilians killed by Palestinian militants lie covered in Sderot, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. Photo by Ohad Zwigenberg

Fire and smoke rise following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. Photo by Fatima Shbair

An injured Palestinian boy cries as rescuers try to pull him from the rubble of a destroyed building following an Israeli airstrike in Bureij refugee camp, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. Photo by Mohammed Dahman

A man walks down the street between buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes, in Jabalia, Gaza strip, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. Photo by Hatem Moussa

Palestinian children wounded in Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip are brought to al-Aqsa hospital in Deir el-Balah City, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. Photo by Adel Hana

Family and friends of Israeli soldier Lt. Yaacov Elian mourn over his grave during his funeral at Kiryat Shaul cemetery in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, Dec. 22, 2023. Elian, 20, was killed during Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, where it has been battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack into Israel. Photo by Oded Balilty

Israeli armored personnel carrrers head towards the Gaza Strip border in southern Israel on Friday, Oct.13, 2023. Photo by Ariel Schalit

A Palestinian woman mourns her child and her husband killed in an Israeli army bombardment of the Gaza Strip, outside the hospital in Khan Younis, Tuesday Dec. 5, 2023. Photo by Fatima Shbair

Rockets are fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel over destroyed buildings following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City on Oct. 19, 2023. Photo by Mohammed Dahman

Israelis take cover from the incoming rocket fire from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. Photo by Leo Correa

Palestinians evacuate wounded boy from a building destroyed in Israeli bombardment in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. Photo by Fatima Shbair

A photo hangs on a refrigerator riddled with bullet holes in a house at Kibbutz Kissufim in southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. Photo by Francisco Seco

Mourners react beside the body of Mapal Adam, during her funeral in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. Adam was killed by Hamas militants on Saturday as they carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack that killed over 1,000 Israelis. Photo by Francisco Seco

A Red Cross vehicle carrying Israeli hostages drives by at the Gaza Strip crossing into Egypt in Rafah on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. Photo by Fatima Shbair

Aseel al-Titi, wearing a Hamas headband, a former Palestinian prisoner who was released by the Israeli authorities, is greeted by friends and family members in Balata, a Palestinian refugee camp in Nablus, West Bank, Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. Photo by Majdi Mohammed

Palestinians flee to northern Gaza as Israeli tanks block the Salah al-Din road in the central Gaza Strip on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, as the four-day cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war begins as part of an agreement that Qatar helped broker. Photo by Mohammed Dahman

A Palestinian boy mourns his relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. Photo by Hatem Ali

Israeli soldiers take positions near the Gaza Strip border, in southern Israel, Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. The army is battling Palestinian militants across Gaza in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack into Israel. Photo by Ohad Zwigenberg

Palestinians stand around the bodies of children killed in Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in a morgue in Khan Younis, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. Photo by Fatima Shbair

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FINALIST

National/International News Picture Story

Afghanistan Earthquake

by Ebrahim Noroozi

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake killed and injured thousands when it leveled an untold number of homes in Herat province, Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2023. It's one of the deadliest earthquakes to strike the country in two decades.

Afghans bury hundreds of people killed in an earthquake at a burial site, outside a village in Zenda Jan district in Herat province, western of Afghanistan, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. Saturday's deadly earthquake killed and injured thousands when it leveled an untold number of homes in Herat province.

Afghan men search for victims after an earthquake in Zenda Jan district in Herat province, of western Afghanistan, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. Powerful earthquakes killed at least 2,000 people in western Afghanistan, a Taliban government spokesman said Sunday. It's one of the deadliest earthquakes to strike the country in two decades.

Afghans bury hundreds of people killed in an earthquake at a burial site, outside a village in Zenda Jan district in Herat province, western of Afghanistan, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. Saturday's deadly earthquake killed and injured thousands when it leveled an untold number of homes in Herat province.

An Afghan girl and woman receive aid, while they are scared and crying from the fierce sandstorm, after an earthquake in Zenda Jan district in Herat province, western of Afghanistan, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. Another strong earthquake shook western Afghanistan on Wednesday morning after an earlier one killed more than 2,000 people and flattened whole villages in Herat province in what was one of the most destructive quakes in the country's recent history.

Afghan men search for victims after an earthquake in Zenda Jan district in Herat province, of western Afghanistan, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. Saturday's deadly earthquake killed and injured thousands when it leveled an untold number of homes in Herat province.

An Afghan man rests his head on the grave of his wife who died due to an earthquake and talks to her at a burial site, in Zenda Jan district in Herat province, western of Afghanistan, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. Saturday's deadly earthquake killed and injured thousands when it leveled an untold number of homes in Herat province.

A destroyed house by an earthquake is seen in Zenda Jan district in Herat province, western of Afghanistan, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. Powerful earthquakes killed at least 2,000 people in western Afghanistan, a Taliban government spokesman said Sunday. It's one of the deadliest earthquakes to strike the country in two decades.

Afghans bury hundreds of people killed in an earthquake to a burial site, in a village in Zenda Jan district in Herat province, western of Afghanistan, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. Saturday's deadly earthquake killed and injured thousands when it leveled an untold number of homes in Herat province.

An Afghan man buries his little grandson who was killed by the earthquake, in Zenda Jan district in Herat province, western of Afghanistan, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. Saturday's deadly earthquake killed and injured thousands when it leveled an untold number of homes in Herat province.

An Afghan girl carries donated aid to her tent, after an earthquake in Zenda Jan district in Herat province, western of Afghanistan, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. Another strong earthquake shook western Afghanistan on Wednesday morning after an earlier one killed more than 2,000 people and flattened whole villages in Herat province in what was one of the most destructive quakes in the country's recent history.

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FINALIST

Issue Reporting Picture Story

Ukraine Amputees

by Evgeniy Maloletka

Ukraine is facing the prospect of a future with upwards of 20,000 amputees, many of them soldiers who are also suffering psychological trauma from their time at the frontlines. 

Hennadiy Techyna, a Ukrainian servicemen from the international legion, exercises at the Superhumans rehabilitation center in Vynnyky, Ukraine, Thursday, July 20, 2023.

Surgeons amputate the leg of a wounded Ukrainian serviceman at Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine, Friday, July 14, 2023. A surge of wounded soldiers has coincided with the major counteroffensive Ukraine launched last month to try to recapture its land from Russian forces. Surgeons at Mechnikov Hospital, one of the country's biggest, are busier now than perhaps at any other time since Russia began its invasion 17 months ago.

Ukrainian army veterans with amputated limbs take part in group rehabilitation exercises at the Unbroken rehabilitation center in Lviv, Ukraine, Monday, July 24, 2023. Ukraine is facing the prospect of a future with upwards of 20,000 amputees, many of them soldiers who are also suffering psychological trauma from their time at the front.

An anaesthesiologist sets up a hyperbaric chamber for Vitaliy Bilyak, a Ukrainian serviceman, during his treatment at St. Panteleimon hospital in Lviv, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 25, 2023.

Oleksandr Ivanov, a 41-year-old Ukrainian serviceman, learns to walk at the rehabilitation center in St. Panteleimon hospital in Lviv, Ukraine, Monday, July 24, 2023. Ivanov was in the Zaporizhzhia region when he was injured in the head and right side on June 5, 2022, in a mine explosion. Ukraine is facing the prospect of a future with upwards of 20,000 amputees, many of them soldiers who are also suffering psychological trauma from their time at the front.

Roman Belinskiy, a 43-year-old Ukrainian army veteran, poses for a photo at home in Kolomyia, Ukraine, Friday, July 21, 2023. Belinsky, a stormtrooper from the 14th brigade, fought near Kyiv and then in the Zaporizhzhia region. Ukraine is facing the prospect of a future with upwards of 20,000 amputees, many of them soldiers who are also suffering psychological trauma from their time at the front.

Medics bandage the wound of a Ukrainian serviceman at St. Panteleimon hospital in Lviv, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 25, 2023. At a rehabilitation hospital in the western city of Lviv, soldiers rely as much on each other as they do upon the physicians and rehabilitation specialists they will need to adapt to their new prostheses.

Ukrainian army veterans practice fine motor skills by doing jigsaws at the Superhumans rehabilitation center in Vynnyky, Ukraine, Thursday, July 20, 2023. Ukraine is facing the prospect of a future with upwards of 20,000 amputees, many of them soldiers who are also suffering psychological trauma from their time at the front.

Dr. Natalia Komashko, performs reconstructive surgery on the nose of Leonid Prokopovych, a 50-year-old Ukrainian serviceman, in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Friday, July 21, 2023. It was his third nasal surgery, and he had a series of operations to repair his hands as well. Ukraine is facing the prospect of a future with upwards of 20,000 amputees, many of them soldiers who are also suffering psychological trauma from their time at the front.

Dmytro Kononchuk, left, a prosthetist, tests Ruslan's prosthesis at the Superhumans rehabilitation center in Vynnyky, Ukraine, Thursday, July 20, 2023. Ukraine is facing the prospect of a future with upwards of 20,000 amputees, many of them soldiers who are also suffering psychological trauma from their time at the front.

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Impact 2023 : FINALIST

Israel - Hamas War Picture Story

by Mohammed Dahman

The war on Gaza after the attack on Israeli territory by armed groups, led by Hamas’s Qassam Brigades, which killed 1,139 people and took about 250 captive, has left at least 30,000 Palestinians killed by the Israeli army according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. Thousands more are missing under the rubble of collapsed buildings and infrastructure, and are presumed dead. Children and women comprise the overwhelming majority of those killed and at least 75,000 people have been injured.

Rockets are fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel over destroyed buildings following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City on Oct. 19, 2023.

Palestinians try to rescue a woman stuck under the rubble of a destroyed building following Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023.

Palestinians evacuate a wounded woman following an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023.

An injured Palestinian boy cries as rescuers try to pull him from the rubble of a destroyed building following an Israeli airstrike in Bureij refugee camp, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023.

Palestinians mourn relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip outside a morgue in Khan Younis on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023.

A wounded Palestinian child receives medical treatment at the Nasser Hospital following Israeli bombardment on Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Nov. 20, 2023.

Palestinians look for survivors under the rubble of a destroyed building following an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Nov. 6, 2023.

Palestinians pray over bodies of people killed in the Israeli bombardment who were brought from the Shifa hospital, before burying them in a mass grave in the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023.

Palestinians flee to northern Gaza as Israeli tanks block the Salah al-Din road in the central Gaza Strip on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, as the four-day cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war begins as part of an agreement that Qatar helped broker.

Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip arrive at a hospital in Khan Younis on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.

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FINALIST

Sports and Recreational Life

by Abbie Parr

Members of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrate after defeating the Florida Panthers to win the Stanley Cup in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals in Las Vegas on June 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Spain's Salma Paralluelo lies on the ground with her medal at the end of the Women's World Cup soccer final between Spain and England at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. Spain won 1-0. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

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AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

Portrait Series : Imperfect Beauty

by Alessandra Tarantino

L'Imperfetta (The Imperfect) model agency represents 'extraordinarily imperfect' women and men of all sizes, heights, ages, genders, backgrounds, and disabilities, people who are difficult to classify into the industry's pre-established standards of beauty. 

A model poses during a photo shoot for "L'Imperfetta (The Imperfect) model agency" in Rome, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023.

Sonia Sparta poses during a photo shoot for "L'imperfetta (The Imperfect) model agency" in Rome, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Sonia has a rare skin disorder called hyperpigmentation, which produces dark spots on her face and body.

Models pose during a photo shoot for "L'Imperfetta (The Imperfect) model agency" in Rome, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023.

Lucia Della Ratta, poses during a photo shoot for "L'Imperfetta (The Imperfect) model agency" in Rome, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Lucia has hidden her albinism for most of her life, coloring her pale hair darker shades and using tanning lotions on her skin, said during an interview with the Associated Press "I felt beautiful for the first time”.

Models pose during a photo shoot for "L'Imperfetta (The Imperfect) model agency" in Rome, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023.

Claudia La Rosa poses during a photo shoot for "L'Imperfetta (The Imperfect) model agency" in Rome, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Claudia La Rosa who has a Nevus of Ota is one of the models featured by L'Imperfetta.

Desiree D'Angelo sits during a pause of a photo shoot for "L'Imperfetta" (The Imperfect) model agency in Rome, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Desiree, who has had alopecia since she was ten, is one of the models featured by L'Imperfetta.

Models pose during a photo shoot for "L'Imperfetta (The Imperfect) model agency" in Rome, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023.

Models pose during a photo shoot for "L'Imperfetta (The Imperfect) model agency" in Rome, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023.

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AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

General News

Haitian Migrants

by Ivan Valencia

Haitian migrants wade through water as they cross the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama in hopes of reaching the U.S., Tuesday, May 9, 2023.

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AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

Impact 2023: Israel - Hamas War

by Nasser Nasser

Palestinians pray around the body of Ayham Shafe’e, 14, killed during an Israeli army raid, during his funeral in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023.

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AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

Impact 2023: Israel - Hamas War

by Victor Caivano

Palestinians flee to the southern Gaza Strip, on the outskirts of Gaza City, during the ongoing Israeli bombardment on Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023.