A prize-winning photo of an Israeli woman’s almost nude body shown by Hamas has sparked outrage

An photograph that went viral on social media depicting Hamas militants parading the almost nude corpse of a murdered Jewish lady around the streets of Gaza won photo-of-the-year.

Earlier this month, the news agency Associated Press (AP) won first place in one of the Pictures of the Year International award categories thanks to a number of photographs, including the gruesome shot of Shani Louk’s corpse.

According to the New York Post, the US-based Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute bestows this prize and calls it the oldest photojournalism competition in the world. Social media users fiercely reacted to the news of this prize, denouncing the use of Louk’s picture as a “outrageous desecration of Jewish life.”

SHANI LOUK: WHO WAS SHE?
She was a German-Israeli lady who was allegedly kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip on October 7, during the historic strike by Hamas that set off Israel’s massive military operation in the Palestinian region. The 22-year-old had apparently visited one of the first locations targeted by Hamas, a music event that borders Gaza. She was one among the several individuals captured by the Palestinian group and carried through the streets in the rear of a pickup truck.

“The individual who took this picture belonged to the jihadist group that raped, tortured, and killed people. Her family didn’t want this to be how she was remembered. Her continuous destruction is celebrated with this honor. One of the individuals who was offended by the honor said, “Her name was Shani Louk.”

“A top photographic prize was given to the Associated Press Hamas photographer who captured a picture of Shani Louk’s corpse being displayed by terrorists. Another user on X said, “Photographers for AP, CNN, NYT, and Reuters accompanied Hamas terrorists into Israel on 10/7 and knew about the attack.”

One of the films, which went viral online in late October, showed a face-down, comatose, half-naked lady in Gaza laying in the back of a pickup van crowded with armed men. Later, it was revealed that militants had stormed a dance party in the desert close to the Gaza Strip border, taking Shani Louk captive. Despite being pronounced dead, Louk’s corpse has not been brought back from Gaza.