Best Mediterranean News Agencies photo prize goes to Anadolu photojournalist in Gaza

​​​​​​​By Baris Seckin

PALERMO, Italy (AA) – Anadolu photojournalist Ali Jadallah on Thursday won the Best Photo of the Year award of the Alliance of Mediterranean News Agencies with a photo taken in Gaza last October.

Alliance of Mediterranean News Agencies (AMAN) member news agencies came together for the 32nd General Assembly at the Orleans Palace in Palermo, hosted by Italian news agency ANSA.

Jadallah won the top prize with his photo, which was taken on Oct. 23, 2023, in Gaza, 17 days into the Israeli attacks, which in the months since have taken over 36,000 lives.

The general assembly was attended by Anadolu Chairman and Director-General Serdar Karagoz, who received the award on behalf of Jadallah.

Karagoz thanked the AMAN General Assembly, saying that they had called back some of their journalists from Gaza, but that Jadallah wanted to stay.

“When we asked Ali how many more days you want to stay, he said, ‘Forever. I will not leave Gaza. This is my duty.’ What is his duty? He is gathering evidence. What is the evidence about? Evidence of war crimes in Gaza,” said Karagoz.

“We published this book (The Evidence), and here you will find evidence according to international law. This is an objective book, not a subjective one. We believe that sooner or later justice will be served. As journalists, we will continue to collect evidence.”

Karagoz also gave a copy of the book The Evidence, which includes Jadallah's award-winning photo, to Najeh Missaoui, general manager of the Tunisian News Agency (TAP).

Saying as he is on duty in Gaza and so could not attend the event, Jadallah said in a video message to the AMAN General Assembly: “I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Alliance of Mediterranean News Agencies for deeming me worthy of this valuable award. This appreciation is of great importance to me. I have meticulously reported the developments in Gaza for Anadolu for more than eight months under difficult conditions.”

- Karagoz to deliver award to Jadallah’s family

Speaking to the Anadolu correspondent, Karagoz said that AMAN is one of the world's most important news agency unions.

“Our Anadolu photojournalist Ali Jadallah was also deemed worthy of an award at the general assembly. Jadallah received the Best Photograph of the Year award. He could not attend the meeting because he continued his work in Gaza. As the director-general, I received the award on his behalf and will deliver it to Ali's family,” Karagoz said.

Karagoz added that the Anadolu team in Gaza works day and night, despite all difficulties, and has so far lost one of their colleagues.

“Jadallah is one of our heroes. We lost a friend of ours, Montaser Al-Sawaf. I pray for God's mercy. With our 25 friends, Anadolu continues to tell the world the truth from Gaza. Of course, Ali Jadallah collects evidence about the war crimes committed there, he is a hero,” he said.

“When we invited Ali to Türkiye, he wanted to stay in Gaza and continue his work until the end. We believe that Jadallah’s work will be used as evidence sooner or later when justice is served. Anadolu will continue to collect evidence of war crimes in Gaza. We will continue to make Gaza's voice heard on all platforms around the world. Today, we successfully fulfilled this duty,” he added.

The new website of AMAN, whose design was undertaken by Anadolu, was introduced at the general assembly.

As part of AMAN's 32nd General Assembly, a conference on energy and tourism for sustainable growth in the Mediterranean was also held on Wednesday.