A sickening image of Hamas terrorists parading a slain woman’s nearly naked body through the streets of Gaza has been awarded a prestigious photo-of-the-year prize — sparking fierce outrage from those who slammed the win as “an outrageous desecration of Jewish life.”
The grim photo featuring Shani Louk’s body was among a collection of 20 images that helped the Associated Press secure first place in one of the Pictures of the Year International award categories earlier this month.
The awards, which are run by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism, are self-described as the world’s oldest photojournalism competition.
News of the AP’s win in the “Team Picture Story of the Year” category prompted widespread backlash on social media, with some slamming the accolade and the use of Louk’s image as an “outrageous desecration of Jewish life.”
“I am DISGUSTED, SHOCKED and ENRAGED that this @AP image of a murdered Shani Louk from October 7th was given picture of the year,” one social media user posted on X. “This is the value of Israeli women to you?”
“This is just wrong and sick,” another user raged of the award.
Louk, a 23-year-old German Israeli tattoo artist, was among the scores of innocent music festival-goers taken hostage when Hamas terrorists carried out their deadly Oct. 7 onslaught.
She quickly became one of the faces of the war after the shocking images of her lifeless body in the back of a pickup truck started going viral.
Israeli authorities later confirmed the young woman had been beheaded by her captors.
In announcing the AP’s win, the award organizers posted the unblurred image of Louk’s lifeless body on its Instagram page.
The photo, though, appears to have been deleted in the wake of the backlash.
As the outrage over the AP’s award win mounted on social media, some users argued that the competition was dishonoring Louk’s memory by dredging up the photo.
“The family of Oct 7 victim Shani Louk want her to be remembered alive & smiling. One of the world’s biggest photojournalism prizes, ran by @RJI, trampled on their wishes, awarding an @AP photo of her mutilated body,” one user wrote on X.
Another tweeted: “This is how we choose to remember the beautiful Shani Louk. We will not allow her memory to be trampled by the inhuman thugs celebrating the AP photo of her tragic murder.”
Meanwhile, many took aim at Ali Mahmud, the freelance photojournalist who snapped the image, arguing he shouldn’t be celebrated over such a tragedy.
Several Israeli American and American Nova survivors sued the AP last month for using freelance photojournalists believed to be “longstanding Hamas affiliates and full participants in the terrorist attack.”
They are suing for damages under the Antiterrorism Act, according to the federal complaint filed in the Southern District of Florida.
“He is being celebrated for taking this photo of murder-rapist-terrorists with the brutalized and contorted body of Shani Louk,” one X user noted.
Pictures of the Year International organizers told The Post the selection of photos in the category expressed “the greater emotions related to the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza.”
“This year and every year, the photos in the competition are selected by a panel of professional journalists tasked with identifying compelling representations of the significant news events of the year,” POY director, Lynden Steele, said in a statement.
“While we understand the reactions to the pictures, we also believe that photojournalism plays an important role in bringing attention to the harsh realities of war.”
