Q: Congratulations on being named Photographer of the Year at the 2025 IPA Awards Ceremony earlier this year in Athens. What was your immediate feeling when you heard your name announced? 

When I heard my name announced, for a moment I couldn’t breathe. It felt unreal. I wasn’t thinking about the stage or the lights I was thinking about Gaza, about my people, about every person I photographed whose story became part of this award. 

This recognition is not just for me; it is for every civilian who suffered, every family displaced, every child who held onto life with unimaginable strength. 

My first feeling was a mix of gratitude and responsibility. Gratitude for being heard, and responsibility to continue telling the truth, no matter the cost. 

Q: As you documented these harrowing scenes in Gaza, was there a moment when you realised the project would carry the weight it does now? 

Yes. I realised it inside a hospital in Gaza while photographing a wounded child who refused to let go of his mother’s hand. In that moment, I felt that what I was capturing was no longer just an image, but part of the memory of a people being erased before the world’s eyes. I understood that these photographs had to become the final witnesses to a truth that words could no longer carry. 

Q: What impact do you hope this award will have on your future projects and your mission as a photojournalist? 

I hope this award will amplify my mission rather than celebrate me. It gives my work a wider platform one that can push the world to look at Gaza with honesty, not politics.

For my future projects, it strengthens my responsibility to continue documenting with integrity, to protect the stories of civilians, and to ensure that their suffering is neither forgotten nor distorted. 

If this award achieves anything, I want it to open more doors for the truth to be seen. 

Q: What is the single most important piece of advice you would offer them especially those who want to create work with real social impact? 

My biggest advice is simple: stay human. 

If your heart is not present, your work will never carry real impact. Listen to people, stand with them, and let their stories shape your vision. Technical skills can be learned, but empathy cannot. 

Create with honesty, not with the goal of winning awards and the world will feel the truth in your images. 

Q: Many young photographers struggle with confidence especially when tackling emotionally difficult subjects. What guidance would you offer them as they learn to trust their voice? 

Trust is built in the moments when you feel most afraid. 

If a subject shakes you emotionally, it means you are alive inside the story and that is where real photography begins. Don’t run from that feeling; learn from it. 

Your voice grows stronger every time you choose honesty over perfection, and humanity over technique. With time, you will realise that confidence is not the absence of fear, but the courage to keep shooting despite it. 

Q: Why do you think competitions like IPA matter for photographers at different stages of their careers, and how should entrants approach the experience? 

Competitions like IPA matter because they give photographers visibility and open doors to new opportunities. They can guide young photographers and challenge experienced ones to keep growing. 

My advice is to enter with honesty: submit work that reflects your true voice, not what you think judges want. Winning is great, but the real value is in how the process sharpens your purpose and commitment.