Gaza Devastation

• Prize
• Photographer
  Christian Als, Denmark
• Date of Photograph
  online
• Studio
  Berlingske Tidende
• Website
  http://www.christianals.com

The Israeli-Hamas war lasted for 22 days, and in the wake of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, surviving Palestinians returned to homes crushed beyond repair and mourning of lost relatives. 13 Israelis and more than 1300 Palestinians were killed. An estimated 4000 buildings were destroyed. 50.000 Gazans were left homeless, and the areas where Israeli tanks and artillery poured in at the start of the ground war are devastated: Beit Lahiya, El Atatra and large sections of Jabaliya, as well as the outer Gaza City neighbourhoods of Zeitoun and Toufah. UN estimates it will cost several billion dollars to rebuild the Gaza Strip.

I am a Danish photojournalist born in the countryside outside Copenhagen. Most of my work centers on 'concerned photography' and I am constantly drawn to social, political and economic issues throughout the world. I have worked in countries like Russia, China, Tibet, DR Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Kazakhstan, Latvia, India and Pakistan. In 2006 I graduated from the Danish School of Journalism. My work has been published in publications such as TIME, GEO, Stern, Der Spiegel, The Wall Street Journal, L'espresso, D La Repubblica delle donne, Internazionale, El Pais Semanal, Shanghai Daily and De Volkskrant.