Avishag Shaar-Yashuv, Israel

Israel: The trauma of little Stav (for The New York Times)

They survived the horrors of the Hamas massacre in their kibbutzim on October 7, 2023. They are four, ten and 13 years old, or 17 and taken hostage for 51 days. Their faces, such as that of eight-year-old Stav, are a window into their souls: they show confusion, desolation, and anguish.

Israeli photographer Avishag Shaar-Yashuv portrayed them in a hotel that was temporarily used as emergency shelter by many of the victims of the Hamas attack. As can be seen in Stav’s face, Avishag Shaar-Yashuv has hauntingly captured the look of children who see their previous lives lie completely in ruins.

Photographer: Avishag Shaar-Yashuv, Israel (for The New York Times)

Avishag Shaar-Yashuv, born in 1990, has been photographing for Israeli and international media, including The New York Times and DIE ZEIT, for around ten years. From Israeli fashion designers to Ukrainian refugees and green communities, she has already reported on a wide variety of topics.

Shaar-Yashuv describes her portraits of the survivors of the Hamas attack as her most important work to date. She witnessed the funeral of friends who were victims of the massacre, and wants the world to see the deep sadness that is rooted even in those who outwardly appear unscathed.

Credits Text: Peter-Matthias Gaede for UNICEF.