Winners of Istanbul Photo Awards 2026 announced

The winners of the international news photography competition “Istanbul Photo Awards 2026,” organized by Anadolu Agency (AA), have been announced.

Photographer Haitham Imad won the 1st Prize in the "Photo of the Year - Single News" category with the photo "Gaza, No Hope," shot for EPA in Gaza, Palestine, in the 2026 Istanbul Photo Awards, an international contest organized by Anadolu.

Professional photographers applied to the competition in 2026 with approximately 19,000 photographs. As a result of the evaluations by the international jury, 26 photographers received awards across 10 categories.

Photographer Tyrone Siu won the 2nd Prize in "Single News" category with the photo "Desperate Plea Amid Hong Kong’s Deadliest Fire," shot for Reuters in Hong Kong, China.

Photographer Mohammed Saber won the 3rd Prize in the "Single News" category with the photo shoot entitled "Widespread Destruction" for EPA in Gaza, Palestine.

Photographer Diego Ibarra won the 1st Prize in the "Single Daily Life" category with "Education in Afghanistan."

Photographer Omar Al-Qattaa won the 2nd Prize in the "Single Daily Life" category with "Ramadan in Palestine," shot for AFP in Gaza, Palestine.

Photographer Giles Clarke won the 3rd Prize in the "Single Daily Life" category with "Born By Phone Light" shot for UN/OCHA in New Haifa, Sudan.

Photographer Olesya Kurpyayeva won the 1st Prize in the "Single Nature and Environment" category with "Baby Mammoth Yana" shot for AFP in Yakutsk, Russia.

Photographer Tony Karumba won the 2nd Prize in the "Single Nature and Environment" category with "Giraffe Conservation" shot for AFP in Naivasha, Kenya.

Photographer Guillaume Petermann won the 3rd Prize in the "Single Nature and Environment" category with "A Unique Bond" shot in Pakistan.

Photographer Saher Alghorra won the 1st Prize in the "Single Portrait" category with the photo shoot entitled "Severe Malnutrition" for The New York Times in Gaza, Palestine.

Photographer Diego Ibarra won the 2nd Prize in the "Single Portrait" category with "Studying in Afghanistan," shot in Afghanistan.

Photographer Ebrahim Noroozi won the 3rd Prize in "Single Portrait" category with "Religious Schools Fill the Education Gap for Afghan Boys" for AP.

Photographer Alex Whitehead won the 1st Prize in the "Single Sports" category with "Crash" shot for SWpix in Chile.

Photographer Roman Vondrous won the 2nd Prize in "Single Sports" category with "Touching the Star" for Czech News Agency.

Photographer Evgenii Filippov won the 3rd Prize in the "Single Sports" category with "Last Phase" shot for the magazine Expert in Russia.