The New York Times newspaper selected a photograph by Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa, who accompanied Hamas terrorists during the October 7 terror attack, as one of its photos of the year.
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"The photos gathered here pay tribute to the brave photographers who found themselves in danger to capture them, reminding us of the many tears shed in 2023," the newspaper wrote.
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Palestinian tractor breaching the Israeli border fence with Gaza
(Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa)
Describing the controversial image of a Palestinian bulldozer breaching the border fence between Gaza and Israel on the day of the massacre, the newspaper wrote, "The Palestinians used earthmoving equipment to breach the border between Gaza and Israel. Armed Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel through land, sea and air in a surprise terror attack that led to the outbreak of war."
Abu Mostafa, along with other foreign correspondents, was accused of premeditated collaboration with Hamas on October 7 and stood back while the terrorists murdered and abducted innocent Israeli civilians.
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Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa (to the left) takes photos of Israeli hostages taken to Gaza
In addition to Abu Mostafa's photo, other images from the Israel-Gaza war were selected, including photos by Israeli photographer Tamir Ben Kalifa, who documented the relatives and family friends of Maya and Itay Regev, teens kidnapped from the Nova music festival, watching the news on television and discovering their fate in their children's apartment in Herzliya. In another photo by Israeli photographer Dor Kedmi for the Associated Press, Israelis seek shelter in the sand after the sounding of a rocket warning siren.
"There was much suffering in the past year even before the morning of October 7," wrote the newspaper's editors, "and then, on October 7, armed Hamas forces stormed the Gaza border into Israel. Israel responded forcefully throughout Gaza. It seems like the suffering worldwide will never end."