The top AP photos from the Middle East in 2025: Conflict, courage, and moments of wonder

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The Associated Press’ top photos from the Middle East and the surrounding region in 2025 capture conflict, resilience, and moments of quiet wonder. Taken across Gaza, Israel, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates, the 35 images reveal a turbulent year.

Photographers documented the human toll of war and violence: civilians affected by the Israeli crackdown in the occupied West Bank, devastation and death in Gaza, and hostages returning from Gaza. In Lebanon, a child injured by an exploding pager in an Israeli attack targeting Hezbollah members shows the intimate cost of conflict. In Syria, the aftermath of a bomb attack on a church and a fallen statue of late Syrian President Hafez Assad are juxtaposed with the exuberance of a night out at a bar.

Glimpses of everyday life and culture also emerge: children studying the Quran in an Afghan madrassa, a bull race in Pakistan, cyclists in the UAE, and an Afghan child in a refugee camp in Pakistan. Moments of joy and wonder appear too — children enjoying an amusement park ride in the moonlight in Iraq, and a couple about to board a ferry in Istanbul.

A special tribute honors Palestinian photographer Mariam Dagga, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza in August. A 2023 photo of her smiling as she snaps a selfie with children at a school housing displaced people in southern Gaza appears beside one of her own images — the funeral of a 5-year-old child who died of malnutrition — highlighting the risks journalists face while documenting the conflict and life in the region.

These photographs offer a vivid record of 2025: a year of contrasts, of hardship and courage, of resilience and endurance, and of the people who continue to adapt and hope.

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This is a photo gallery curated by Benjamin Snyder and Enric Marti.