Journalists discuss haunting photos from Gaza and the choice to print them

Editor's note: The photos in this segment include graphic depictions of violence.

An Israeli delegation is expected to arrive on Monday in Qatar for talks with mediators trying to broker a temporary ceasefire and hostage release as the war between Israel and Hamas rages on. An estimated 101 Israeli hostages are still being held in Gaza, where the death toll from raids, bombings and attacks has risen over 31,000 — more than 12,000 of them children.

The images of destruction, starvation and physical and mental pain there are haunting, and come to us through the lenses of photographers willing to risk personal safety so that we can understand what they’re seeing. Among the images we cannot un-see are those in last month’s New York Times “Portraits of Gaza.” That compilation of photos and vignettes, ironically, includes a snapshot of Gazan photojournalist Mohammed Al-Aloul, sitting in a car, head tilted back, eyes closed, cradling the body of his young son, one of the four sons he lost in an Israeli airstrike.

The photos were taken by Samar Abu Elouf, with text by veteran journalist Declan Walsh. Abu Elouf has since been evacuated to safety. Walsh joins host Robin Young from Nairobi. New York Times senior photo editor Mona Boshnaq in London joins us too. They talk about the photos in the “Portraits of Gaza” series and the importance of wartime photography.