Palestinian Poet Mosab Abu Toha Wins Pulitzer Prize for Commentary

Abu Toha was recognized for his searing personal essays chronicling life following the escalated genocide in Gaza, which appeared in The New Yorker. His vivid, unflinching accounts of war, survival, and displacement have resonated globally, offering a rare firsthand perspective from within the besieged city.

In his essay "A Palestinian Poet’s Perilous Journey Out of Gaza," Abu Toha recounts his harrowing experience of being detained by Israeli forces while attempting to evacuate his family: "I am allowed to put on my clothes, but not my jacket. They take my wallet and tie my hands behind my back with plastic handcuffs... I wonder how Israelis would feel if they were known by a number."

The Pulitzer Board praised his work as “deeply moving and urgently necessary.”